Easy Nacho Cheese sauce recipe with only 4 ingredients and is made in minutes! Smooth, creamy with great nacho cheese flavor, this recipe is perfect for parties, busy weeknight dinners and game day food!

Nacho Cheese recipe made with real ingredients in minutes! Just combine milk, shredded cheese, taco seasoning and cornstarch and in about 10 minutes you have a smooth, creamy, flavorful nacho cheese sauce!

Best Nacho Cheese recipe ever

Our Easy Nacho Cheese recipe is easily my favorite and I’ve been making it for years! Never buy nacho cheese again when you can make it at home in minutes and it tastes so much better! It calls for just 4 ingredients- milk, cheese, taco seasoning for some great nacho flavor and corn starch for thickening. The sauce is gluten-free and easily adaptable. Like spicy foods? Replace some of the cheese with pepper jack! Serving nachos for dinner? Serve it with shredded chicken and black beans for added protein. Make the nachos however you’d like- this nacho cheese is a great starting point for a variety of options!

What are the ingredients in Nacho Cheese?

This simple nacho cheese has only 4 ingredients: cheese, milk, cornstarch and taco seasoning. You’re welcome to use any type of milk. I’ve made nacho cheese with a blend of nut milk as well and it was fantastic! I just swapped in some sharp cheddar cheese to increase the cheddar flavor.

I prefer to use cornstarch in my nacho cheese recipe because it’s easier, the recipe ends up with fewer ingredients and it makes the entire meal or appetizer gluten-free!

No fake cheese product in this recipe! Trust me, it tastes SO much better without. The real cheese and milk combine to give this nacho cheese a great flavor and super creamy texture.

How to make nacho cheese

To make nacho cheese, you first need to heat milk on the stovetop. I use a medium sized 1.5 quart saucepan on medium heat.

While milk is warming up, combine remaining 1/4 cup milk and cornstarch in a small bowl. Stir until smooth. The cornstarch is our thickening agent in this recipe. You should always stir cornstarch into a cold liquid until it’s dissolved. Otherwise it’ll begin to thicken immediately and you’ll end up with a ton of clumps. This is why we divide the milk and heat one part while stirring the cornstarch into the remaining milk.

Once milk is hot and just barely beginning to steam, add in taco seasoning, cheese and cornstarch-milk slurry. Whisk constantly. Cheese will melt and mixture will be thin. Initially the cheese will be clumpy in the pan. As you continue whisking, the mixture will combine and result in a smooth nacho cheese sauce.

Continue heating and occasionally whisking. Once cheese sauce barely comes to a boil, it will thicken up quickly. Reduce heat to simmer until ready to serve, reheating cheese sauce as necessary to maintain smooth texture.

Nacho Cheese Toppings

Serve our homemade nacho cheese sauce with tortilla chips and any other nacho toppings you like! Here are our favorites:

–diced tomatoes and/ or salsa (try our Creamy Salsa Verde or Texas Caviar!)

— avocado and/ or guacamole (our Garlic roasted guacamole recipe is amazing!)

— jalapenos

— diced cooked chicken or steak

— black beans, pinto beans or refried beans

— sour cream

Homemade Nacho Cheese ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups milk, separated
• 1 TBSP + 2 tsp cornstarch
• 3 cups shredded Cheddar & Mexican Style cheese, any combination
• 2 tsp taco seasoning

Nacho Cheese recipe

1. Heat 1 cup milk in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. While milk is warming up, combine remaining 1/4 cup milk and cornstarch in a small bowl. Stir until smooth. Set aside.
3. Once milk is hot and just barely beginning to steam, add in taco seasoning, cheese and cornstarch-milk slurry. Whisk constantly. Cheese will melt and mixture will be thin.
4. Continue heating and occasionally whisking. Once cheese sauce barely comes to a boil, it will thicken up quickly. Reduce heat to simmer until ready to serve, reheating cheese sauce as necessary to maintain smooth texture.
5. Serve with tortilla chips and other nacho toppings like salsa, avocado, jalapenos, diced cooked chicken, black beans, etc.

Can you freeze nacho cheese?

Yes, you can freeze nacho cheese in an airtight container for up to 6-8 weeks. When you’re ready to serve it, first thaw container on the countertop or using the defrost function on your microwave. Heat the nacho cheese slowly and whisk often until it’s smooth.

Can you make nacho cheese in a crock pot?

Yes, you can make nacho cheese in a crockpot. Add all of the ingredients in the nacho cheese recipe above, then heat on low for 4 hours, whisking each hour.

You can also make the nacho cheese recipe on the stove as I’ve outlined in the recipe above, then just transfer it to a crock pot with the heat set to “Warm” and serve it from there. That way you don’t need to reheat it in the microwave!

Can you make nacho cheese without flour?

Yes, you can make nacho cheese sauce without using flour! In our nacho cheese recipe above we use cornstarch to thicken instead of flour. This makes it gluten free.  You should always stir cornstarch into a cold liquid until it’s dissolved. Otherwise it’ll begin to thicken immediately and you’ll end up with a ton of clumps. This is why we divide the milk and heat one part while stirring the cornstarch into the remaining milk in the recipe.

Easy Nacho Cheese

Easy Nacho Cheese sauce recipe with only 4 ingredients and is made in minutes! Smooth, creamy with great nacho cheese flavor, this recipe is perfect for parties, busy weeknight dinners and game day food!

Course: Appetizer, dinner, Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 8

Calories: 155 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups milk separated
• 1 TBSP + 2 tsp cornstarch
• 3 cups shredded cheese Cheddar & Mexican Style
• 2 tsp taco seasoning

Instructions

1. Heat 1 cup milk in a saucepan over medium heat.

2. While milk is warming up, combine remaining 1/4 cup milk and cornstarch in a small bowl. Stir until smooth. Set aside.

3. Once milk is hot and just barely beginning to steam, add in taco seasoning, cheese and cornstarch-milk slurry. Whisk constantly. Cheese will melt and mixture will be thin.

4. Continue heating and occasionally whisking. Once cheese sauce barely comes to a boil, it will thicken up quickly. Reduce heat to simmer until ready to serve, reheating cheese sauce as necessary to maintain smooth texture.

5. Serve with tortilla chips and other nacho toppings like salsa, avocado, jalapenos, diced cooked chicken, black beans, etc.

Nutrition Facts

Easy Nacho Cheese

Amount Per Serving

Calories 155 Calories from Fat 90

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 10g 15%

Saturated Fat 6g 30%

Cholesterol 36mg 12%

Sodium 281mg 12%

Potassium 82mg 2%

Total Carbohydrates 4g 1%

Sugars 2g

Protein 10g 20%

Vitamin A 6.9%

Calcium 25.5%

Iron 1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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