Ricos Gourmet Nacho Cheese Sauce Recipe

Ricos Gourmet Nacho Cheddar Cheese Sauce is a ready-to-serve canned sauce of whey, water, starch, oil and cheese, seasoned with jalapeño, vinegar and tomato paste. This copy tosses eight ounces of grated cheddar with a tablespoon of cornstarch and melts it into a can of evaporated milk over low heat, about five minutes. It makes two cups; the cornstarch keeps it from separating.

What is in Ricos Gourmet Nacho Cheddar Cheese Sauce

Ricos' product page describes a ready-to-serve sauce that only needs heating, for use as a dip, a topping or an ingredient. The ingredient list begins with whey, water, modified food starch, vegetable oil and cheese. Everything after that is under 2 percent, among it salt, monosodium glutamate, jalapeño peppers, sodium phosphate, vinegar, tomato paste and colourings.

Cheese is fifth on that list, which caps it at a fifth of the can. In this recipe it is about 40 percent. The copy keeps the three seasonings and is a reconstruction, not Ricos' formula; MakeFoodLovely is not connected with Ricos.

Recipe

Ricos Gourmet Nacho Cheese Sauce

A reconstruction of Ricos Gourmet Nacho Cheddar Cheese Sauce — sharp cheddar melted into evaporated milk with cornstarch, pickled jalapeño, vinegar and tomato paste. About two cups.

5.0 (1)Print

Prep

5 min

Cook

7 min

Total

12 min

Serves

8

Cuisine

American

Ingredients

• 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated from a block
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk (one 12-ounce can)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped pickled jalapeños
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Toss the grated cheddar with the cornstarch in a bowl until every shred is coated.
2. Put the cheese in a saucepan with 1 cup of the evaporated milk, the jalapeños, vinegar, tomato paste, paprika and salt.
3. Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes, whisking constantly, until the cheese has melted and the sauce bubbles gently and thickens.
4. Whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup of evaporated milk, a little at a time, until the sauce pours like warm honey. Serve warm.

Nutrition

Calories:

160

Calculated from the ingredient quantities above using the USDA FoodData Central database, then divided by the number of servings. It is an estimate and will vary with the exact products you use.

Why evaporated milk and cornstarch

Cheddar melted on its own separates: the fat runs out and the protein tightens into strings. The can prevents that with modified starch and sodium phosphate. At home, cornstarch and evaporated milk do the job.

The starch thickens the liquid around the fat. Evaporated milk is milk with about 60 percent of its water removed, so it brings concentrated milk protein, which holds fat and water together.

Cheese from a block

• Grate it yourself. Pre-shredded cheese is coated with an anti-caking powder that makes a sauce grainy.
• Low heat. A cheese sauce that boils hard turns grainy even with the starch. Keep it at a bare bubble.
• Sharp cheddar is aged longer and has the stronger flavour. Mild cheddar melts a little more easily.

What to do with nacho cheese sauce

• Nachos: pour 1 cup of warm sauce over 6 ounces of tortilla chips and top with pickled jalapeño slices.
• Loaded fries: it is the cheese layer in the Dave's Hot Chicken loaded fries and goes over the Taco Bell steak nacho fries.
• Dipping: serve it warm in a small bowl with the Taco Bell cheesy dipping burrito, soft pretzels or tortilla chips.
• Macaroni: stir 1 cup into 8 ounces of cooked elbow macaroni with a splash of milk.

Reheating and keeping

Four days in a closed container in the refrigerator. The sauce sets firm when cold. Reheat it over low heat with a tablespoon or two of milk, whisking, or in the microwave in 30-second bursts. Plastic wrap pressed onto the surface while it cools stops a skin from forming.

For a second cheese sauce on this site, see the Taco Bell cheese sauce.