A bowl of silky smooth, cheesy, spicy nacho cheese sauce is super easy to make than you thought. It’s perfect for dip, nacho cheese, with fries, steamed or roasted broccoli, as mac and cheese sauce and so much more.
Start by melting 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a small saucepan on medium flame. Sprinkle flour over the top.
Keep whisking continuously and cook the flour for about 1 minute. It’s important to cook out the floury flavor and not burn the flour.
Slowly add milk (or half and half) to the butter-flour paste in a steady stream.
Continue whisking and cook until the mixture thickens. It will take about 5 minutes. Keep cooking on medium flame.
Once the mixture begins to thicken add hot sauce, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper to taste. Whisk together.
Turn off the heat, and add grated cheese. Residue heat will be enough to melt the cheese. Keep whisking constantly until the cheese is fully melted.
Taste and adjust seasoning or spice if required.
Pour into serving bowls and serve immediately with nachos. Can be used to pour it over steamed or roasted broccoli, stirred with mac and cheese, or used as a dip.
Any leftovers can be stored in air-tight containers refrigerated for about 5 days
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Notes
Grated your cheese! Always buy only block cheese. DO NOT buy pre-grated cheese as it will be addictive like corn starch to keep it from sticking.
Buy the best quality cheese for the best flavor.
Use whole milk/full cream milk to get a smoother sauce. Fat content in milk will help turn the sauce smoother.
Always turn off the heat before adding cheese to ensure you don’t burn cheese or overheat and turn it into a lump. Residue heat will be enough to melt the cheese.
The cheese sauce will be a bit runny at first, don’t worry. The sauce thickens upon cooling.
Depending on your spice tolerance adjust the amount of hot sauce and cayenne pepper used in the recipe. If you can’t tolerate heat, skip both. If you like sauce spicier, increase it to your taste preference.
Nutrition: values mentioned below are for 1 cup (cup size approximately 230 ml)Nutritional Info – Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided is only a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.