What Is The Best Cheese For Nachos?

What Is The Best Cheese For Nachos?

You're making dinner and have decided that Mexican is the way to go. But instead of reaching for tortillas and anything too traditional you've decided to go for some delicious, oven baked Nachos.

Problem is you don't have any cheese in the house. Now I don't know about you, but this is the one item that's quickest to send me to the grocery store to replenish. I can have a fridge full of food, but if there isn't a Cheddar or Colby block, I don't have anything to eat. Since you have to get this staple, it's got you thinking, “What would be the best for my Nachos?”

It can be an easy and quick reaction to go for one of the highly processed, liquid cheese foods. Yes, these often taste good, and they are so easy to pour over your chips and carefully selected toppings. But, if you're picking a cheese, don't you want that and not a product of? My suggestion is to choose a more naturally made, soft, melt-friendly kind. This suggests any of the Monterey Jack varieties (especially good if you select one with peppers already in it) or Mozzarella. If you're feeling especially industrious you can make your own cheese sauce by melting several types with whole milk and perhaps a tablespoon of butter.

I try to avoid the pre-shredded bags because of two reasons. First, I don't like that there's such a list of ingredients, especially when one of them is potato starch. Second, they cost more than getting a brick and shredding it yourself. If you go this route, it's best to choose two cheeses and finely shred them over the top of your Nachos. My choice here would be Sharp Cheddar and Pepper Jack.

The variety that always wins out in my house for Nacho toppings is Chihuahua. This is made from cow's milk and comes from the Chihuahua state in Mexico. It's soft and is very easy to melt. The flavor is something you'd recognize if you're one to frequent the more authentic Mexican restaurants. It reminds me of somewhere between Mozzarella and Provolone. Like most great cheeses it isn't cheap, but because of it's unique flavor that lends itself so perfectly to Nachos you won't need as much as you might if you were using a more mild Mozzarella.

Once you've got that decided, make sure you have all the extras so your Nachos will be the best!