A silky smooth Nachos cheese dip that doesn’t harden or congeal as it cools!! It is just as good served warm, at room temperature or cold. When warm, it can be used as a cheese sauce to pour over nachos, chips or whatever else takes your fancy. It takes just over 5 minutes to make and is great to make ahead as it reheats well.
Use this to make a Ripper Beef Nachos!
“This Nachos Cheese Dip was an invention out of necessity. Because I love cheesy dips, and I wanted one that did not harden or congeal as it cooled.”
I am yet to meet a cheese I don’t love. Plus I have a weakness for all things snacky. If there’s something to nibble on within reach, it’s like my arm is on auto pilot.
Therefore, this Nachos Cheese Dip is pretty much all my weaknesses bundled into one bowl. Place this with a pile of corn chips in front of me and I stand no chance.
I know there are loads of cheese dip recipes “out there”. And I tried quite a few of them (the ones without processed cheese), but the thing that I found inconvenient was that as the dip cooled, the cheese in the dip would harden. And when the dip was reheated, the dip would split (the oil would separate).
Being a Cheese Loving Snack Monster, I went on a mission to create a warm cheese dip/ sauce that would not harden as it cooled and was not made out of processed cheese. I was actually quite amazed that every recipe I looked at had a fairly similar base to the ones I had already tried, so I knew they would not achieve what I was after. Mind you, this was about 5 or so years ago. So maybe the internet is flooded with non-congealing warm cheese dips now!
“The secret ingredient in this is evaporated milk. That’s how this stays creamy – warm or cold.”
This dip is made with evaporated milk which makes all the difference. I was making an Alfredo Sauce using evaporated milk when the thought occurred to me that it might work for a dip too. Bit of corn starch / corn flour to thicken it, plenty of cheese (it is a Cheese dip!) and some additional flavourings to make it a nachos cheese dip.
So cutting to the chase, here are 7 reasons why I am obsessed with this Nachos Cheese Dip / Sauce:
1. It is ridiculously easy (5 ingredients, < 10 minutes);
2. Perfectly smooth;
3. Easily adjustable to your own taste. Increase, decrease or remove the spice factor, add your own flavourings;
4. Doesn’t use processed “plastic” cheese;
5. Can be made ahead. It keeps perfectly in the fridge for at least a week (it has never lasted longer in my house);
6. Reheats without splitting; and
7. Is a 2 in 1 recipe – a dip and a sauce. When warm, it is quite loose, like a thick sauce. It is pourable over nachos, chips or whatever else takes your fancy. (UPDATE: I just got a great tip from a reader to use this over tots! Never thought of that – that’s a step up from fries!!) When it is cool, it thickens up to a thick dip consistency. And when it is refrigerated, it is a spreadable consistency, like peanut butter. It can also be thinned out simply by adding a bit of milk (ordinary or evaporated).
Now please excuse me, I need to go and blow my my calorie budget for the entire week. Happy snacking! – Nagi x
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Nachos Cheese Dip & Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups / 225g / 8oz shredded cheese (Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby, etc), shred your own (Important – read Note 1)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch (corn flour)
- 1 can evaporated milk (375g / 12oz)
- 2 tbsp finely chopped jalapeño peppers (fresh or canned)
- 1 tbsp hot sauce (or adjust to your taste)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder (optional – adds extra flavour)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional – adds extra flavour)
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Toss the cheese and cornstarch together in a saucepan.
- Add all other ingredients, cook over medium heat, whisking often until the cheese is melted and smooth.
- Adjust to your taste if required – with extra hot sauce and salt.
- While hot, it will have a sauce like consistency – perfect for pouring over nachos.
- As it cools, it will thicken and become a dip-like consistency. Whisk occasionally to mix in the skin that forms on the top.
- Stir in additional evaporated (or even normal) milk to achieve the desired consistency if you want to use it as a pourable sauce. Note that when you reheat it, it loosens up.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
PS Watch how easy to this to make in my Nachos Cheese Dip / Sauce VIDEO!
I made this last night for the first time I normally make your queso. Honestly, I prefer this one and it’s easier, what a find! Thank you.
I have always done a taco mac ‘n cheese (a favourite at our house!) using shredded cheese and pre-made salsa as a base. I made it for the first time using this cheese sauce as a base instead, and wowee! What a winner!
