Nacho Cheese Sauce
Sure, you could just pop the top on a jar of store-bought nacho cheese sauce, but what's the fun in that? Even more importantly, what control does that give you? Not much: You can't choose what kinds of cheese go into the sauce, nor how spicy it is, and whether you add pickled jalapeños or not. But with this dead-easy homemade nacho cheese sauce, you can make those decisions, and end up with a silky, gooey, perfect nacho cheese sauce of your own design. Whenever you want.
Servings: 1.5 cups
Ingredients
- 8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese or a mix of cheddar and pepper Jack; see notes, grated on large holes of a box grater
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk divided
- 2 teaspoons Franks Red Hot or other hot sauce
Instructions
- Toss the cheese and cornstarch together in a large bowl. Transfer to medium saucepan.
- Add 1 cup of evaporated milk and the hot sauce.
- Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk until melted, bubbly, and thickened, about 5 minutes. The mixture will look thin and grainy at first but will thicken and come together after heating.
- Thin to the desired consistency with additional evaporated milk.
- Serve immediately with fries, tortilla chips, burgers, or hot dogs.
Notes
- This cheese sauce is gooey and tangy. For a spicier version, substitute half the cheddar cheese with pepper Jack and add 2-3 minced pickled jalapeños, or to taste.
- To reheat the sauce, microwave it on high heat, stopping and stirring every 30 seconds, until it's fully melted.