Cheesy sauce for pasta (healthy mac & cheese recipe)

In this post I’ll be sharing one of our favourite ways to serve homemade pasta: in a comforting creamy and cheesy sauce, with dark leafy greens mixed through. The sauce is really quick and easy to make, and you can use either regular egg pasta or sourdough pasta for this, or you can use store-bought pasta.

Making this sauce and serving it with pasta is like making a healthy mac & cheese from scratch, it’s so comforting, perfect to eat on a cold day, or at any time of the year, and really quick and easy to make too.

About this cheesy sauce

This sauce uses the same roux method that I use for making real gravy. First the fat is melted in a saucepan over medium heat, then flour is stirred through the fat while continuing to heat it up, to lightly toast the flour and bring out more flavour.

You don’t want to toast the flour for too long, or it can lose its ability to thicken the milk, but a minute or so is good, or if you’re in a hurry, you can just start adding milk as soon as the flour is mixed in.

How to make a roux sauce without lumps

The key to making a roux sauce without lumps is to make sure the heat is not too high at first, be patient, only add a little milk, and thoroughly stir it in, then add a little bit more, and continue, until you’ve added all the milk.

If any lumps do form, add a tiny bit of milk, squash the lumps and smooth them out with the new milk, and keep adding more milk. You then need to stir the roux sauce often until it boils. It really is very simple, and it’s a great way to make a creamy sauce without any cream. It makes the most comforting pasta sauce, for a healthy homemade version of mac & cheese.

You can also serve this cheesy sauce with nachos or potatoes, on top of burgers, or anywhere that you want a bubbling creamy cheesy sauce.

Cheese choices

I just use any hard cheese in our larder that needs to be eaten, which is usually my basic homestead hard cheese. But this also goes well with Cheddar, Colby, and other hard cheeses.

The amount of cheese you can use is flexible. If you’re being frugal with your cheese, feel free to use the minimum amount, and you’ll still have a lovely comforting cheesy sauce, or use extra cheese to make it extra cheesy.

Recipe: Pasta with cheesy sauce and greens

Ingredients

Serves 2	Serves 4	Serves 6	Serves 8
37g (3 Tablespoons) butter	75g (1/3 cup) butter	112g (1/2 cup) butter	150g (2/3 cup) butter
32g (1/4 cup) flour	65g (1/2 cup) flour	100g (3/4 cup) flour	130g (1 cup) flour
250ml (1 cup) milk	500ml (2 cups) milk	750ml (3 cups) milk	1 litre (4 cups) milk
At least 37g (1/4 packed cup) grated hard cheese, plus more, for serving	At least 75g (1/2 a packed cup) grated hard cheese, plus more, for serving	At least 112g (3/4 packed cup) grated hard cheese, plus more, for serving	At least 150g (1 packed cup) grated hard cheese, plus more, for serving

You’ll also need

• Enough pasta to serve as many people as you’ll be serving
• Optional kale or other leafy greens – whatever amount seems right

Method

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, as soon as it has melted, add the flour and stir for a couple of minutes, until it starts to smell nice. Add the milk, bit by bit, stirring thoroughly every time to make sure it’s fully mixed in and smooth.

Bring to the boil while stirring often, then stir through the cheese. Add some salt, if it needs it. You can also add black pepper or other spices now (see variations below).

Keep the sauce warm while you cook your pasta. In the last minute of cooking the pasta, add your greens to the pasta and stir them through to wilt them. Drain the pasta and greens.

Once the pasta is cooked, put the cheesy sauce back on the heat, add the drained pasta and greens and stir. When the sauce is bubbling, serve, with some fermented vegetables on the side and some extra grated cheese on top.

More variations

• Feel free to stir through a dash of yoghurt, créme fraîche, or sour cream right at the end of cooking, to add a more complex, fermented taste to the sauce.
• Add a dash of smoked paprika for a lovely smokey flavour.
• Stir through some cooked crispy bacon or ham when you add the pasta.
• Add some leftover cooked chicken or tuna to the sauce.
• Add a little mustard or finely chopped garlic.
• After mixing the pasta through, put the pasta and sauce in a baking dish, top with extra cheese, and bake until bubbling for a lovely baked mac & cheese dish.

More uses for homemade cheesy sauce

Feel free to make this sauce and serve it…

• In lasagne
• On nachos or enchiladas
• With potatoes
• With rice and vegetables
• On top of burgers
• Anywhere else that a simple cheesy sauce can be used

Frequently asked questions

Can I use tallow or lard instead of butter?
Yes you can, but it won’t be quite as nice, and you may want to use some extra cheese, because the butter adds an extra element of dairy goodness to the sauce.

Can I use gluten-free flour?
Some gluten-free flours will probably work. Use whatever flour you would normally use for thickening a sauce.

Can I use fresh milled flour?
Yes, this is what I use. Feel free to use wheat or ancient grain flours.

What kind of milk is best?
Use any full-fat milk: cows milk, goats milk, or sheep milk will all work beautifully.