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!
Outstanding! Used it for a cheese steak roll and it worked beautifully. Keeps really well in the fridge, I just spread it on buns like a thick butter as they heat on the grill and then top it with slow roasted BBQ steak (another of your recipes). Customers went berserk! Works really nicely with ergmont and a smidge of parmesan. Thank you so much, this website has taught me heaps.
Sounds amazing Ev! I think I’m going to have to give that one a go 🤤
Super cheesy and delicious. We dipped carrot celery and crunchy bread in this and it went down a treat. Lots of happy noises were floating around….yum.
Perfect Mandy!
This may be a dumb question… But what is ‘hot sauce’? The recipe looks amazing!
No such thing as dumb questions around here! 🙂 Hot sauce is chilli sauces. Some are labelled as hot sauce. use any chilli sauce you want! N x
Just used this recipe to make tochos… Amaze-balls!!
Also didn’t have evap milk so just used milk powder and only diluted 40% of what i should have. Yummy!
Great idea Corrine!
Hi Nagi, I’ve used this one enough times that I really need to compliment you. I add some ground beef and ground Italian sausage, and then I smoke the sauce for a couple of hours. It makes for a great twist on nacho cheese dip, and so far it has been very popular.
That’s great to hear Bryan!
Nice 0ne, Nagi, nice one! This is going stright on the superbowl menu. Great as a nacho sauce, and leftovers make a great dip. I used a good splosh of Tapatio sauce, so it wasn’t too spicy but tasted great.
This one is PERFECT for Super Bowl!
I like the changes to the web site. Found a recipe I had not seem before and will be sure to make good use of. The only thing I’d suggest improving is better highlighting of which page you are on (1,2,3, or another) on my computer the highlighting is not easy to distinguish and if I want to come back to that page it is not clear to me what page I WAS on. Thank you for many GREAT meals.
Hi Charles, thanks so much for the feedback!
Hi,
So far I have had no problems following your recipes. Super yummy.
But with this one, I do have a small problem :
Followed your recipe (grated my cheese.), looks good, glossy, no lumps, but I do have a strong grainy after taste..
This is my ‘bring a dish the party tomorrow’, so how can I remove the grainy taste???
Merci.
Hi Berny – I haven’t had any feedback from readers with a grainy problem if they grated their own cheese?? The only thing I can suggest is to strain it through a sieve – if the graininess is as strong as you are describing, then they should be large enough to be strained. 🙂 N x
Am not sure why, but the grainy taste disappeared after leaving the dip overnight in the fridge.
Everybody loved it and asked for the recipe!!!
So now, I need to give it 6 Stars 🌟 👍😀
🙌🏻 🙌🏻
Easiest I’ve made yet. Added 1/8 tsp Cumin. Beats canned and jar Cheese. Quick and tasty!
Wow that was DE-LI-CIOUS !!! I used a cheddar/Colby mix and plain flour because I keep forgetting to buy cornstarch, I just cooked it a tad longer. I also used a Cajun spice mix.
I served it with your wedges from the peri-peri chicken burger recipe and we scoffed everything lol double dipping in sauce 😆😋
Thank you very much for that recipe! It’s a keeper !!
Ps: I would give it 6 stars if I could
WHOOT WHOOT WHOOT!!! N xx
What is the best cheese to use?
Just updated with my recommendations! 🙂 N xx
Wow that looks so good.
Hope you try it! 🙂 N x
I’m on my second batch currently and it is so easy, quick, delicious and versatile! I like a mix of colby and edam, with a little bit of vintage cheddar for extra flavour.
I’ve made nachos, used it as a dip for corn chips, chicken nuggets and chunks of fresh sourdough (waaaaay easier than fondue!), put it over pasta and gnocchi and included it in a spicy chorizio, egg and hashrown stuffed breakfast burrito (which was to die for!)
SO GOOD.
LOVE HEARING THAT!!!! N xx
Hello from Singapore. I made the cheese sauce today n it feels really googy n thick. Do we really need to put in the corn flour?
Hi Gina! If it thickened too much just thin it with more milk or even water!
Is it possible to substitute heavy whipping cream for the canned milk? I am so excited to have found your blog! I will be using many of your party ideas. Thank you for sharing your talent.
Hi Melody, I’m so pleased you found me too! unfortunately not, I tried it and it doesn’t work, needs to be evaporated milk!
Hi Nagi,
Thank you for sharing, I look forward to making this for a group of friends this weekend. Wondering if you have ever froze the dip for use at a later time? I am thinking about making a large batch to portion out and freeze. Your feedback would be appreciated!
Thanks in advance
Chris
Hi Chris! I was dubious BUT IT WORKED!!! Just defrost and them microwave to reheat and give it a good mix, it will come together smoothly:)
This stuff is pure magic. Delicious!
I’m having real problems with it going grainy though. It forms a skin quite quickly (faster than i can finish it!) and if you stir that in (regardless of how vigorously) the sauce never returns to smooth. I’ve tried heating it up again, no luck.
I’d really like to get over this issue. Does anyone have any guidance for me? Other than to eat the whole batch quickly?!
Hi Lauren!So the trick with the skin is to stir it every 5 – 10 minutes as it is cooling, then it dissolves in and it’s very smooth. 🙂 Is this the problem with the graininess you are referring too? The other thing I have found is that some brands of tasty cheese don’t melt smooth with evaporated milk and can seem a bit grainy. Typically the better value ones. Are you in Australia like me? If so, I can give you more pointers on this. It’s a very Aussie specific problem – annoying one at that because tasty cheese is so common here!
Possibly but I’ve been stirring it every minute whilst it’s cooling and I only put it in the fridge once it’s room temperature. Hmm.
It probably is related to cheese, I live in Cheddar, England (where the cheese was invented) so it’s hard to find anything but high quality cheese here.
I’ll keep trying and let you know if I find a cure! Failing that, I’ll just start eating it faster!
I made this and it tasted really bland, not cheesy at All! Not sure what I did wrong :,(
I’m sorry to hear that Reina, are you sure you measured the right amount of cheese? There is a LOT of cheese in this!!