Cheddar Cheese Sauce

June 6, 2022

This is my favorite recipe for cheese dipping sauce. This spicy nacho cheese sauce is absolutely awesome with veggies, soft pretzels, and nachos! None of that processed stuff, either.

Summary

  • Prep Time: 10 min
  • Cook Time: 10 min
  • Other:
  • Total Time: 20 min
  • Servings:
  • Yield: ~2 cups

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup (31g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
  • 2 cups (480ml) whole milk
  • 2 cups (250g; 8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 Tablespoons hot sauce
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • salt + pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour over the top, stirring constantly until a thick paste forms, 1 to 2 minutes. 
  2. Slowly add the milk to the flour/butter paste in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Continue cooking, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. It should be thick but still pourable. Add the cheese, whisking constantly until it is melted. Add the hot sauce and cayenne. Taste, then add salt and pepper to taste. Add more cayenne and/or hot sauce if preferred. 
  3. The sauce will thicken upon cooling. Store leftovers covered tightly in the refrigerator for up to 5days. Heat over stovetop or in the microwave before serving again. 

Adjustments

  • None

History

  • 2022-06-11 – I think I had the fire too low to do the milk to begin with but when I pumped it up the milk, flour & butter firmed up as expected. Everyone was very happy with this although I did reduce the cayenne to 1/2 tsp.

References