10 Minute Nacho Cheese
Super easy and completely made from scratch (no Velveeta)! It’s cheesy, sharp, smoky, unbelievably velvety and just SO GOOD!
With Super Bowl 50 coming up in 2.5 weeks, there is no time to waste. The invite list should be written up and the game day menu should be set, tested and ready to go.
But before you set everything in motion, you need to add this nacho cheese to your arsenal.
Don’t worry. It’ll just add 10 minutes of your time. No biggie. And maybe 2 different types of Wisconsin Cheeses to your tummies.
But hey – every party needs to have a piping hot skillet of velvety nacho cheese. It’d be a crime to leave that out!
10 Minute Nacho Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup half and half*
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 4-ounce can diced jalapenos
- 2 cups shredded Wisconsin cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded Wisconsin colby cheese
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk, and cook, whisking constantly, until incorporated, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in half and half, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
- Stir in jalapeños and cheeses until melted, about 1-2 minutes. If the mixture is too thick, add more milk as needed; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Wisconsin Cheese. All opinions expressed are my own.
This was a great recipe! I didn’t have half and half or heavy cream so I just used more milk. Also sadly didn’t have jalapenos so I used jalapeno powder and then mixed in some of our favorite hot sauce after it was all cooked. It was so yummy! We also cooked some up some ground beef (only seasoned with garlic, onion, salt, and pepper) and added some in as well. Perfection!
This cheese sauce was so yummy! I used white cheddar cheese and fontina, I also used 2 seeded finely chopped fresh jalepenos because that’s what I had. This will definitely be my go to for nachos.
I made homemade nachos for dinner tonight and did not want to use a plastic cheese sauce. Damn delicious has so many recipes that I love, was so happy to see this here. It was amazing and made a lot! I could not find Colby cheese so I use Monterey Jack, it came out perfect. Added some more milk to get the consistency that we wanted, this was so perfect for our nachos. Loved the heat from jalapeños after each bite! Really fantastic will make again anytime we want nachos
Made this for my husband. It was super easy and so velvety smooth! Will make this again and again… Thank you!
Easy and delicious!
I didn’t add the jalapenos. Used smoked paprika. Kids and adults loved it.
I followed the recipe exactly as written and it turned out all grainy. Very disappointing.
use a whisk and go to town when making the rue and when you add the cheese, just like shown in the pictures she posted.
When making cheese sauces, over cooking the cheese makes it grainy. Once you add the cheese, do not hear any longer than 1 or 2 minutes, or better yet, turn off the heat before you add the cheese, and just let the heat of the white sauce melt it.
Can this be kept warm in a crock pot?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Will this refrigerate and keep for a couple days?
As I am not an expert on food safety, I cannot really say with certainty – sorry, J! Methods for optimal food storage and shelf life should be based on good judgment and what you are personally comfortable with.
After we made the sauce, we blended it with our immersion blender, which really made the sauce a lot smoother and less grainy, more like the classic queso dip with velveeta-but without all the nasty additives!
Hi. Do I need to use cheese or can it be substituted with water?
I recommend using cheese.
Can I make this as you said and put it in a small dip crockpot to keep on warm for a party?
Unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
Worked well for us.
I added 3Ttbl. Of cream cheese. And a dash of celontro. It was very good!!!! I also didn’t use all those cheeses. Just sharp cheddar.
hey i do not have access to the cheeses at the moment is it ok to use other cheeses
It really depends – what type of cheeses do you have on hand?
Hi. Made this for the superbowl and it is AWESOME! So easy and so delicious. I did not have any heavy cream so I just used a full cup of milk and still turned out amazing. I have made several of you recipes and my family loves them! Thank you so much!!!
I made this dip and it was great the first time. The second time it got all grainy. What did I do wrong and how can I save it?
Unfortunately, it is very difficult for me to say what went wrong here – did you follow the recipe exactly as written without any substitutions the second time around?
Omg i love this dip! Nacho’s is one of my favorite drinking snacks
I can’t wait to try this because my husband’s favorite thing is nachos, and the velvety texture looks amazing!
After you serve it hot and while it sits and cools on the table, what form will the cheese be? Will it harden as it cools?
Yes, it will harden as it cools.
Thank you for the great recipe! Will be making it this weekend for the playoff games. I am probably prejudice, being from Wisconsin, but glad to know you enjoy our cheese!
The photo shows something red (tomatoes or peppers?)but I do not see anything red in the ingredient list. Clarify?
This is garnished with tomatoes, avocado and cilantro.