A mac and cheese style sauce that takes 5 minutes to make. This cheesy deliciousness is made infinitely better with the addition of fresh thyme and crisp wafter thin pancetta.
Hello! I am finally writing up the recipe for this insanely easy and insanely delicious sauce! I am a total sucker for a mac and cheese style sauce, case in point my nduja mac and cheese! Can you really go wrong with simple white cheese sauce? I think the possibilities are endless, you could add anything you want in there, just look in the fridge, That is what I did and I happened to have some pancetta and fresh thyme. It ended up being a match made in heaven!
Ingredients
BUTTER - Unsalted or salted is fine here as it is such a small amount.
FLOUR - Any plain white flour will work, I haven't tested this with a gluten free flour so let me know if you try it!
MILK - I use full fat cows milk. I haven't tried it with any alternatives.
CHEESE - One of the most common questions I got asked on instagram was what kind of cheese I used! I hadn't really planned this out so I just used a basic supermarket cheddar. Use anything you like the taste of, you could even mix some parmesan in too.
PANCETTA - I like to use the wafer thin rounds so that when you fry them they are super thin and crispy. If you can't find it then use streaky bacon. I do love the smoky flavour the pancetta brings though.
THYME - Do try and use fresh and not dried, it brings so much for flavour and adds some much needed freshness. You could use rosemary if you preferred.
What pasta shape should I use?
The great thing about a cheese sauce like this is it will work with anything!! Because the sauce is so easy how about making some pasta from scratch?! You could try my homemade orecchiette, which is what I chose. Another simple shape to try would be my hand rolled gnocchi sardi. Alternatively any dried shape will work perfectly.
Steps for the perfect cheese sauce every time!
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan on a medium - high heat then add the flour.
- Whisk it quite vigorously, I really like using a flat whisk for sauces like this.
- Turn the heat down to medium - low and add the milk in a slow steady stream while whisking the whole time.
- Whisk vigorously making sure to get into all the corners and edges of the pan so all the flour/butter paste is incorporated.
- Let it gently bubble for a couple of minutes until it has thickened slightly and would coat the back of a wooden spoon.
- Add your cheese in three lots, making sure it has melted and incorporated into the sauce before adding the next lot.
- You can make it ahead and put a layer of cling film right over the actual sauce to stop a skin forming.
Made this recipe and loved it?
I would love love LOVE if you could leave me a review down below and let me know what you thought! I love to hear any changes or adaptions you have made too. Also if you put a photo on instagram, please tag me so I can see, it makes my day!
Want some other sauces to try?
Making recipes for delicious and easy pasta sauces is my true passion! If you want to learn how I make my butter sauces, check out my guide to the best butter sauces. If you know me well you know I am cacio e pepe obsessed and I have the basic recipe or my new fave cacio e pepe with olives and basil.
Easy cheese sauce with thyme and pancetta
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 - 3 people
Description
A mac and cheese style sauce that takes 5 minutes to make. This cheesy deliciousness is made infinitely better with the addition of fresh thyme and crisp wafter thin pancetta.
Ingredients
- Pasta of your choice. I generally allow for 150g fresh per person or 100g dried
- Super thin round slices of pancetta (I do about 4 slices per person)
- 3 tbsp butter divided (1 tbsp for pancetta and 2 tbsp for sauce)
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 cup milk
- 150g cheese, anything you like the taste of
- A few sprigs fresh thyme (enough for a nice scattering on each plate)
- Freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Fry the pancetta in 1 tbsp of melted butter over medium - high heat until crispy on both sides. Set aside and cut into chunks when cooled.
- Over medium - high heat, melt the remaining 2 tbsp butter in a medium saucepan then add the flour and whisk into a paste for a minute to cook the flour off.
- Turn the heat down and add the milk gradually whisking vigorously to incorporate, making sure you are getting the flour paste from the bottom and sides of the pan. Add a bit more milk if you think it will be too thick.
- Continue to cook, whisking until it begins to simmer then turn the heat down to low before adding the cheese in three lots, whisking in between each lot making sure it has melted in before adding the next.
- Add in your cooked pasta and let it gently bubble away for a minute in the sauce. Add a splash of pasta water if you feel like you need to loosen the sauce.
- Crumble in half the pancetta and stir.
- Serve and add the remaining pancetta and thyme to the top
- Top with freshly cracked black pepper
Notes
- Season to taste, I don't find I need to add any salt once I have added the pancetta in
- If you can't find thinly sliced pancetta, feel free to use streaky bacon. You want it thin and crisp so it crumbles in well.
- Any pasta shape will work, use whatever you like!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
Sandra says
What a fantastic tasting, yet fairly easy to make recipe, Emilie! One you can make on busy week night. Absolutely wonderful ?? We all loved it! No evidence left, I'm afraid ?
Best regards,
Sandra
@sandrasbakingstudio
★★★★★
Emilie Pullar says
Thanks so much Sandra! So glad you enjoyed, it's one of my faves!
Michelle_K says
I chose this recipe in a pasta cook-off against my husband for its simplicity and ease. The two cheeses I opted for were Gruyère for the melty factor and an aged cheddar for bite. The sauce was incredibly easy to make and finished silky smooth. The thin pancetta added a lovely bite and the earthy thyme complimented the rich cheesiness well. My sauce to pasta ratio was outrageous for the 200g uncooked pasta I cooked and I am not at all unhappy about it! Only change I would make next time is to double the pancetta, both the half that goes in and the half for scattering on top. That crispy salty goodness was just divine.
★★★★★
Emilie Pullar says
I love the sound of the cook off!! I'm a saucy gal what can I say haha 🙂
Joanne O'Brien says
This was so easy to make with clear instructions and so delish.
Emilie Pullar says
Thanks so much for making it! 🙂