Pretzel Cheese Sauce Trio: Perfect Party Sampler

Looking for the best pretzel cheese sauce? Look no further! This sampler includes THREE amazing cheese dip varieties including beer cheese, chipotle queso, and classic American cheese sauce. Perfect as an appetizer for parties, holidays, or game days. Pair with Homemade Soft Pretzels for the perfect combo!

This pretzel cheese sauce trio is the perfect appetizer for all your family and friends. Every one will find something they love with three amazing cheese dip options! The Classic American Cheese Sauce is perfect for kids and picky eaters. While the Chipotle Queso Sauce has the perfect spicy kick. The Beer Cheese Sauce is my personal favorite and is a Midwest staple. All three pair perfectly with my Homemade Soft Pretzels for the ultimate combo: pretzels and cheese (or three)!

How Do You Make Cheese Sauce?

Well. It is actually pretty easy! All three of these sauces start the same way and have very similar ingredients. To make cheese sauce you first need to melt down your butter in a small sauce pan. Next, add in your flour and stir to combine. Then add your liquid. For these cheese sauces I use milk or beer. When you add in the liquid it is important to stir/whisk to avoid the flour from clumping. Once the liquid is slightly thickened you will then add in you cheese of choice and stir until melted and smooth. Finally, you will add in additional spices to finish the cheese sauce off. That's it! The entire process takes around five minutes for each cheese sauce.

Being a host can be stressful. One thing I always worry about is food. Mainly, will everyone find something they like? Making multiple different types of cheese sauce is simple, quick and ensures that everyone will find something they love! I love making multiple types of cheese sauces as appetizers because they are very simple and each one has a distinct and unique flavor. Each one works great as a pretzel cheese sauce and can also double as a cheese dip for chips, crackers, or even drizzled over sandwiches! These versatile cheese dips are a must for any get together.

The Trio

When trying to decide which pretzel cheese sauce to pair with my homemade pretzel recipe I was torn. First, I immediately thought Beer Cheese Sauce because it is my personal favorite, but I knew some people wouldn't want to serve it at parties with kids. Next, I went to my next love which is Mexican food, and thought my Chipotle Queso Sauce would be perfect. Then thought, "well some people aren't into spicy, especially with pretzels". Finally, I went for the Classic American Cheese approach, but felt it didn't make a big enough impact. So, naturally, I went with all three. I am SO glad I did! I think these three go so well together, but stand out on their own. My favorite part of this trio is the versatility of having options and each person picking their favorites! Plus, they look really cute in my serving tray.

Beer Cheese Dipping Sauce

My favorite. I know some mothers wont choose their favorite child, but this is mine! Here in the Midwest, beer is king. Most notably Budweiser. Any beer will do for this pretzel cheese sauce, but I think lagers work best. They give the most even flavor and don't try and fight the cheddar cheese in my opinion. But, if you are in a pinch some weird IPA will do! This cheese sauce has a faint undertone of beer, but is muted by the milk, cheese and spices. Sorry to disappoint, but you will not get drunk off this beer cheese dip. Drunk on happiness maybe, but that is about it.

Spicy Chipotle Queso

Next, we have the spicy gal. This is a much more out of the box pretzel cheese sauce. The sauce itself isn't crazy different, but pairing it with pretzels is, as my husband said, "weird." That is until he tried it. He admitted that it does actually work and that he was surprised he liked it as much as he did. This Chipotle Queso Sauce is spicy, but when paired with the pretzels it takes the kick off. My one-year-old ate some of this, so I think this would fall into a medium to mild spice category. This sauce works great with tortilla chips, making it great as an appetizer option since it can work in multiple ways.

Classic American Cheese Sauce

Finally, the classic lady. This is the cheese sauce I had growing up eating pretzels and cheese. It is the perfect option for kids, and adults that just want that classic cheese and soft pretzel combo. This sauce is also the simplest and uses the least amount of ingredients making it perfect for budgets. This sauce is exactly what the title says: Classic American Cheese Sauce. The sauce uses those little square cheese slices that come wrapped in plastic and we all had on our sandwiches as kids. It is delicious, simple and a classic that will take you back to baseball games with your parents.

