Fair food nachos aren't like any nachos we've had anywhere else. No fancy sauces or piles of extra toppings. No impressive presentation or attempts to win us over. We're simply handed a paper tray of corn chips that have been drizzled with the creamiest, saltiest, and most strangely addictive cheese sauce imaginable.
Wandering between booths with the sun on our faces, this is heaven.
The secret ingredient to that extra-oozy, gooey sauce is our old frenemy, American Cheese. More specifically Velveeta. Love it or hate it, this cheese melts beautifully. It never separates or gets oily, and it coats food like nothing else.
You won't win any gourmet food challenges with these nachos, but we guarantee you'll make a lot of friends. Just try serving up a big bowl of them at your next cook-out or movie night, and see how fast they disappear. Like we said, "strangely addictive" is definitely an accurate description.
Fair Food Nachos
makes enough to use one large bag of chips and feed several salt-craving adults
1 16-ounce block of Velveeta cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped green pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped tomato
1-2 green onions, sliced into thin rounds
1-2 hot peppers, finely chopped (optional)
1 16-ounce bag corn tortilla chips
Cut the block of Velveeta into cubes and put them into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH in 30-second intervals, stirring between each interval, until the cheese is completely melted. This should take about 3 minutes total.
Chop all of the vegetables as finely as possible. Stir them into the melted cheese, and microwave the sauce for another 30 seconds. If the sauce seems too thick to you, stir in a little milk, sour cream, or mayonnaise.
Arrange the a layer of chips in the bottom of your serving bowl. Spoon on some cheese sauce. Add another layer of chips and cheese sauce, and continue until your bowl is full. You can serve nachos in a communal bowl, individual bowls, or set the cheese sauce out for dipping.
Even Shorter Shortcut Variation: Combine the cubed Velveeta with a jar of salsa and microwave in 30 second intervals until the cheese has completely melted.
(Images: Emma Christensen for the Kitchn)
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This is a great (no-where-near-gourmet, guilty pleasure, eat once a year) recipe, my aunt brings it to every family potluck except she uses Hatch Green Chile instead of green pepper. There's nothing like NM green chile!
oh god, valveeta grosses me out big time, always has.
otherwise, good recipe.
Buy the block of cheese and a can of RO*TEL. Easier, faster, and cheaper than buying and cutting all of those veggies.
come on kids, do we really need a recipe for nachos? what's next ... one for PB&J?!
Ok. I'm sort of with rebecca_f on the dubious need for nacho recipes. However, I think we can rescue this with a bunch of modified recipes.
Roast tomatoes with garlic, jalapeno and onion, briefly put in blender/food processor to chunkify and have your own roasted tomato salsa nachos.
Yep, Ro*Tel is the key. I like the version with a hint of lime.
I have no idea how broadly available this (or a similar product) is, but in my neck of the woods the Kroger grocery chain carries a Velveeta knock-off called NiceNCheesy, and aside from the nuclear orange version, they have a Queso Blanco with Peppers flavor which has no heat at all but a remarkably nice flavor for a big block of cheese food. It also looks all fancy because it's not Velveeta-colored, like you might have used real cheese.
Oh come on guys - play along! It's Fair Food Week! One more recipe coming up today. We'll return to regularly scheduled tasteful recipes next week. ;-) !!!
what's up with the negativity? this series is fun to read, even if i don't like velveeta
Velveeta is my homeboy!
Hate to disagree, but the cheese used is most often Rico. The same stuff used on nachos at the movies. You can find it at warehouse clubs and some grocery stores. Is tasty on movie popcorn (but very messy). Have served it to guests. Same reaction as Twinkies - people make fun, turn up their nose ... and come back for seconds.
The best queso recipe (ask any Texan) may be the easiest:
1 16oz Velveeta, cubed 1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chiles A splash a milk.
Cook for about 5 minutes in the microwave (mixing intermittently). Stir it up. Eat it up...before everyone else does.
Three for Ro*Tel. If not for that can this wouldn't be the dip of Texas. Y'all can make fun of it all you want but it is good stuff.
I find that the can of Hatch's chiles is better than rotel. Then add some hot sausage and OMG. My brother's girlfriend, my step-mom, and I almost ate the whole batch.
No, it's not gourmet, but it's always a hit at gatherings.
Please no Velveeta! If you're going to make it at home, why not use a quality cheese? There must be some with comparable melting properties, though I personally care a lot less about that than I do the taste.
I like baking mine in the oven with good parmesan and pico de gallo on the side. Yum!
This reminds me of something similarly gooey and salty that I have maybe once/year, if that. Canned chili with chunks of velveeta melted in-served as a dip with tortilla chips. Delicious.
THIS YANKEE TALK OF VELVEETA WILL NOT DO!!
I am not protective of my Texas heritage but Velveeta is for trailer park shells n cheese. There ARE no fair nachos without Rico canned cheese and jarred jalapenos. Trust me on this, I grew up in Rockport TX and Rico is the only acceptable nacho cheese. Unadulterated. My wayward sister claims even the regular one is spicy but I had to REALLY think to find any spice.
Rico dude. If it doesn't come out of a red and yellow striped can, it will not suffice.
like previous commenters here, i have a huge weakness for rotel velveeta, leftover from my texas upbringing. i cannot. resist. my aunt adds sausage, and it's the best artery-clogging concoction ever. also: try it with fritos instead of tortilla chips. it is an outrageous salt-fat bomb, for sure, but so delicious.
Y'all are making me miss Texas big time!
Speaking of Texas, H-E-B Easy Melt Queso Blanco plus some pico de gallo makes the best d*mn queso ever. Not the stuff with the peppers!
And get the El Milagro chips if you can at all manage it. Amazing.