Another Winner Nagi! Thank you! I made the Ripper Nachos, with this amazing queso, your Jalapeno Poppers and Mexican Street corn. Super Bowl here we come!
So simple but game changer for the nachos.
This is delicious! I’m going to freeze it in three portions, so fingers crossed it does hold up. I wanted a classic tasting cheese sauce to dip gougeres in, so I omitted the jalapeño and hot sauce, and used Dijon and extra garlic instead. My only tips would be to leave salting the sauce until the very end (turned out mine didn’t need any at all and I love salt) and make sure you keep the sauce on the heat long enough to cook out the cornflour.
Thank you for the recipe! I’m goin’ in! Using sweetened, condensed coconut milk as I don’t have regular, condensed milk on hand 😉
I wonder how that turned out. Evaporated and condensed are not interchangeable, and as for coconut….I can’t see it working.
It’s evaporated milk, not
Condensed milk!
Yum Yum Yum!!
The first time I made this it was a little bland for me.
This time I slightly upped the seasonings.
Perfect.
Not so for the chili averse husband.
Oh well. More for me!
Reheats and freezes brilliantly.
This was a great recipe! I was looking for a cheddar cheese sauce to dip soft pretzels in. I doubled the recipe, used a sharp yellow cheddar, and omitted the chile, tomato, hot sauce and jalapeño. As soon as the sauce was melted and smooth I poured it into a mini crock pot and had it on warm for about 4 hours. It did get a little film if it went untouched for longer periods of time but it stirred back in smoothly. I got no separation by using this evaporated milk method. Thank you for this recipe!
Wow! I miss queso sooooo much, but not anymore. Thank you!
This is a fabulous dupe! I stopped eating the jarred queso a long time ago and admittedly I miss it a lot. This is such a perfect homemade option! The whole pan disappeared in the blink of an eye at a family nacho night 😂 I was a little nervous about putting fresh jalapeños in, so I sautéed them for just a couple of minutes. I used both the garlic and onion powder, and it is worth the extra two moments to add those in.
I don’t know how to rate this. I made the one in your recipe book ‘Dinner’ and it was just so wrong. After many tries and adjustments I just removed the cream completely from the recipe and it finally worked OK. This recipe has no cream but different cheese combination. And no added salt needed. Sorry Nagi. I like most your recipes. But I had to say something.
This has been my go to cheese sauce recipe for years! love it,
Ummmm Yummmm this is addictively good. On nachos, as a dip, as a sauce, eaten with a spoon lol.
The fact that it freezes is also a bonus (not that there’s ever any left over)
I made this sauce last night to have with your Crunchy Seasoned Baked Potato Wedges. What a hit!!! The sauce was so smooth and so more-ish, perfect with the wedges 😋😋😋 Thanks Nagi xx
This dip is amazing. I used fresh jalapeno pepper, half the salt, and also added smoked paprika!
Hi Nagi, if making your nachos cheese sauce and I don’t have on hand hot sauce and jalapeno , what could I sub with please. Love your recipes and tell everyone about your website. TIA. Sandra
I wanted to leave a comment for the Nachos of Your Dreams but couldn’t as it a cook book only recipe. This cheese sauce is soooo easy but is absolutely amazing!!! My only dilemma is now my husband will be expecting this standard every time we have nachos. Thank alot Nagi!! 😀
This is utterly delicious. I used 1/2 tasty, 1/2 Colby.
I’ve been looking for a cheese dip recipe for years. I’m going to add sweetcorn next time cos I can imagine that’s a perfect fit and I just LOVE corn.
Thanks Nagi.
This cheese sauce is outstanding. It is better than any recipe I’ve tried and even anything I’ve had in restaurants. I sometimes use it to make a Chorizo Queso dip. I am regularly harassed to make this for friends and family. I make a quadruple batch and store it in vacuum sealed Mason jars. Thank you so much!
Can I ask a dumb question? Why is evaporated milk necessary? My boy is lactose intolerant so was hoping to be able to use some substitute. Any suggestions?
I love using evaporated coconut milk, found it at Amazon. Have you tried that?
The evaporated milk keeps the dip from separating as it is cooled. The article clearly explains the necessity of it.