Leyden Cheese Sauce for Burritos
This Leyden Cheese Sauce for Burritos is creamy, smooth and crazy delicious! These burritos with cheese sauce can be made with any protein you like!
I saw Rachael Ray use Leyden Cheese on her show a few weeks ago. I had never heard of it but when I heard cumin, I was in! Cumin is one of my all time favorite spices!
What is Cumin?
Cumin is a plant whose seeds are used a lot in Spanish, Mexican, and Middle Eastern dishes! It is native to the Middle East and east to India.
It has a unique, smoky fragrance and taste. Cumin is not spicy hot but it adds a fantastic flavor!
The burritos can be made with any protein you like, including; beef, chicken, pork, venison, or even beans if you want them vegetarian!
What is Cheese Sauce?
Cheese Sauce is just a white sauce (béchamel) with cheese melted in it. White sauce is one of the sauces that the French consider one of the “Mother Sauces“.
It is believed, however, that the white sauce was actually adapted from Tuscany, in Italy. It is said that the chefs of Catherine de Medici (Queen of France and Mother-in-law of Mary, Queen of Scots) brought it to France.
How to make a Cheese Sauce for Burritos
So many people I know are intimidated by white sauces. White sauces get a bad rap. They are so easy! They can be made with any of the new nut milk to make the sauce vegan (if you don’t add the cheese, obviously!). It can also be made with milk, cream, and any stock.
- Grate cheese.
- Melt the butter in a medium, heavy-bottom saucepan.
Heat the milk in a separate saucepan over medium-high heat or in the microwave. This step saves you time stirring. - Once the butter is melted and is frothy and bubbly, add an equal amount of flour (or cornstarch or GF flour to make it gluten-free). In other words, if you use two tablespoons of butter, whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour.
- Whisk for about 4-5 minutes until the butter and flour are bubbly.
- Add warm milk.
- Once the sauce is smooth and thickened, it will coat the back of the spoon (usually takes about 10 minutes). Add cheese one large handful at a time.
- Melt cheese and stir for a few more minutes until bubbly. Taste now and add salt and white pepper to taste. The reason you wait until the end to salt is because different cheeses have different salt content. You don’t want your sauce to become too salty.
- See how smooth and creamy the sauce is?
- Dice onion and garlic
- Brown ground meat in a large skillet. Add onions and garlic to soften. Season with spices.
- Cut up tomato, lettuce, and any other vegetable you like.
- Build burritos with refried beans, meat, and vegetables. Put a few tablespoons of cheese sauce inside. Tuck ends in and roll them up.
Arrange them on a plate with seam side down and then top them with the cheese sauce and your favorite toppings.
Set up a fixings bar with anything you like. Some great fixings are diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, sliced hot peppers (either fresh or pickled), sliced green onions, sliced black olives, avocado slices, and your favorite salsa.
Burritos can also be made with any leftover protein you have. Chicken, pork, and venison can be used. Just use the same technique to cook them. If you’re a burrito fan, try these air fryer burritos. They’re quick, easy, and delicious.
I hope you like the recipe today for Leyden Cheese Sauce for Burritos!
Other delicious Mexican Inspired Recipes
- Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Frijoles, Refried Beans
- Venison Carnitas Enchiladas
- Baked Chilaquiles
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Tools I Use to Make Burritos with Leyden Cheese Sauce
Enjoy! And have fun cooking!
Xoxo,
Burritos with Leyden Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
For the Cheese Sauce
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3 c cashew milk (can substitute cow’s milk)
- 3 c Leyden Cheese
- about 1/2 tsp. salt (see notes below)
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Black Pepper
To Assemble
- Flour tortillas I like 10″
- Your favorite burrito filling
- Frijoles (refried beans)
- Toppings of your choice; such as; diced tomatoes shredded lettuce, sliced black olives, sliced green onion, sliced avocado, sliced fresh or pickled jalapenos, sour cream or creme fraiche, salsa
Instructions
- Heat cashew milk over medium high heat.
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Don’t let the butter brown.
- Cook flour and butter for 3-4 minutes to remove the floury taste.
- Whisking constantly, stream in heated cashew milk.
- Whisk often to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pan. Let sauce cook and thicken, usually about 10 minutes, until sauce coats the back of a spoon.
- Add cheese, large handfuls at a time, melting the cheese between additions.
- Cook along for another few minutes until nice and thick.
- Taste the sauce for salt. Always taste first because different cheeses have different salt content.
- Add pepper to taste.
To Assemble
- Heat tortillas, one at a time in a dry pan over high heat. If you have a gas stove, tortillas can be heated directly over open flame for a few seconds.
- Spread a few tablespoons frijoles in the center of the tortillas shell. Add as much of your filling as you like.
- Roll tortilla and place seam side down on serving plate. Top with cheese sauce and any toppings that you like.
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Notes
- shredded lettuce
- chopped tomatoes
- sliced black olives
- sliced green onion
- sliced avocado
- sliced fresh or pickled jalapenos
- sour cream or creme fraiche
- salsa
Nutrition
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Originally Published 2/8/2015
What other cheeses could you use in place of the leyden? Edam? We arent cumin or caraway people 🙂
Certainly, Edam would work. Gouda would be fine since Leyden is Gouda with cumin. A mild cheddar or Monterey Jack would be great too. Any good melting cheese works well! Thanks for stopping by!
My oh my oh my – chipotle and cotija – I love it when cheese and chillies balance each other! Perfect!
They do pair so well together! The Leyden is superior with them too! All that cumin and all! Thank you for your comment Tina!