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.
Very good, quick, easy cheese dip, with real food ingredients! We love nachos & cheese, but store-bought, processed nacho cheese is chuck full of chemical junk! This is great!
I even make it in the microwave! Quick, easy & yummy!
Can I use Gouda instead of cheddar
Gouda should melt pretty well into the sauce.
I can’t wait to try this! I love the idea of not having to buy Velveeta to make an amazing nacho sauce! Add some chiles or salsa – BOOM – queso dip!! I’m really tickled about this, can’t you see?
Holy crap this was the worst thing i have ever tasted ever maybe people arent used to good food but this was horrible i feel bad i even wasted the cheese on this
Exactly the same with me. Ruined a perfectly good bag of cheese, and that stuff isn’t exactly the cheapest thing to be wasting on worthless recipes like this. Absolute trash. I hope to God this gets removed off of the internet permanently.
LOVE THIS
My sisters love it!! One of my sisters has gluten problems and the results with gluten free flour we just as good!
Gritty city yet again. Ugh. I can never get this sauce to come out right. Tastes great- consistency of oatmeal. Fail.
My butter and flour didnt mix right. It nded up with lil balls of butter and flour. Please help
can i make this with coconut milk instead of whole milk?
I’ve never tried to make a cheese sauce with coconut milk, but my guess is that it wouldn’t work very well. :(
This is a good recipe. I used homeade taco seasoning. Added green chilies and salsa.
Good recipe. I used homeade taco seasoning. Added green chilies and salsa.
Awesome recipe. I would change the recipe based on what I did though. Melt butter first, add enough flour to make a thick roux (butter all soaked up). Then I added an ounce of cream cheese until melted in, then add cheese. Added not only chili powder, but garlic powder and cumin to flavor. Yummy and creamy. Make sure flour is incorporated enough or there will be a floury taste.
My cheese dip came out grainy. Is there any way I can fix it ?
Here’s a quick tutorial on ways to fix cheese sauces that have “broken” (that’s what they call it when it starts to get grainy), but you have to do it while the sauce is being made. I’m not sure you can do anything after the fact. :(
What kind of flour is it?, I’m in the UK x
all-purpose flour :)
Yay for the video link on the page that led me to this! Right now we have lots of tortilla chips and I was wanting a dip type cheese, this is the perfect solution. Thank you for your site, ideas and book!