White Nacho Cheese Sauce

This is close to the one I make, but I use real butter. I have slightly different measurements, and I use extra seasonings, but the base here is fine. This is the basic way to make a cheese sauce for nachos, macaroni and cheese, au gratin potatoes, etc. There is nothing wrong with the method--if it didn't work for you, you need to practice more :) *Note: A flour-y flavor means you didn't cook it long enough. It has nothing to do with the ratio of ingredients listed.

I'm giving this 4 stars because it has a good base. I've made this several times, playing with the ingredients each time. I've found that if you use 1 tbsp cornstarch and 1 tbsp self rising flour, it doesn't give as much of the overpowering flour taste. Also, USE A GOOD DELI PEPPER JACK, if you get the prepackaged stuff off the cold shelf at the store, it will NOT work. It doesn't melt well and will not give you the texture you want. I usually add a little extra cheese, asadero or fresco. Gives it a little extra. I haven't perfected it yet, but I'm still trying!

I recently tried this in an attempt to recreate the white nacho cheese we get from a nearby Mexican restaurant. This was closer than I've ever been but still, no cigar. The consistancy was good but I thought the flavor was just not what I was looking for - kind of bland, even though the cheese was spicy. Also, I could taste the flour in the cheese sauce. Altogether, it wasn't bad but I'll keep looking.

This is OK but if you go to a store that sells to the public restaurant foods and get Land o Lakes white melting cheese in a big block and melt it over a double broiler with you adding milk til you get to the restaurant consistency you want you will be very happy.You can add chopped halapino's for extra kick but the restaurants if they make there's from scratch use that brand of cheese.

I used Cheddar cheese instead of the pepperjack. This turned out smooth and creamy! Depending on your tastes, it may need a little salt, but it is good as-is to me! Thanks!

I used the deli pepper jack cheese like many had recommended. I also noticed that people thought that this tasted too bland. Adding a can of tomatoes and chiles (Rotel) brought more flavor. This also makes it taste a little bit more like restaurant cheese sauce at the local Mexican restaurants. My husband and I were very impressed. This is probably as good as we are going to get with a Mexican cheese dip. For another idea adding a box of frozen spinach (squeeze the juice out) would make a great espinaca dip.

It a good and inexpensive recipe but what is missing is the asiago cheese and cumin. I found that cheese in the refrigerated section by the cream cheese at Wal-Mart. I think adding those to this will make it exceptional.

This is a good easy recipe. The Pepperjack gives it just enough of a kick without being too spicy. To the comment above: The cheese dip that JOYBOWES is thinking of is made with Queso or Asada cheeses. They can be harder to find and they burn more easily.

I've been making this for years. My family loves it. I don't really measure anything, just make a white sauce and add the cheese. Like gravey, it can be a chanllenge to master this. I never tried it until I got the gravey down to a science. If the white sauce doesn't look right, throw it out before you add the cheese. You can always start over.

This was actually really good. I had this with nachos for dinner, trying to imitate the sauce at a Mexican restaurant I went to last weekend. It wasn't the same, but it was pretty good. I would make it again. I added an extra half cup of pepperjack cheese, and it still tasted a little bit bland, but not enough to really notice if you're eating it with chips. Not the best, but still pretty good!

My family love it and rate it waaaaay better than any canned or jarred nacho cheese sauce. Instead of pepperjack cheese, I use whatever aged cheese I have on hand (usually cheddar or cheddar/monterey jack blend) and add one 5 - 7oz can of mild, diced, green chiles to give it that great, authentic, slightly spicy, nacho taste. This is a great base recipe for any cheese sauce. There is room for some leeway in the recipe and is pretty hard to mess up so besides ease and taste, flexibility earns this recipe 5 stars. Thank you!

I put a little extra pepperjack and maybe a pinch more flour into this recipe. We used it as a sauce over chicken for chicken tacos, it worked wonderfully. Not so much for the chips--tasted too much of flour for us. Will use again, though!

I have been trying to make cheese sauce like you get when you go out. I have tried a few recipes and am just not getting it. Maybe it's me or maybe it is the cheese I am using. I don't know. I will just have to keep trying.

This sauce was a bit bland but it seems like it has potential. We will thicken for a longer period of time next time and add some jalapeno peppers. Looking forward to the next attempt!

This recipe was just great for my Nachos. I added salt to the sauce to take away some of the bland taste and I also added Mozzarella cheese. Very good! thanks

Not sure what happened with mine, but it was tad lumpy. I put leftovers in the fridge, reheated it the following day, and it actually tasted BETTER and was more of a dip than something to pour over chips. I'd use this recipe again.