Soft Pretzels and Cheese: The Perfect Pairing

I am a lover of all things carbs. Throw in a cheese sauce sampler and I am a happy camper. Soft pretzels and cheese is a timeless pairing and one of my favorites in the food world. The soft pretzels are crisp and golden on the outside yet soft and squishy on the inside and hold the cheese extremely well. I like to use unsalted butter in the cheese dips, because I feel like the salty pretzel is enough. I also love the soft pretzel twist shape, because it is fluffier on the inside and doesn't get that weird chewy pretzel texture that the traditional knot can. Since this is one of my favorite combos I thought it was only fitting that I shared all of my favorite pretzel cheese sauces and didn't leave anyone out!

Check Out These Other Awesome Appetizers!

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Happy Eating!

Love This Pretzel Sauce Recipe? Comment and Rate Below!

Pretzel Cheese Sauce Trio

Caitlyn Erhardt

The perfect trio to go with your homemade soft pretzels! Spicy Chipotle Queso, Beer Cheese, and Classic American Cheese Sauce! Everyone at the party will find what they love with one of these! 

5 from 6 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Servings 16 Servings

Calories 137 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Beer Cheese Sauce

• ▢ 2 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
• ▢ 2 tablespoon All Purpose Flour
• ▢ ⅔ Cup Whole Milk
• ▢ ¼ Cup Beer
• ▢ 2 Oz Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• ▢ ½ tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Paprika
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
• ▢ Salt and Pepper To Taste

Chipotle Queso

• ▢ 2 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
• ▢ 2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
• ▢ 1 Chipotle Pepper in Adobo Sauce Diced
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Canned Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies
• ▢ ⅔ Cup Whole Milk
• ▢ 2 Oz Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese

Classic American Cheese Sauce

• ▢ 2 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
• ▢ 2 tablespoon All Purpose Flour
• ▢ ⅔ Cup Whole Milk
• ▢ 3 Slices American Cheese Torn into Pieces
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
• ▢ Salt and Pepper to Taste

• ▢ Homemade Soft Pretzels

Instructions

 

Beer Cheese Sauce

• In a small sauce pan heat butter over medium heat. Once melted and bubbling, add in the flour and stir to combine. Let cook until blonde, about 1 minute. 
• Add in milk and beer and whisk to avoid clumps. Once slightly thickened, about 2 minutes add the cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Add in the remaining ingredients and serve warm with Homemade Soft Pretzels. 

Chipotle Queso

• In a small sauce pan heat butter over medium heat. Once melted and bubbling, add in the flour and stir to combine. Let cook until blonde, about 1 minute. 
• Add in diced chipotle pepper, and diced green chilies and tomatoes and cook over heat while stirring for about 30 seconds. 
• Add in milk and whisk to avoid clumps. Once slightly thickened, about 2 minutes add the pepper jack cheese and stir until melted. Serve warm with Homemade Soft Pretzels
  

Classic American Cheese Sauce

• In a small sauce pan heat butter over medium heat. Once melted and bubbling, add in the flour and stir to combine. Let cook until blonde, about 1 minute. 
• Add in milk and whisk to avoid clumps. Once slightly thickened, about 2 minutes add the torn up pieces of American cheese and stir until melted. Add in remaining ingredients and serve warm with Homemade Soft Pretzels

Notes

Make sure you keep the cheese warm or else it will cool and you will have to rewarm it. You can use a small dip warmer or crockpot to avoid having to reheat them.

 

Nutrition Facts

Pretzel Cheese Sauce Trio

Amount Per Serving

Calories 137 Calories from Fat 98

% Daily Value*

Fat 10.9g17%

Saturated Fat 6.9g43%

Cholesterol 33mg11%

Sodium 200mg9%

Potassium 59mg2%

Carbohydrates 4g1%

Fiber 0.1g0%

Sugar 1.6g2%

Protein 5.5g11%

Calcium 120mg12%

Iron 0mg0%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Nutrition

Calories: 137kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 5.5gFat: 10.9gSaturated Fat: 6.9gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 200mgPotassium: 59mgFiber: 0.1gSugar: 1.6gCalcium: 120mgIron: 0mg

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