Old Bay Cheese Dip

Old Bay Cheese Dip- This super simple 4 ingredient cheese sauce is creamy, gooey, and oh so delicious!

December 12, 2024 by Nicole Collins

Today, we’re making Old Bay Cheese Dip!

It’s the last day in our 12 Days of Cheese series! Can you believe it? Sweet recipes, savory recipes, snacks, meals, dips, appetizers…SO MUCH CHEESE!

We’re finishing things off with the perfect transitional recipe to help us go from holiday to game day. This last recipe is a super simple, 4 ingredient, creamy, cheesy dip that highlights my true love in cooking…Old Bay!

I’ll be honest with you…I’m very critical of cheese sauces. That’s part of the reason that I don’t make a lot of them. There’s nothing worse than a gritty or flavorless cheese sauce, and I think that a good cheese dip can be hard to get right. I’ve been working on this formula for a hot minute, and I finally cracked the code.

This cheese dip starts with evaporated milk. I’ve talked about this many times before, but using evaporated milk makes a more stable, creamy sauce thanks to water content that’s been removed from the milk. When we remove the risk of the milk separating, we’re straight on the path to a luscious sauce.

We’re going to let the cheese do all the talking in this dip, so the only seasoning we’re going to use is my all time favorite…Old Bay! We’ll add the Old Bay to the milk so the flavors can start to infuse the milk while it heats, and we’re half way there.

Now, it’s important to keep the stovetop on low, because another enemy to a cheese sauce is high heat. If the creamy cheese mixture gets too hot, the sauce will break. And, we’ll be left with an oily gritty dip. YUCK! So, keep the milk on low heat, and we’re going to bring it to the lightest, most gentle simmer.

For our cheese, we’re going to use two different cheeses that both serve two completely different purposes. We’ll start with some good ol’ American cheese. Whether we want to admit it or not, American cheese makes an elite cheese sauce. It’s smooth, it’s creamy, it’s comforting, and it’s the perfect consistency. To help make the speckles of Old Bay really pop in the dip, I opted to use a white American cheese. I took good ol’ Kraft singles, unwrapped each slice, and diced it into chunks to help it melt more evenly.

For our second cheese, we’re going to use a little handful of smoked gouda. Smoked gouda has really been having a moment in my life this year, and it’s definitely my new favorite go to. The smokiness from the cheese adds a little depth of flavor to our dip, while the sharpness from the gouda adds a nice savory note to the cheese. To make sure our dip stays smooth and creamy, it’s important to grate your cheese at home and not buy anything prebagged (though I don’t think I’ve ever seen preshredded smoked gouda, so there should be no temptation there).

We’ll keep our stove heat on low, whisk in our cheese until it’s completely melted, and that’s all there is to it! In order to keep the smooth, dippable consistency, this cheese needs to be served warm. So, serve it in a mini slow cooker or fondue pot on the warm setting for the ultimate dipping experience.

This dip has everything I love about a good cheese sauce. It’s thick, but not too thick. It’s creamy, and not too thin. It’s cheesy and savory. It’s not at all boring. And, it’s good on everything! Serve it as intended as a melty dip. Or drizzle it over some nachos, a cheesesteak, some tacos…whatever! I made a chicken cheesesteak with leftovers that was 11/10. MMMMM……..

Alright, everyone! I hope you’ve enjoyed this series as much as I have! Make sure you tell me which recipe was your favorite. And, don’t forget to tag me on social media when you recreate these so I can see too!

I hope you guys enjoy. And, let’s eat!

Old Bay Cheese Dip

Serves: about 1 cup Print

Ingredients:

¾ cup evaporated milk
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
8 oz white American cheese, diced
½ cup smoked gouda, shredded

Directions:

Add milk and old bay to a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir to combine. Bring to a very gentle simmer.
When the milk just starts to gently bubble, add both cheeses. Stir constantly until the cheeses have melted completed. Remove from heat. Serve warm, and enjoy!

Recipe notes:

*This dip will thicken as it cools, so it’s best serve warm over low heat. Use a mini crockpot on warm or a fondue pot to keep it warm.

*We want to keep the heat low on this, because we don’t want the dairy to separate and break. Low, slow, and gentle is the way to go for this, but it’s so worth the extra few minutes!

*This dip is super versatile. In addition to dipping, it’s also great on nachos, cheesesteaks, or even loaded fries!

*You can use deli American cheese or prewrapped single slices. Both work great. The singles are just a pain to unwrap.