Do you love the sharp, zesty flavor of nacho cheese sauce? I mean, not only on nachos but burritos, baked potatoes, cheese fries, and about a zillion other things????
I know, ME TOOOOOO!!!!!
This sauce comes together so000 quickly! I can have it ready in a flash when that nacho cheese sauce craving hits!
Let’s get cheesy!
But, you see, here’s the thing. The real stuff… the real nacho cheese sauce (and I’m not talking about the fake stuff that comes in a can) needs REAL cheese, right? Not the prepackaged stuff that is individually wrapped, ahem, American cheese and the like….
I mean if I am cooking from scratch at home, I would like to use healthier ingredients if I can, even in a nacho cheese sauce!
So, herein lies the cheese dilemma. Block cheddar cheese is great, but pre-shredded options can be a bit problematic in cheese sauces. Furthermore, we don’t have a ton of cheese options where I live (in the mountains in the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica)! I can’t always get block cheddar cheese, much less sharp cheddar cheese, so what’s a gal to do?
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A (Real) Cheesy Alternative
Well, I actually LOVE to make my cheese sauce with a Costa Rican cheese called queso molido, which just means “ground cheese” in English. If you live in Costa Rica, you can find this at many local grocery stores, where it might also be called queso molido tipo Bagaces. This cheese has a nice sharpness to it that I love to use on pizzas, in mac and cheese, and in nacho cheese sauce! It is also way more economical than cheddar where I live. My favorite brand that I have tried is Lácteos Lynn. The sharpness of this cheese makes a delicious nacho cheese sauce!
I also find that with the sharpness of the queso molido, I don’t need very much of the cheese to make a tasty cheese sauce, which keeps the calories down. Each generous serving of nacho cheese sauce (around 1/3 cup) comes in right around only 100 calories! So, this means you can save some calories and use them instead on the other foods (wink wink)!
A different nacho cheese sauce….
And if you have already scrolled down and taken a look at the recipe, you will see that I do my nacho cheese sauce, well, a bit differently. Yes, I totally start my cheese sauce with a roux of butter and flour. However, I also use cornstarch in the sauce, since I really like the texture, binding, and overall performance that cornstarch gives to the cheese sauce!
Another ingredient in my cheese sauce that is a bit unexpected is achiote (annatto) paste. This bright red paste is very slightly peppery and quite common in Latin American cuisine. I love it in my nacho cheese sauce! You see, there is just something about a bright orange cheese sauce for nachos…. Maybe it comes from stadium nachos or Kraft macaroni and cheese, but an orange cheese sauce just makes my mouth water! And since we are replacing cheddar in this recipe here, we are achieving that nice orange color with achiote paste! The bright red color of the paste blends with the whiteness of the cheese sauce to yield a beautiful, drool-worthy nacho cheese sauce!
Now, we are still going to hit it with lots of flavor and your choice of heat level beyond that!
And, of course, it grabs and holds onto a tortilla chip quite nicely!
Let’s get down to business! Nacho cheese sauce time!!!
Nacho Cheese Sauce
Notes
Where I live, cheddar cheese can be so EXPENSIVE or not always available! This is my alternative approach to make a deliciously tasty nacho cheese sauce using a tangy cheese made from REAL ingredients!
Nutritional information was calculated using 2% milk.
Ingredients
Milk mixture
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/16 teaspoon cumin powder (optional)
- dash black pepper
- dash turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Flour mixture base
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
Final additions
- 1/16 teaspoon achiote paste (or to taste) (optional but highly recommended)
- 2 tablespoons (20 grams) or more queso molido or favorite melty cheese
- dash hot sauce or ground jalapeño or other hot pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Combine milk, salt, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin powder, black pepper, turmeric, and cornstarch in a bowl or measuring cup.
- In a small pot over medium to medium low heat, melt butter then add flour to make a paste, whisking constantly.
- After 1 minute or so, after your paste is combined, add milk mixture slowly while still whisking.
- Bring mixture just to a boil and let sauce thicken.
- Whisk in cheese and add hot sauce or ground hot pepper, if using.
- Whisk in achiote paste until color is uniform. Feel free to add more until you are happy with the color of the sauce!
- Taste and adjust any seasonings to your preferences!
Nutrition Facts
Nacho Cheese Sauce
Serves: 4
|
Amount Per Serving: 1/4 of recipe (around 1/3 cup)
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 99 | |
| % Daily Value* | ||
| Total Fat 6.2g | 9.2% | |
| Saturated Fat 3.6g | 15% | |
| Trans Fat 0 | ||
| Cholesterol 17.7mg | 5.7% | |
| Sodium 318mg | 13.3% | |
| Total Carbohydrate 7.0g | 2.3% | |
| Dietary Fiber 0.1g | 0% | |
| Sugars 4.4g | ||
| Protein 4.7g | ||
| Vitamin A 0 | Vitamin C 0 | |
| Calcium 147mg | Iron 0 | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Jungle Living with Jill
Other recipes and blogs linked in this post:
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