This is what happens when Mr. Wuzandfuzz goes to Costco alone - Nacho Cheese Filter

April 29, 2011 5:27 PM

Anyone have any good (and I realize this may be relative) recipes that use nacho cheese sauce besides nachos?

Yesterday Mr. Wuzandfuzz got home after a solo trip to Costco with a gigantic canister of Que Bueno Nacho Cheese. While I recognize that the best thing to do is throw most of it away, I figure there must be a good recipe or two that allows us to get some use out of this can of orange cheese goo before we trash the remainder, so we'd love to hear recipes or suggestions for use.

Obviously we can use it for nachos, and we're thinking mac and cheese (with broccoli and chicken sausage mixed in), but would we need to thin it out?

Bonus points if your recipe/suggestion can be construed in any way as healthy!

posted by wuzandfuzz to Food & Drink (13 answers total)

Use it as a substitute for the regular cheese in a Philly cheese steak sandwich or spread it on garlic bread and broil it in the oven for a few minutes. Maybe it doesn't qualify as health food, but it can be tasty.

And, it doesn't have to go to waste. Once you open the can, you can put the excess in a tupperware in the fridge and it'll keep for a long time.
posted by amyms at 5:40 PM on April 29, 2011

If you are feeling adventurous you could try making a South-of-the-Border style lasagna.

Use tortillas or tortilla chips instead of lasagna noodles, mix your nacho cheese with some ground beef. Layer those in with some chopped peppers, tomatoes, olives, whatever you like.

After you cook it for awhile I'd serve it with some cream cheese and you'll be good to go. I haven't tried it, but it could make a pretty tasty casserole.
posted by TooFewShoes at 5:54 PM on April 29, 2011

Best answer: Potatoes! Baked as a topping, mix a little into mashed, make 'au gratin' aw gooey...
posted by pupdog at 6:13 PM on April 29, 2011

Best answer: A restaurant I used to work at actually used nacho-type cheese to make broccoli cheddar soup that was quite yummy. It was fairly simple too. Saute onions, carrots, and garlic in a bit of oil. Add milk or cream (about 1/2-2/3 total volume of the soup, depending on how cheesy you want it) and your cheese, and chopped broccoli. If necessary, thicken with a roux. Be careful not to overheat it, boiling could cause the milk to separate. Add salt and pepper to taste. This will probably use a big portion of your cheese. The soup is also tasty over baked potatoes.
posted by nasayre at 6:13 PM on April 29, 2011

If you put down a layer of refried beans, a layer of salsa, a layer of corn, and a layer of cream cheese, maybe strewn with some minced jalapenos and black olives, and bake, you get a pretty good chip dip -- which is probably not really what's wanted when you're already staring down this much chip-accessory, but, I mention it because I think you could easily swap the cream cheese for this cheez here, and it freezes perfectly, which I hope might be useful here.

I would also use it like Welsh rarebit, broil it up on toast, and my favourite thing to do with leftover rarebit/basic Cheddar sauce is toast + baked beans + sauteed mushrooms, with the cheese sauce poured over the top; great filling breakfast.
posted by kmennie at 6:30 PM on April 29, 2011

You can use it as a dip for big soft pretzels. Not very much at a time, I suppose, and it's anything but healthy... just throwing it out there!
posted by ErikaB at 7:24 PM on April 29, 2011

put a can of (black) refried beans on low, add cheese sauce, add a can of rotel. eat with everything.


(we stir it into rice, have it on burritos, dip chips in it)
posted by nadawi at 8:22 PM on April 29, 2011

Enchiladas: mix some into some sauteed mushrooms or chicken or similar for the filling and then mix some with canned enchilada sauce to top them. Don't forget to dip the corn tortillas in some of the enchilada sauce first. You should be able to freeze this.
posted by zinfandel at 8:36 PM on April 29, 2011

It will freeze well, as I have done that in the past. Also, I'd boil some pasta, heat the sauce and make nacho macaroni and cheese.
posted by SuzySmith at 9:35 PM on April 29, 2011

One of my food memories was eating an omelette a friend's mom made and she put nacho cheese in the middle. It was awesome.
posted by spec80 at 12:04 AM on April 30, 2011

Not at all healthy, but nacho cheese + salsa is AMAZING on french fries. Amazing. Trust me.
posted by yawper at 6:42 AM on April 30, 2011

Oh man, the nacho omelette sounds fantastic. :3

We mix it with refried beans for a hot chip dip.
posted by xedrik at 10:06 AM on April 30, 2011

Yes, I do Mac and Cheese with the orange goo. I mix it with equal parts of salsa or picante sauce. I throw in sauted veggies and cubed chicken or pork. If you want to be even less healthy, add some sour cream into the goo/salsa/veggie/meat mixture then mix in the mac.


(In my defense finding cheese in Korea to make m&c is not easy (nor inexpensive), but they do sell bottles of the goo at one supermarket)
posted by kathrynm at 4:23 AM on May 1, 2011