Our homemade Quick Nacho Cheese Sauce recipe is one of the best creamy cheese sauces you can make with simple ingredients, a bit of milk, and tons of flavor.
This will be similar to the cheese sauce from the movie theaters. There are so many things you can use this dipping sauce for!
Serve this easy appetizer recipe for any game day plans you have coming up or for a great snack to serve for your next movie night.
Ingredients:
- Butter: For the best results, use unsalted butter
- Thickener: Use all-purpose flour to thicken and stabilize this warm cheese dip
- Milk: Using whole milk will work great for making creamy nacho cheese sauce
- Cheese: We like to use a combination of freshly shredded sharp cheddar and Pepper Jack cheese
- Seasoning: Add both kosher salt and chili powder or hot sauce to your liking to make the best nacho cheese dip
How To Make Nacho Cheese Sauce:
Prepare the cheese:
- Grate your cheese: I always use cheese in a block. Grate your cheese using a grater. Set the cheese aside.
Make the base:
- Melt the butter: Add the butter to a medium saucepan. Melt the butter over medium heat, then stir in the flour.
- Cook the flour for 1 minute, stirring.
- Add the milk; gradually and carefully add the milk into the saucepot with the flour. Whisk well while adding the milk. Cook the mixture, stirring, until it coats the back of your spoon.
Add cheese:
- Stir in the cheese: Stir in the cheese, one handful at a time on low heat, until melted. Remove from the heat and add salt and chili powder to taste.
Serve:
- Serve the dip in a bowl, with tortilla chips or veggies on the side.
Recipe Variations:
- Add a little jalapeno juice to turn the heat up to the next level
- After melting the cheese, add in some green chilies or a combination of tomato and chilies
- Add diced jalapeño peppers
What Is The Best Cheese For This Recipe?
You will want to use block cheese for this movie theater nacho cheese sauce.
The pre-shredded cheese you buy in a store contains some extra ingredients, like potato starch, that keep the shreds from clumping in a bag.
This extra addition of the potato starch may affect your cheese dip, making it thicker and stringier. Also, cheese from the block has way better creaminess.
Expert Tips:
- If you find your sauce is too thick, you can fix it by adding some extra milk.
- For recipes like this, make sure you use cheese in a block.
- For some extra flavor, you can add a pinch of garlic powder.
- Serve this with hot dogs, soft pretzels, or keep it simple with chips.
Storage & Reheating Instructions
Fridge: After letting the sauce cool down to room temperature, pour the smooth sauce into an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 7 days.
Reheat: Pour the sauce into a saucepan and reheat it slowly over low heat, or put it in a slow cooker and let it warm up on low.
Nacho Cheese Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons butter (unsalted)
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sharp cheddar
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup Pepper Jack cheese
- Salt, to taste
- Chili powder, to taste or hot sauce
Instructions
Prepare the cheese:
- Grate your cheese: I always use cheese in a block. Grate your cheese using a grater. Set the cheese aside.
Make the base:
- Melt the butter: Add the butter to a saucepan. Melt the butter over medium-high heat, then stir in the flour.
Cook the flour for 1 minute, stirring.
- Add the milk; gradually and carefully add the milk into the saucepot with the flour. Whisk well while adding the milk. Cook the mixture, stirring, until it coats the back of your spoon.
Add cheese:
- Stir in the cheese: Stir in the cheese, one handful at a time, until melted. Remove from the heat and add salt and chili powder to taste.
Serve:
- Serve the dip in a bowl, with tortilla chips or veggies on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
Can I use cornstarch instead of flour to make it gluten free?
The creamiest, easiest sauce I’ve ever made! Ready in 5 minutes, and perfect for chips or hot dogs. A total win!