I know, it seems kind of weird that I’m posting this homemade Nacho Cheese Sauce recipe the day after the super bowl. But, the reason I made this nacho cheese sauce has nothing to do with the super bowl and everything to do with the fact that I have just had a crappy week. :) After a series of unfortunate events and two recipe flops, I had an, “Ugh, I give up. Just give me some chips and nacho cheese.” moment.
Don’t judge. Nacho cheese dip is powerful stuff.
NO Processed Cheese, Please
Rather than going totally off the deep end and buying a gelatinous block of Velveeta, I decided to try to make the nacho cheese sauce myself, with real, simple ingredients. To my surprise (and probably to my detriment), this homemade nacho cheese recipe made with real cheddar cheese is extremely fast and easy to make.
Spice it Up!
The nacho cheese recipe below is the very basic version of nacho cheese, which you can customize or embellish in many different ways. Try substituting half of the cheddar with pepper jack, or stirring in a 4oz. can of diced green chiles. Experiment with the seasonings by adding a pinch of garlic powder, cumin, or even cayenne pepper. Stir in a few sliced green onions, or a can of Rotel tomatoes (drained). You can really have fun with this one.
Tips for Cheese Sauce Success
Here are a few tips to help make sure your homemade nacho cheese recipe is a success:
- Make sure to cook the flour in the butter for one minute. This helps cook out the “floury” flavor.
- Use medium cheddar for smoother results. Sharp cheddar tends to “break” or become grainy easier than medium cheddar.
- Remove the pot from the heat before stirring in the cheese. Overheating the sauce once the cheese has been added can cause the sauce to seize up and become thick and/or grainy. If needed, use only low heat to help the cheese fully melt.
- Use block cheese and hand shred it when possible. Pre-shredded cheeses sometimes contain a lot of anti-caking powders, which can cause a powdery flavor in your cheese sauce.
New to cheese sauce? Try making our no-roux Easy Cheese Sauce that melts together smoothly in minutes and is absolutely fool-proof!
5 Minute Nacho Cheese Sauce
Servings 6 (1/4 cup each)Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.22)
- 2 Tbsp flour ($0.02)
- 1 cup whole milk ($0.30)
- 6 oz. medium cheddar, shredded (about 1.5 cups) ($2.25)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp chili powder ($0.02)
Instructions
- Add the butter and flour to a small sauce pot. Heat and whisk the butter and flour together until they become bubbly and foamy. Continue to cook and whisk the bubbly mixture for about 60 seconds.
- Whisk the milk into the flour and butter mixture. Turn the heat up slightly and allow the milk to come to a simmer while whisking. When it reaches a simmer, the mixture will thicken. Once it’s thick enough to coat a spoon, turn off the heat.
- Stir in the shredded cheddar, one handful at a time, until melted into the sauce. If needed, place the pot over a low flame to help the cheese melt. Do not overheat the cheese sauce.
- Once all the cheese is melted into the sauce, stir in the salt and chili powder. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. If the sauce becomes too thick, simply whisk in an additional splash of milk.
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Nutrition
Video
How to Make Nacho Cheese – Step by Step Photos
Start by placing 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp flour in a small saucepot.
Heat the flour and butter over medium flame and whisk together until they become bubbly and foamy. Continue whisking for about 60 seconds. This mixture is called a “roux” and is what will thicken your sauce. Letting the roux cook for about 60 seconds slightly toasts the flour and gets rid of that raw floury flavor, but you want it to stay “blonde”, so if it begins to brown, remove it from the heat.
Whisk in one cup of whole milk. Turn the heat up slightly and let it come to a simmer (whisking frequently). Because the small volume, it should come to a simmer very quickly (about a minute).
When it reaches a simmer, the milk will thicken. When it’s thick enough to coat a spoon like in the photo, turn off the heat.
Whisk in 6oz. (or about 1.5 cups) shredded medium cheddar, one hand full at a time, until it is melted into the sauce. If needed, put the pot back over a low flame to help it melt, but the residual heat should do most of the work.
Finally, season the nacho cheese sauce with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp chili powder.
Taste the nacho cheese sauce and adjust the seasonings if needed. And that’s it! Now you have a real ingredient, really delicious, homemade nacho cheese dip.
This post either just ruined your life or made your day. Or maybe both.
The best and easiest nacho cheese recipe I’ve ever tried! So tasty! I used 2% lactose free milk and added garlic powder, a little mild aleppo pepper, and salt to it. I used Monterey Jack, pepper jack, and a tiny bit of cream cheese since that’s all I had. Perfect and now my go to recipe! Thanks!
Beth, what I could add to make the meal heartier? Lentils ? Other veggies?
This is really just an appetizer or dip, so I don’t think you could really add anything to it. Perhaps you could use vegetable sticks as the dippers instead of chips?
Hi there! Any experience on how this stores to reheat and about how long? Thanks!
I had success with reheating it in my microwave (30 seconds at a time, stirring between, until hot). It will probably last about 3-4 days.
Can u substitute velveeta for the cheddar cheese
That will change the recipe quite a bit. Velveeta already has ingredients that emulsify it into liquid, so you won’t need to do the butter and flour. You can basically just melt the Velveeta and be done. :P
Beth, I crave spicy so I am thinking some jalapeno might be good in this. Do you have a recommendation on fresh vs pickled jalapeno? Thanks in advance.
I would use fresh because sometimes the acid in the brine of pickled jalapeños can cause the cheese sauce to curdle. Or, you can just add your pickled jalapeños to the top of your nachos instead of stirring them into the sauce. They aren’t likely to curdle the sauce that way. :)
So easy and good! Whipped it up right when I saw your FB post! Didn’t have whole milk so I used 2% with a dash of half n half, and consistency was nice and thick. Next time I will use better cheese(mild store brand a bit flat) but I added a dash of garlic powder to bring out more flavor. Yum
I only have half-and-half. Can I just substitute it for the whole milk?
That will make the sauce extremely thick. You may need more half and half than the amount of milk I used to get the proper texture.
I made this two weeks ago for my kids watching a film .
They loved it so much they paused the TV and started talking about how good this dip is.
Trust me it takes a lot to stop my kids in there tracks.
Can i use 1 percent milk?
I wouldn’t suggest it. The end result will not be very creamy.
I use 2% milk .. it turn out extremely good …
Nice recipe. I enjoyed this. I added extra ingredients and we had it as a meal today. Thank you!
Although it didnt come out the same color. It was still delicious.
Seriously so amazing and easy! I do a charity event party every year for Christmas and I made this for 75 people. It was affordable and easy. I had so many people all for any leftovers and the recipe. Thank you
If you were to mix ground beef in there, how would you do it?
You can either brown the beef in a pot and then add the butter and flour to the browned beef and go from there, or brown the beef separately and stir it into the sauce at the end.
if you’re thinking about making it with lactose-free milk, don’t. it’s 1:30 am and i just made a massive pot of decently awful cheese and my bad day just got a lot worse. (rating it good still because i trust you)
Grayson. What happened with the Lactose Free milk? What was awful about if?
I just made it with 2% lactose free milk and it was excellent!!
THIS IS AMAZING! YOU’RE AWESOME!
How in the world do you make a roux out of butter and flower? All they do for me is clump together.
If that happens add more butter but mine always lumps together. When you add the milk and wisk it will be smooth.
If still clumpy after adding the milk, try using an immersion blender it works amazing