This easy queso dip, made with a blend of American, Cheddar, and cream cheese, is spiked with jalapeno and green chiles, giving it a pleasant bite. It’s the easiest, creamiest queso we’ve tried. (Trust us, we’ve tried a lot.)
Adapted from Mandi Hickman | The Tex-Mex Table | Page Street Publishing, 2022
I didn’t know good queso until I moved to Texas. Let me tell you, I was surely missing out. It’s a big deal in the Lone Star State and Tex-Mex cuisine. Every Tex-Mex restaurant has a version of it on their menu. Serve this homemade queso with chips, on top of nachos, tacos, burritos…it will be good on almost anything in this book. You can’t go wrong with a big bowl of melty, salty cheese spiced just right.–Mandi Hickman
Easy Queso Dip FAQs
While queso is traditionally served with tortilla chips, we, like many of our testers and followers, like to think outside the box a bit. Use it as a sauce on burritos and enchiladas along with your regular sauce. Drizzle it on tacos. It’s a fantastic dip for sweet peppers and other veggies. It’s life-changing with soft pretzels or chunks of sourdough. Pour a bit over your scrambled eggs, omelets, and hash browns. Sauté chicken breasts in Mexican-style spices, and dump queso over it. Your options are limitless.
It’s really a texture/melding thing. The fat in the cheeses is what makes the queso so creamy and velvety. Low or no-fat cheeses do not contain the natural chemical compounds found in fat, and those are important because they facilitate melting. If you use low or no-fat cheeses, your results could be grainy, chunky, separated, and very unappetizing.
Easy Queso Dip
Serve this homemade queso with chips, on top of nachos, tacos, burritos…it will be good on almost anything in this book. You can’t go wrong with a big bowl of melty, salty cheese spiced just right.
Make the creamy queso
-
In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the onion, jalapeño, diced green chiles, cumin, chili powder, and salt, to taste.
-
Cook until the onion and jalapeño are softened, stirring occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.
-
Reduce the heat to low and add the cubed American cheese, cream cheese, and half and half. Stir together and cook until it’s smooth and creamy, 2 to 5 minutes.
-
Stir in the shredded Cheddar cheese and mix to combine. Keep stirring the queso until the consistency becomes smooth and creamy, 2 to 4 minutes more. Taste and adjust seasonings, if desired. (If you want a “looser” queso, you can whisk in a little more half and half or water.)
Serve the queso
-
Ladle the homemade queso into a serving bowl and top with chopped cilantro, jalapeño slices, and a drizzle of hot sauce. Serve with chips.
Serving: 0.5cupCalories: 498kcal (25%)Carbohydrates: 9g (3%)Protein: 21g (42%)Fat: 43g (66%)Saturated Fat: 25g (156%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 130mg (43%)Sodium: 1534mg (67%)Potassium: 261mg (7%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 5g (6%)Vitamin A: 1453IU (29%)Vitamin C: 11mg (13%)Calcium: 1011mg (101%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
Originally published May 3, 2022
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We’d love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
