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!
Hi Nagi,
I am going to make your chicken nachos next weekend. Do you think this cheese sauce would taste as good with chicken nachos as it does with ripper beef?
The cheese sauce will be amazing on anything Barb! Definitely a must!! N x
Thanks 😀
Made this for our Tuesday ladies meeting and it went down a storm.
Love that it stays soft.
Note: 2 1/2 cups is 8 1/2 oz.
Hi Ben, 225g is actually 8oz (well slightly under by the smallest fraction but I’ve rounded up) N x
i start my cheese with a bechamel sauce. i use good organic cream butter, flour , and milk. i have used powdered milk,shelf milk,and freash milk . it all is great to make cheese dips and sauces.
Love this recipe for when the craving hits!
Was very excited to try this dip. Made it per the recipe and it turned out very salty. Thoughts or suggestions? Can I leave out the 1 tsp salt?
HI Jennifer, sorry you found it salty, can I ask what cheese you used to make it? N x
Yummy! Thank you!! I didn’t use the optional onion, garlic powder or the salt. I forgot the hot sauce, but I did add some (a teaspoon?) of juice from the pickled jalapeños. Next time I’ll try to remember the hot sauce. Delicious even without it! Made enough for three people for pandemic Super Bowl nachos. Thanks again!
Love this sauce, I use it for potato bake instead of cream. Drool.
Hi! I have a problem with finding the right type of cheese. I previously tried to make this, but it tasted bland and I was wondering what cheese you used. I live in Australia as well, so it’d be a great help!!
Thank you !
Hi Nora,
Brissy girl here. I use any aged sharp cheddar.
If I was out of evaporated milk, would sweetened condensed milk do the trick? With perhaps adding salt to tame the sweetness?
Hi Shel, unfortunately not – it’s far too sweet and wouldn’t work here! N x
I tried it and this was amazing. I used a mix of American cheese, spicy Monterey Jack, regular Monterey Jack and Extra Sharp Cheddar cheese. Just made sure I didn’t go over 225 grams of cheese. Served it over French fries. Thank you for another amazing recipe!
Have never made or eaten Cheesy sauce before.. how have I got this far in life??? Was so yummy on its own and an absolute game changer on top of the nachos. My bf was obsessed!!
This was Aaaamazing!!!! My husband said, this is the way he imagines cheese sauces to taste, he was not disappointed! Total game changer on Nachos for us now. Thank you!
Just made this for Cinco de Mayo. I had another “favourite” Queso recipe bookmarked but it got lost in my last iOS update. Then I remembered that you had a recipe for it also. So good! We barely held back from eating it with a spoon! Now yours is my new favourite. Thanks so much!
It’s so addictive isn’t it Joyce!!! N x
Really tasty
Thanks Narelle!