Keto Cheese Sauce

Keto cheese sauce is super easy to make and positively delicious! Perfect for dipping or for smothering broccoli, cauliflower, or other veggies, you’ll make this recipe over and over when you’re on a keto or low carb diet.

What Makes This Recipe So Good

• Instantly dress up steamed cauliflower, air fryer asparagus, or Instant Pot broccoli in a delicious, cheesy, keto-friendly way. It’s amazing on so many other things, too – you might try it on palmini pasta for a kind of low-carb mac and cheese, or drizzle a little keto cheese sauce on an air fryer hot dog with or without a keto bun.
• Keto cheese sauce is SO easy to make, and if you’re keto then you’ve probably got all the ingredients on hand right now.
• No flour needed! This cheese sauce is good and thick all on its own thanks to the heavy whipping cream and cream cheese, so there’s no need for any extra thickening agents.
• It’s perfect for meal prep! Refrigerate your keto cheese sauce in an airtight container and it’ll keep for 5 days or so. Tips for reheating are in the “Chef’s Tips” section below. I don’t recommend freezing it – the consistency just won’t be the same after.

Key Ingredients

Cream Cheese – As always, you’ll want to use a full fat cream cheese, and be sure to pick the one with the lowest carb count. Personally, I prefer Philadelphia brand original cream cheese. It’s got the fewest carbs of all the varieties at my local grocery stores, and it’s always got a great taste and texture.

Cheddar Cheese – Cheddar is a classic, versatile option, but you could also make this with pepperjack or really any kind of cheese you like. For the best results, buy a block of cheese and grate or shred it yourself. It’s not hard to do! Prepackaged shredded cheese is full of starches that keep it from clumping but add unnecessary carbs. These anti-caking agents can make prepackaged cheese behave funny when it’s heated, too. If you use it, the consistency of your keto cheese sauce might be off.

Heavy Whipping Cream – HWC and heavy cream are essentially the same, so you’ll be fine if all your store carries is heavy cream. They both have at least 36% fat content. Whipping cream (as opposed to heavy whipping cream) has a slightly lower fat content, clocking in around 30%. You’ll definitely want more fat for your keto cheese sauce.

Chef’s Tips

• The keto cheese sauce will get thicker as it stands, so be sure to serve it immediately.
• Don’t rush the process. If your heat is too high, the mixture can seize. You can try adding a little more heavy whipping cream to thin it out, but it’s better to avoid the situation altogether.
• Got leftovers? Reheating is easy! Just microwave the leftover keto cheese sauce in 30-second bursts, stirring after each round, until the sauce is liquid again. Once it’s liquid, you might notice some butter oil sitting on top of the cheese – just whisk the cheese sauce vigorously until it’s completely reincorporated!

More Keto Recipes I Know You’ll Love

• Keto Lemon Bars
• Keto Carbonara
• 25 Keto Slow Cooker Recipes
• Keto Sushi Rolls with Smoked Salmon
• Keto Peanut Butter Cups