Homemade Nacho Cheese Recipe

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This amazing, creamy nacho cheese sauce is ready in 5 minutes—without Velveeta!—and is delicious with chips, vegetables, or pasta.

bowl of cheese sauce and bowl of chips

Does this sound familiar to anybody? Hubby’s friends love to come over and play games, hang out, and eat all kinds of snacks. If they were left to their own devices, they’d probably eat pizza rolls and warm up a jar of Cheez Whiz to dip them in. (ACK)

This year, I’m replacing the chemical-laden snacks they are used to eating with healthier, homemade choices. The first replacement is homemade nacho cheese sauce.

bowl of cheese sauce with chips inside

This amazing, creamy nacho cheese sauce is ready in 5 minutes—without Velveeta!—and is delicious with chips, vegetables, or pasta.

(By the way—if you do like pizza rolls, I suggest trying homemade Cheeseburger Egg Rolls. Dip them in spaghetti sauce and presto! You have pizza rolls without preservatives and chemicals. But I digress.)

Are you ready for some nacho cheese? Watch for the secret ingredient that makes this better than your everyday cheese sauce.

bowl of nacho cheese sauce and chips

How to Make Nacho Cheese Sauce

You won’t believe how easy this recipe is. First, we’ll saute some butter and flour, then add milk.

adding water to roux in saucepan

Sprinkle in a few seasonings that will give your finished sauce extra flavor.

adding seasonings to cheese sauce

Add some cheese, stirring until it melts, and your basic cheese sauce is done. You could stop here, and serve this with homemade pretzels or pour over steamed broccoli…but we’re going to kick it up a notch.

finished cheese sauce

Add at least 1 Tablespoon of tomato salsa—whatever is your favorite. Mild salsa, fire-roasted, even ghost pepper or Carolina reaper salsa if that’s what you like.

nacho cheese sauce with salsa

This is the secret ingredient that will take your nacho cheese sauce from good to great!

nacho cheese sauce with salsa

bowl of cheese sauce and bowl of chips

Nacho Cheese Sauce

Yield: 1 cup
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

This amazing, creamy nacho cheese sauce is ready in 5 minutes—without Velveeta!—and is delicious with chips, vegetables, or pasta.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 tsp mustard powder, or dijon mustard
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, grated
  • 1 tbsp salsa

Instructions

  1. Melt butter in a saucepan and sprinkle in flour. Cook for 2 minutes until lightly brown.
  2. Pour in milk and whisk to remove any lumps. Add mustard powder, garlic powder, and salt.
  3. Turn off the heat and add the grated cheddar cheese. Stir gently until cheese is melted.
  4. Add salsa and stir to combine.
  5. Serve with tortilla chips, over pasta, or vegetables.

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nacho cheese sauce and chips

Hi, Im Pam!

I created Brown Thumb Mama to share my natural living journey, and help you live a greener life. Thanks for being here!

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