My son gives it 10 stars! He literally licked the bowl! I added a can of chopped green chilies and about 1 TBSP of cumin when adding the cheese to melt. I got huge hugs for this one. THANKS FOR SHARING!

The key to this recipe is using a full flavored cheese you love. The proportions are spot on and even lend themselves to lightening if desired. I used skim milk and light butter (what I had) and the base thickened nicely. Just make sure you cook the butter/flour mixture a bit but don't let it brown (like if you were making gumbo). Make sure to add the cheese slowly and whisk thoroughly before the next addition. I added a fresh minced jalapeño pepper with the cheese and it did add additional flavor. Next time I'll add a bit of the pickled juice from the jalapeno jar for added kick. Would be the perfect base for mac and cheese or cheesy potatoes - just change the cheese.

This is great! I use sharp cheddar instead of pepperjack to make it not spicy for my daughter.

This is the exact recipe (scaled down) that we used at a restaurant I worked at. I thought the pepper jack cheese would be interesting, but it was very bland. So the next time I opted for some queso cheese with peppers, awesome!

I love the flavor of this sauce. Since I was making it for young ones, I used half pepper jack and half Monterey Jack cheeses. When I make it for myself, I'll use all pepper jack. I made this for Ore-Ida's Veggie Totchos, and it was perfect! I used the recipe for Self-Rising Flour on this site, cutting it down to 1/4 cup. I'd like to use this as a base for pizza sometime. Very tasty!

I used this as a topping for enchiladas. I used Colby Jack cheese instead of Pepper Jack because it's what I had on hand. It turned out perfectly! Everyone wanted more! Thank you for a great recipe that I can easily create for Mexican night.

This was really good! I spiced it up with diced pickled jalpenos. Next time I'll add some more spice to it. I will never use store bought cheese sauce again.

Very delicious. I used this sauce to make chili cheese fries! The pepper jack sauce gave it more of a kick than if I would have used regular cheddar. We all loved it here! Thanks!

So this recipe is great if you don't have the ingredients around to make other cheese sauces. While bland and a bit different texture I added some chicken broth and also some medium pecante sauce and it beautified the sauce! I also used cheddar cheese mozzarella and some pepper jack cheese. Also some seasonings but if you just add stuff you like and keep tampering with it this sauce can be really yummy. It's a great base for a delicious sauce

this would never mix!!!. . .the milk was separated on the top and the cheese was in a clump on the bottom...i did everything exactly as described and nobody touched it! waste of ingredients in my opinion!

After reading reviews saying the sauce tasted too starchy, I was a bit worried. My cheese selection at the market was a bit limited, so I ended up using 2 cups of prepackaged pepper jack, and a cup of fresh mozzarella. My sauce still tasted starchy, and I'm competent when making a roux. Next time I think I'll try using bacon drippings instead of butter to hopefully give the sauce a bit more taste, and maybe arrowroot since the cheese and milk will ensure the sauce maintains the color expected, and the arrowroot won't add any flavor.

I think it's the worst sauce ever.

No changes. I would like to find another sauce that is not flour based for thickening because you can slightly taste it. Good overall.

I made this to use with a small batch of chicken quesadillas, so halved the recipe and it worked just fine. I didn't have Pepperjack Cheese, so I substituted a mix of cheddar and mozzarella and added diced, pickled jalapenos for a little heat. I will definitely make the recipe again.

Better off just using shredded cheese.

I halved the recipe and used real butter instead of margarine. This was the best outcome I have had when trying to make cheese sauce at home. We will definitely make again.

I made this tonight with cheddar cheese and it was great! It was a bit grainym but I'm sure that was my fault. Will be using this again.

this recipe was quite good. i followed it excatly the first time, but i made it to serve 2. not 4. I didn't have peppejack cheese. i used a mix of provolone, mozza and parmesan. the second time i added onion(half), hot peppers(1 habanero) and a little bit of garlic(2 cloves). next time i will add red pepper flakes and maybe some onion powder. it should be good.

It's ok for a base... Pretty bland with a slightly strange texture on its own. It was pretty good after I added salsa, hot sauce, and cumin.

Changed it up a bit. Instead of pepper jack I did Monterrey jack and added a can of rotel at the end

This is a great recipe, and versatile with other cheeses as well. I use it for fajitas and everyone loves it! I've also saved leftovers and reheated it later and it's just as good.