Easy Broccoli With Cheese Sauce

This simple cheese sauce transforms everyday broccoli into a glorious side dish. You'll have it ready in no time, and your whole family will love it, kids included, because who can resist a creamy cheese sauce? 

You can use either frozen or fresh broccoli spears or florets. Frozen broccoli often comes in spears, which consist of the florets with a section of the stem.

The recipe gives you the choice of steaming the broccoli or boiling it. You can steam broccoli in a pan, a steamer basket, or in the microwave. Steaming broccoli is a more gentler method than boiling because it is removed from the boiling water and not immersed in it. Steaming broccoli also retains its crisp texture and brighter color better than boiling. 

Velveeta Cheese

If you are using fresh broccoli, make sure that you cut or break the broccoli into evenly sized pieces or sections. If you don’t want to use the broccoli stems, there is no need to throw them out. Peel them and use them for another dish, such as a stir-fry.

This recipe calls for American cheese, a super performer when it comes to melting. This is because American cheese contains emulsifiers that prevent the milk proteins from separating from the milk fat when the cheese is heated. It is a processed cheese with a very low melting point, and that’s why it is often the first choice for grilled cheese sandwiches or cheeseburgers. In this recipe, it only takes a few minutes and a little extra milk for American cheese to melt into a thick, smooth cheese sauce.

The use of onion powder in this recipe is not only convenient—it saves you chopping the onion and possibly tearing up—but it is also a way to get a subtle onion flavor into the dish without risking rejection by picky young eaters who don’t like little bits of onion in their food. If you are someone who likes to make things from scratch, you can also make your own onion powder. 

For a little added heat, add a pinch of cayenne pepper or a dash of hot sauce to the cheese sauce, but that’s optional. 

Serve the broccoli and the cheese sauce separately so everyone at the dinner table can spoon as much sauce over the broccoli as they like.