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.
I hate this recipe. First of all combining butter and flour just makes little clumps. Second of all the sauce ended up clumpy and didn’t even have a hint of a good taste. I did everything exactly like the video. F#$& this recipe. ruined my whole night.
you probably lack some basic cooking skills Jos, keep practicing your roux!
Like Gordon stated, that is a basic roux….
You might have been making it in too big of a pot! You need to be constantly mixing a roux, but if the heat is too low and the pot is too big, it’ll be difficult.
The (about 1.5 cups) for cheddar cheese does not change when you increase servings.
Thanks, I’ll fix that! :)
This was really good! It was a little goopy, but so good!
Great recipe, i’ve started using corn starch instead of flour because i like thick sauce, and a bit more butter than called for helps it cook in without burning the butter. I also use the same method for making cheese sauce for mac and cheese now (just throw in a little more cheese at the end, and cut the chili powder)
We doubled the cheese and will still add more next time! Added a splash of salsa instead of the chili powder as we were enjoying a tex mex bowl, it was great! Total winner, just a few adjustments for our taste
can you use heavy cream instead of milk?
That will change the consistency quite a bit! I’d need to play around with it to find out how the measurements would need to be adjusted.
Yes, I used 3/4 heavy whipping cream and 1/4 of water
If you double the cheese it acc tastes better
I def added more cheese. I also used mild cheddar and sharp white cheddar 🤤🔥
How long does it stay in the fridge? For how long is it still good to eat? :)
You definitely want to eat this one right when you make it. It doesn’t hold up as well to reheating.
I loved it! I have a large family, so it will be gone in a second!
Awesome! Thank you for this
Didn’t work, the cheese sauce was extremely thin, not trying again.
Same here bro but the flour stayed even though I did it like the pictures and like the directions told me to.
If you add a tablespoon of sodium citrate right after the cheese is melted and stir through, the cheese sauce will NOT break ever. Learned this one by studying how Kraft figured that out when he was making cheese sauce to sell mac and cheese in a box. It will free you to experiment with all kinds of cheese sauces that you can make with regular milk or creamier versions with half and half or heavy whipping cream
And cheese with citric nitrate is, basically, what is commonly referred to as American cheese.
Adding citric nitrate is a neat trick for making “unbreakable” melted cheese,
but starting off with a roux is easier (flour and milk being available almost everywhere)
and works well enough if you don’t need the melted cheese/cheese sauce to keep.
A chef’s tip that I recently read about that keeps scrambled eggs from becoming watery
is adding a bit of béchamel to the finished scramble. My daughter has scoffed at me
for starting with a small roux when making scrambled eggs as my grandmother did.
The chef’s tip makes me feel that grandma is vindicated.
Quick and easy!
Have made this a few tines now with this recipe and has turned out fantastic everytime. So much so I made it last night in about 4 minutes without needing the recipe on here 😁 slight twist too it but I add half the amount if chili powder and add smoked paprika, takes it to another level.
Great recipe, mine turned out fantastically and I imagine I’ll be making extensive use of this one in the future! If you’re on the fence about this recipe: trust me, you can disregard the person who said theirs turned out like glue because they undoubtedly made a miscalculation somewhere. This recipe is easy as can be and turns out excellently.
Did not work for us. Followed the directions. Turned out like drying glue. Could not eat. Don’t know what we did wrong but will never make again.
Hi, just made this it’s, easy and great tasting. Added more milk to get it to the consistency I wanted plus diced pickled jalapeno slices and about a tablespoon of jalapeno pickle juice. Excellent, thank-you, happy Cinco from the great white north.