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.
Not a fan of nacho cheese but this is amazing. So good in raw broccoli and chips. Definitely a keeper.
Can this be refrigerated or frozen?
Flour-thickened sauces generally don’t freeze well, and if you refrigerate this you just have to be careful not to overheat it later when reheating, or else it can separate. I have another type of cheese sauce that doesn’t use flour and it refrigerates and reheats VERY well. You can see it in this recipe for Spicy Roasted Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce. It’s super simple and very stable compared to the flour thickened version.
Not what I was looking for. I was expecting traditional nacho cheese like you get at the movies, this has a distinct cheddar-y taste.
Agreed I was thinking more nacho cheese taste. Tasted like cheddar cheese😣
Great recipe!! Perfect first try! Delicious, quick, and easy!
love that conversion calculator I had half a gallon of milk i wanted to use up quick , made it easy with the ready changes thanks never seen that for recipes before!
Hi! I tried it twice and both times you could really taste the flour in the dip. Any way to get rid of that? Thanks!
If you stir and cook the butter and flour a little longer it should slightly toast the flour and get rid of that raw floury flavor.
I love you. Gonna go make this right now.
What kind of flour is used? Plain flour, cake flour, self raising flour?
All-purpose flour.
My sauce turned out thick. I added to noodles with more milk and it made a bomb Mac n cheese!
My 12 y/o son and his best friend made this a few months ago for an after school snack. They made it again tonight for the rest of the family. It’s delicious! Thanks for a simple, yummy recipe!
I made this today, I added taco seasoning because I didnt have chili powder, and add some taco sauce to flavor it more… was so easy and quick to make!! I will make this again!!
Making this sauce today and wondering if it can be made in advance…and held in a warmer? (Crock-Pot on Low)
I’m not sure how this sauce will hold up to prolonged heat. I’ve had success with reheating leftovers in the microwave (stirring often), but I’m not sure how the constant heat of a slow cooker would affect it.
I changed this slightly to make it safe for me (I have allergies, celiac disease, and a mast cell disorder): changed from regular white flour to sweet rice flour, from cheddar to mild colby jack, and eliminated the chile pepper.
Oh my gosh, SO GOOD! Silky smooth and delectable!
And it really only took 5 minutes!
Thank you so much <3
Thanks. I’ll never buy processed cheese again.
I’m sure the recipe is great when made properly. I used a fiesta blend cheese and it still came out grainy. Maybe too much cheese? Not sure but I did follow all directions.
If you used a pre-shredded cheese, that’s probably the reason for the graininess. Those bags of cheese contain an anti-caking agent so it doesn’t clump together. So they never melt quite as smoothly as cheese you shred at home.
I only use pre-shredded, and my cheese sauces don’t go grainy, even the think mac and cheese sauces. When you try to melt the cheese too fast over too high heat, the curds separate from fat and it goes grainy. You really must have low heat and just stir stir stir. It won’t look like it’s melting. It is. It’s slow, even for five minutes. I do this with sharp cheese even, which is supposed to be harder to melt. I’ve added double the amount of called for cheese when I wasn’t saving leftovers, chilled/reheated texture didn’t matter, I wanted something really cheesy, and the immediate texture was still great. You just need to be patient. The roux makes things trickier because you have to heat it higher initially to thicken, and then you have to bring it back down for the cheese. You’re better off over-cooling it and then putting it on a low burner than you are rushing things. Also a pinch of ground mustard enhances the cheesy flavor, try it out. I also subbed evap milk for milk (less water, smoother melt), added diced canned serranos, and topped it with sliced green onions. This is a great base recipe though.