I was cleaning out my freezer the other day when I found that my mom had stashed some tamales in there from Thanksgiving or Christmas. It’s hard to say which. Either way, I was trying to think of what to do with them outside of my usual go-to which is to serve them with a bowl of chili. Then I started to think about how they serve them at restaurants - which is generally as a main and not a side dish.

Enter this Cheesy Tamale Sauce! It’s easy. It’s cheesy. And you’re going to want to make it for your tamales from now on. You might think this sauce is something like enchilada sauce, but it’s actually very different. It starts out with a roux and builds from there with broth, a lot of seasonings, and finally cheese!…