Recipe: Secret Cheese Sauce

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This rich, creamy cheese sauce is perfect for pasta, loaded nachos or smothered baked potatoes. The secret? It’s made with low-fat milk and full of sweet potato! 

Ingredients

1 medium sweet potato
2 cups lowfat milk
¼ cup butter
3 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
⅛ tsp nutmeg
4-5 cloves roasted garlic*
½ cup low sodium chicken or veggie broth (optional)

Prep the sweet potato: Peel sweet potato and chop into small pieces (about the size of a grape). Place sweet potato cubes in a microwave safe bowl or steamer. Cover potatoes with water. Place cover over bowl/steamer and microwave on high for 5 minutes or until cubes are easily pierced with a fork. Drain water from potatoes, reserving about 1/4 cup of the liquid. Let stand 10 mins. Place cooked sweet potatoes into a food processor or blender. Add 2 Tbsp of reserved water and puree until no lumps remain, adding additional water, 1 Tbsp at a time, as necessary. Set aside. 

For the sauce: Melt butter in a large skillet. Whisk in flour and cook – stirring continuously – until the butter/flour mixture begins to brown. Whisk in milk, dijon mustard, cheddar cheese, salt, nutmeg, and pepper. Stir in sweet potato puree. Mash 4-5 cloves of roasted (not raw) garlic. Add garlic to sauce, stirring to incorporate. At this point, taste your sauce and add more salt or pepper depending on your preference. Enjoy!

Note: Sauce will continue to thicken upon standing. For a thinner sauce, whisk in broth – 1/4 cup at a time – until desired consistency is reached. 

*Make sure you’re using roasted (cooked) garlic. Do not use raw garlic. If you don’t have roasted garlic on hand, substitute 2 tsp of garlic powder or granulated garlic.