Nacho Cheese Sauce Recipe
Homemade Nacho Cheese is incredibly easy to make with just a few simple ingredients! In just about 15 minutes with easy to follow steps, you’ll have your own completely customizable cheese dip for your tortilla chips.
Nacho cheese is one of those things that everyone loves but you don’t have to buy a jar because homemade nacho cheese is so much better!
- It’s super easy to make in about 15 minutes.
- The consistency is thick, smooth, and creamy, while the flavor comes from real cheese.
- The list of ingredients on a container of store-bought nacho cheese is full of words that are hard to pronounce or know what it is.
- Homemade nacho cheese only needs butter, milk, block of cheese, flour, salt and pepper. List of ingredients is short, sweet, and to the point!
- You also have the freedom of making in allergy friendly and using cheese you love.
It is important to use a block of cheese to make any kind of cheese sauce and grate it yourself.
Do not use pre-shredded cheeses because they contain separators and other preservatives that will alter the texture and, with some cheeses, change the way it melts.
How to Make Nacho Cheese
- Before you start cooking, make sure you prepare all of your ingredients as needed. This is a fast moving recipe!
- In a small sauce pot over medium heat (to medium-low), melt butter and whisk in the flour until smooth.
- Slowly, pour in the milk, while whisking continuously.
- Continue to whisk the mixture together until it’s smooth, heated through, and starts to thicken. Lower the heat.
- Add the grated cheese one handful at a time, still whisking as you go. Continue this process until all of the cheese has been whisked into the pot. Take off heat as soon as it’s smooth!
Frequently Asked Questions
Making this nacho cheese gluten free is so easy to do! All you have to do is substitute the all purpose flour for gluten free 1:1 all purpose flour.
Note that some people report having a slightly grainier texture when using all-purpose gluten free flour. To me personally, it doesn’t bother me at all, and I make my nacho cheese gluten free most of the time. You can try it and decide if you notice the difference yourself.
Yes! Just note that I’m talking about lactose free, not dairy free! For a good lactose free option, make sure to use lactose free whole milk like Fair Life or Horizon Organic. I don’t recommend recommend Lactaid, because that milk is quite sweet.
As far as butter, you can use plant based unsalted butter. I prefer the Green Valley Creamery brand for butter (as well as sour cream and cream cheese). You can use the plant based butter you like.
When it comes to cheese, most aged cheeses are naturally lactose free! If you look at the nutritional information on the cheese packaging, it will likely state “lactose free” right on the package or will show “0” next to sugar content. So, check the nutritional information of the cheese block you choose if you’re on a lactose free diet.
Nacho cheese and Queso are both names for a very similar concept. Nacho cheese consists of a smooth, melted cheese sauce in its most basic and simple version. Queso is also a melted cheese sauce, but usually has additional spices and veggies. Those veggies often include onions, tomatoes, and jalapeños.
Uses for Nacho Cheese
- You can use it as a dip as is, or mix in some pico de gallo into it.
- Feel free to use it all of your favorite nacho recipes.
- Use it on sandwiches, tacos, burritos, and other wraps.
- You can even top off your beef enchiladas or chicken enchiladas with it – talk about ultimate comfort food!
Storing and Reheating
- You can easily store leftover (or extra) nacho cheese in the refrigerator, in an airtight food storage container. When properly stored, it should stay fresh for about 3-4 days.
- To reheat nacho cheese, do so in a small sauce pot over medium-low heat. If you need to, add a splash of whole milk while whisking. Reheat the cheese just until it’s hot, but don’t let it simmer or boil.
- I do not recommend reheating this in the microwave, because it’s hard to regulate the heat distribution, which leads the cheese sauce to overheat and separate.
Some More Cheesy Dip Recipes
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Nacho Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour*
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk
- 8 oz Colby jack or Monterrey Jack cheese block
- salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare your ingredients ahead of time. Measure everything and grate the cheese.
- In a small sauce pot, over medium heat, melt butter and whisk in flour until smooth.
- Start pouring in milk while whisking continuously. Keep whisking until smooth.
- Lower the heat slightly if needed and continue to slowly whisk and the mixture heats through and starts to thicken.
- Start adding grated cheese one handful at a time, as you continue to slowly whisk.
- Keep whisking as the cheese melts into the smooth sauce. Take off heat once the nacho cheese is smooth.
- Serve as a dip or use as a topping!
Video
Notes
- *Gluten Free: to make this nacho cheese gluten free, All you have to do is substitute the all purpose flour for gluten free 1:1 all purpose flour.
- Cheese Notes: I like to use cheeses that melt nice and smooth like Monterrey Jack, Colby Jack, and even Pepper Jack if we’re craving a little kick of spice! If I want a little sharper flavor, I just mix half sharp cheddar cheese and half Monterrey Jack cheese.
No matter which cheese you choose, make sure to get a block and grate the cheese yourself! Pre-shredded cheese mixes contain separators and preservatives in the coating which will affect the texture and consistency of the cheese sauce.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in February 2022.
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
My kids love this recipe