One more fake food comes off my list of guilty pleasures.
I’m a sucker for nachos with cheese sauce. I’ve had the “cheese” sauce in jars and in cans. Have you ever read the ingredients in those things? Some of them don’t list a single dairy ingredient. That’s so nasty. But they taste so gooood.
I finally went looking for recipes to make nacho cheese sauce from real food. And maybe some actual cheese. (I know … crazy, huh?) So did it work? Well, like I said, one more fake food I won’t be needing any more.
Ingredients
1-1/2 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 ounce cream cheese, cubed
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/8 cup Monterey Jack, shredded
1/2 tablespoon hot sauce (to start, see below)
1 tablespoon paprika
Directions
Some recipes work well when you prep one ingredient, put it in the pot, then prep the next. Some work better when you do a mise en place, where you prep everything and set it out before you start cooking. This recipe is definitely one where you should do a mise.
Shred the cheddar and the Monterey Jack. I couldn’t find any Monterey Jack at my grocery store, so I ended up with Colby-Jack.
I forgot how soft Jack cheeses get when they warm up. Like if you leave it out, say … long enough to stage and take a couple photos, then shred some cheddar, melt some butter and cream cheese … yes, what I did. Don’t do that. Keep the cheeses in the fridge until you’re ready to shred them. In fact, 15 minutes in the freezer first wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom sauce pan. Thin pans get hot spots, and it’s too easy to burn cheese.
Stir in the corn starch.
Add the milk. The recipe I was working from called for regular milk, but I had some evaporated left from the corn casserole. I doubt I could tell the difference, and wanted to use up what I had before it went bad.
Chop the cream cheese into small cubes so it will melt faster, and stir into the butter and milk until it’s melted and smooth.
Add the cheddar and stir until it is well melted.
Add the Jack and stir again.
Add the paprika.
The original recipe called for paprika and chili powder, but I had just used the last of my chili powder making the perfect chili. Considering how much the flavor of different chili powders and different kinds of paprika can vary, I don’t think this is an exact science anyway.
Same goes for the hot sauce. You could use anything from a straight habanero or cayenne sauce — Red Devil or Tabasco — to a mild tomato-based sauce. Start with a half tablespoon and see if you can taste it. Keep adding until it’s as hot as you like.
Stir well and serve hot. Unlike the fake cheese sauces, this one sets up again when it gets cold.
And that’s it.
Come back tomorrow to see what I served this with. And no, it’s not just nachos. Sign up using the form to the right to get it as soon as it comes out.
41 Comments
I was craving nachos tonight, but somehow I just knew in my bones that you’d be coming up with a good recipe for nachos/nacho cheese soon, so I (ta-da) resisted going to the drive-thru for plastic food tonight!
It’s almost scary, isn’t it? I’ll be trying this sometime this week. My nacho cravings tend to last over several days. And I want to see what magic you work with this! Thanks Drew!
looks absolutely like something I can feed Grumpy with no complaints from him! I have a hard time feeding him real food. He grew up a processed boy. tsk tsk.
That looks yummy. But I’m lazy and always end up just throwing grated cheese and salsa over chips and nuking them for nachos. I bet this tastes better, though.
This upcoming Saturday our Nebraska Huskers will be playing a night game which will (at last) be shown on regular TV (the last three games we had were pay-per-view…). We will be having kids and grandkids over to watch the big game and this will definately be on the menu. We are a family who thinks there can never be too much cheese! Thanks for a new recipe for this favorite!
Trish
Omaha, NE
Trixie, it’s magic.
Honeyb, I’ve been meaning to ask. Does he know you call him Grumpy?
Kristin, I’ve done the grated cheese when I want “real” cheese taste. But there’s something about having a bowl of hot, gooey cheese to dip into.
Trish, I’d like to have enough people over to really scale this one up. I love recipes that are measured in whole numbers: 5 pounds of cheddar cheese, 1 pack of cream cheese, 1 bottle of Tobasco, etc.
I’m a total sucker for nachos, this looks awesome.
Can you reheat this after it has set? And if so, what would be the best way? This looks soooo good!
Hanna, microwave worked just fine for re-heating.
I can’t begin to tell you how excited I was to read this – and even more so, to realize I have every ingredient listed, so I don’t even have to go to the store! I can always eat nachos, especially during football season. Can’t wait to see how you served them!
Definitely looks like something worth trying. Thanks for the great recipe.
OMG i made this b/c I was craving mac and cheese and had none in the house. It was AMAZING. I didn’t use the hot stuff, but put in a little spice and some salt and pepper. It was just the right consistency, and was delicious. Just remember to keep stirring! It keeps it smooth and keeps it from burning.
I see that I’m really going to have to do my creamy version of mac and cheese.
I want to make a big batch for a party … will this change the recipe any (except for the amounts, obviously.) Also, how will it do in a crock pot for the evening?
