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.
Awesome fully enjoyed 1/4 salt a little much, but still great
This tasted like glue
Followed the recipe exactly (with freshly ground whole wheat flour) – I think I even used sharp cheddar – and it turned out PERFECTLY!
This will be my go-to for nachos now. Thank you for sharing! 👍🏽😘
This is a good recipe for a newbie (i.e. me) who has never made a cheese sauce before. I accidentally used mild cheddar and found the sauce very bland. I will try it again using some suggestions from the comments (more salt, chili pepper, add cumin, and add garlic powder.) My kids and hubby did love it in the nachos I made. Adding the seasoned ground beef, salty tortilla chips and refried beans helped with the (lack of) flavor of the sauce. I will try it again with all the suggested modifications.
I wish I had omitted the flour and simply heated the milk and added my freshly grated cheese. I followed the directions but it still came out grainy. I’m not really even sure what the point of the flour is… if you used plenty of cheese and less milk it would still be thick without the chance of it being grainy. Why take that chance… also had to add a lot more spices to get it to taste nacho-y.
It’s the base for most sauces flour and butter. Without it you would end up with a hot cheese drink!
Without flour there is no roux. Without a roux there is no sauce. Don’t omit the flour.
If it came out grainy, you 1. Didn’t cook the flour long enough, 2. Added the cheese with the roux way too hot, or 3. Used pre-shredded cheese in the bag, which contains preservatives & anti-caking agents.
Try again, you’ll get it right.
I’m pretty terrible at cooking, but I made something decent (though quite thick), thanks for the recipe I’m gonna keep attempting to perfect my methods because it seems solid enough for me to learn off.
This was a great recipe base for a cheese with beef dip I made. Super simple instructions and the roux came out perfect with a nice consistency. The dip was a HUGE hit
A great base recipe, but as some mentioned — thoroughly tasteless.
I made the recipe verbatim, then added:
4 Tbsp chopped pickled jalapenos
2 Tbsp full jalapeno slices
1 Tbsp juice from the pickled jalapeno jar
Additional 1/4 tsp salt
Additional 1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp smokey paprika
As a result, it was AWESOME. We used it with soft pretzels, and later Juanitas chips. YUM.
My dip separated on cooling down a bit… Don’t know what went wrong, followed the recipe exactly
Perfect success here!!! We dipped homemade pretzels in and it was awesome! Toddler likes it too. I used WW flour.
Making a roux and then added cheese without it seizing is difficult. But it’s not the recipes fault, it’s just a skill some people need more practice at!
Not really sure how the consistency in the video was achieved. When I made this recipe I felt there was a lot of flavor lacking and had to add more salt and cheese for it to not taste just like mac n cheese base sauce/faux béchamel…. After doctoring it with more spices and cheese it tasted better. 3 stars for sending me in the general right direction.
Followed the recipe twice , wasted the rest of the cheeses I had left and it tasted grainy both times . Added salt and some Cajun powder, still didn’t taste good. Sad that I used the rest of my cheeses just to throw the sauce in the trash 🥲. I made the roux correctly added the right amount of milk, did everything correctly even added extra cheese to maybe get some flavor , nothing worked to make it taste good.
Make sure to grate your own cheese, pre-shredded has an additive to prevent it from sticking together which is what creates that grainy texture
First time I’ve successfully made a smooth homemade nacho cheese! Thanks for the tips and recipe. My kids devoured it!
Shredded cheese? By this I assume you mean grated? Great recipe but I’m curious how you can use a grater and refer to what comes out as shredded. I literally had to Google this to understand exactly what you meant. Anyway, I’m gonna try his, it looks awesome thank you. xx
Google shredded cheese and literally bags of grated cheese show up…. It’s the same thing
No, they mean shredded. Grated cheese is a much different consistency, almost a powdered form. Grating is typically done on harder cheeses and most certainly is not the type of cheese you want to use for a roux.
Actually “grated” refers to the kitchen utensil called a Grater. There are usually 2 to four size/result choices. Shredded is usually the larger openings. Grated is the finer or smaller openings. So no, it’s not the same thing, however people tend to use the terms grated and shredded interchangeably. The recipe calls for freshly shredded to avoid grainy textures from anti-caking additives added to pre packaged shredded cheeses. 🤔
Lol what.
Use a kitchen utensil called a grater, grate the cheese, now you have great cheese. How simple are you ERIC to not understand? It can also be called shredded because you, using the grater to shred the cheese. I’m so stupid and dumb, but I could still understand the meaning of grated or shredded cheese. No need for dumb comments. Like mine.
this recipe is so bad! I made the roux with the flour and butter as recipe stated, made sure it was bubbly and cooked, added the milk and then cheese and chile powder as directed. It was flavorless and still grainy tasting, even with a little salt and pepper…does not taste like a cheese dip. I freezed it for maybe a cheese sauce, but will probably just throw it out…ugh! By the way, I’m no novice in the kitchen, a home economic’s major, and have been cooking and baking for years….didn’t really think this recipe was great, but decided to try it anyway, please don’t waste your time.
Jean. Since you are telling people to not waste their time on this recipe, because you failed at creating it, I’m gonna waste some time on your reply.
Beth, the person who posted this recipe doesn’t know your taste buds. As someone who is “No novice at cooking” and a “Home economics major”….you should know full well that most recipes on the internet are able to be tweaked to your own tastes. From the reviews it appears most people enjoyed this recipe and cooked it successfully….. some adding tweaks. Just because you failed, it is no reason to tell others not to waste their time. You would think a “Home economics ‘Major'” would know how to make a cheese sauce without having to look it up….Do better and be well Jean.