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This rich, creamy secret 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 low fat milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup butter
3 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
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 1 inch pieces. 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 1/4 cup of the liquid. Let stand 10 mins to cool.
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 cheese 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.

Taste your sauce and add more salt or pepper depending on your preference.
Enjoy!
Notes on Secret Cheese Sauce:
- Add a 1 pound box of cooked pasta to this sauce for an easy stovetop mac and cheese.
- Make sure to use 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.
- 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.
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Secret Cheese Sauce
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Total Time: 40 min
Description
This rich, creamy secret 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 low fat milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup butter
3 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
⅛ tsp nutmeg
4-5 cloves roasted garlic
½ cup low sodium chicken broth or veggie broth (optional)
Instructions
Prep the sweet potato:
Peel sweet potato and chop into 1 inch pieces. 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 1/4 cup of the liquid. Let stand 10 mins to cool.
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 cheese 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.
Taste your sauce and add more salt or pepper depending on your preference.
Enjoy!
- Category: Dinner
Keywords: cheese, cheese sauce, mac and cheese, cheddar, dinner, meal, sauce
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Sounds wonderful! Going to give it a try. 😋
Thanks, Sherry! Would love to hear what you think of it!
Sounds delicious, Katy!
Thanks!! 🙂