Kellie
It will do fine in a crock pot. Just make sure to stir it occasionally so it doesn’t form a skin on top.
Was REALLY good, and very easy to make. I have tried to make nacho cheese sauce several times, and always a flop. This was so easy even I couldn’t mess it up.
Oh don’t sell yourself short. I’m sure you could mess it up if your really applied yourself.
I just made this sauce for mac and cheese, and it was really good. Did you ever do the creamy mac and cheese? I’m thinking that would probably be even better.
I was actually just thinking about the creamy mac and cheese last night. I’ll probably be getting to that in the next couple of weeks.
Wonderful recipe. I used regular milk, “Mexican” blend cheeses, and Sriracha instead of regular hot sauce, and it tastes great!
I’ve heard of Sriracha. How is it different?
Hey I wanted to comment on Sriracha sauce, this hot sauce is really delightful if you get the chance to use it it’s really a sweet garlicky chilli sauce that is just absolutely wonderful. PLEASE TRY IT!!!!
Miyuki from Lincoln, Nebraska
Out of curiosity, what is the approximate volume of the final product? I like to scale down everything for 2-3 people since I usually only cook for two people, if that. The recipe looks great though; I had to do a fair amount of research to find one that looks wholesome.
R, this should be perfect for you then. This is less than what I would normally get in a 16-ounce can. There was enough for two large helpings of nachos, with no leftovers.
I accidentaly added Paprika instead of corn starch…. it tasted fine, the pot was screwed.
You mean it actually ruined the pot? Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever done that.
Needed a good cheese sauce for a demo to go along with some organic nachos. The ingredents list look looked like it tasted, yummy!!!
It was a win win situation, I enjoyed making and the staff along with the customers enjoyed.
1000 Thanks
Anon, so you used this in a restaurant? I’d love to know where.
Hi Drew, Mi name is Karla
I want to thank u for this recipe, is great, so yummi!!!
Regards from Mexico!!
Someone from Mexico liking my nacho cheese sauce recipe? Thank you, Karla!
this recipe sounds really good! im making it for my family! 1.i was wondering do you need all the ingredients????????? 2.do you need milk!????????? 3.Which ingredients are most important??????????? thanks for answering my three questions!!!!!
musicalsara, you can use regular milk instead of evaporated, and you can certainly change up the ingredients. The key is to get the sauce going with the butter, corn starch and milk. That will keep the cheese "saucy". Then use whatever cheese and spices you want. Obviously with different cheeses you'll need different proportions. You can just experiment with it.
thank you drew,its musicalsara!! Another question is some recipes say i need olive oil.. is that true??????? thanks again!!!!
Sara, I'm sure you could use olive oil, but I'd worry about the cheese and the oil separating. I'm not a sauce expert, but once you add oil you're talking emulsion, like a salad dressing, and that technique can be tricky to get right.
hey drew once again it sara(musicalsara) i had to ask something!!! My nacho sause i made was so thick and "stuck together" what i wanted it to be was more "saucy" and "liquid-like"!! you know what i mean like it didnt seem like a sause(such as pudding)it wasnt liquidy and moving like a sause when i poured it on the cchips it was just thick and "put together"! my question is how do i make it more like a sause!!! i used salt,cheese,milk,a pinch of flour,butter(more like margerine,peppers and thats pretty much it!!
sorry drew its sara on my last comment i didnt mean to post "anoynomus" and instead of butter i used margerine if you get this comment read the one above that is my question(read above says anonymus)!!!!
Sara, more milk, less flour. Actually, you could probably get by just reducing the flour.
Milk (or cream) and flour is a basic white sauce, so this is technically a white sauce flavored with cheese, not melted cheese with some milk to thin it out. Even though yes, it's mostly cheese.
i only used a pinch of flour mabye less and about half a cup of milk because i didnt use a lot of cheese(really little)and it still didnt work!!
Um, Drew, I don't have any hot sauce. Will the recipe still work? and if it won't, i happent to have pepper sauce. Will that work?
-Madison
Madison, you can use just about any pepper sauce for this. The proportions are the important thing. And if you use something you already have on hand, you can bet you're going to like it.
I just tried this recipe and it turned out perfect! I have food allergies and can’t eat the artificial stuff. I’ve been wanting a pretzel with nacho cheese sauce (like they have at the mall) for a long time. This recipe is awesome (as I sit here dipping and eating). I used rice milk in place of the evaporated milk, coconut oil in place of butter, 2 tbsp flour in place of the corn starch, and I didn’t have any Monterey Jack so I used mozzarella. Next time I’m going to add a little more kick by adding more hot sauce and using pepper jack. The texture and taste is just perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
Neutrinotao, that’s great. I don’t talk about it much because I don’t have any food allergies, but for people who do it really helps to know what’s in your food, and how to make substitutions.