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This homemade Queso Dip recipe is easy to make and comes out creamy and smooth every time! Now you can make your favorite restaurant queso at home!
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Getting an order of chips and queso whenever I go to a Mexican restaurant is an absolute must. What’s not to love about melted cheese paired with fresh tortilla chips? And a margarita on the side, of course. I just can’t help myself – it’s one of my favorite things in the world!
Growing up, I used to make the classic Velveeta cheese dip. You know the kind I’m talking about. A block of Velveeta, a jar of chunky salsa and a splash of milk. I used to love that stuff. In fact, I still do! But today I want to use the real stuff. 100% real cheese.
I’ve made it my mission to come up with the best queso dip recipe I can possibly make. And I’m proud to say that I finally did it.
The Creamiest Queso Recipe
After experimenting and making 3 different test batches of homemade queso dip, I’ve finally perfected this recipe so that it comes out luxuriously creamy every time. The secret ingredient?
Cream cheese.
The cream cheese holds all the melted shredded cheeses together and keeps the queso silky smooth for a longer period of time compared to using no cream cheese at all. Which means you can sit back and enjoy your queso without having to worry about it getting chunky or hard once you take it off the heat.
How to Make Queso Dip
- Heat a large saute pan over low to medium heat. Add butter and melt.
- Add onions, garlic, jalapeno and salt. Saute for 5 minutes, until vegetables soften and become fragrant.
- Add 3/4 cups of milk and cream cheese. Stir continuously until cream cheese has melted and is mostly smooth, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low.
- Add shredded cheeses in small increments, stirring each increment into the mixture until it has completely melted before adding the next.
- Stir in the remaining 3/4 cups of milk until fully combined. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the red salsa. Serve immediately.
Tips for making The Best queso
- Buy block cheese instead of the pre-shredded kind. The pre-shredded cheese at the grocery store is often covered with additives that are meant to reduce clumping, which doesn’t always produce the best texture when melted.
- For the creamiest results, use whole milk.
- If the queso dip is too thick, stir in a splash of milk until it reaches your desired consistency.
More Recipes
Easy Queso Dip Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ medium onion, minced (yellow or white)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeño pepper minced (seeds removed if you don’t want it spicy)
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups milk, divided
- 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into cubes
- 6 ounces mild cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 ½ cups)
- 6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 1 ½ cups)
- 2 tablespoons red salsa*, plus more to taste
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large sauté pan or deep skillet over medium heat.
- Add in the onion, garlic, jalapeño and salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and become very fragrant.
- Add in ¾ cups of milk and cream cheese. Stir continuously until the cream cheese has melted and is mostly smooth, about 5 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low and add in the shredded cheeses in batches, stirring each batch into the mixture until it has completely melted before adding the next.
- Stir in the remaining ¾ cups of milk until fully combined.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the salsa. Taste and add more if desired. Serve immediately with tortilla chips.
Notes
- Red salsa: You can use your favorite smooth or chunky red salsa. For a smoky flavor, use 2 tablespoons of minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce instead.
- If the queso dip is too thick, stir in a splash of milk until it reaches your desired consistency.
- For the creamiest results, use whole milk.
- I recommend buying block cheese and shredding it yourself instead of buying pre-shredded cheese. The pre-shredded cheese at the grocery store is often covered with additives that are meant to reduce clumping, which doesn’t always produce the best texture when melted.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So good! I bought pre-shredded cheese before reading the tips but the texture was still fine. I also cut it in half, which was easy and made a ton still
Shredded my own cheese but the end result was still a bit grainy. Very tasty but the texture was off.
Texture was grainy. Not enough flavor. Maybe a higher grade cheese.
I made a big pot of taco soup for a family gathering and added this queso to the menu. It was a huge hit. Sadly for me, no leftovers. My daughter just called to ask for the recipe for tonight’s supper. As they say, “Definitely in regular rotation now. . . .”
So happy everyone loved it! Thanks, Janet!
Not having diced tomatoes w/ chiles I substituted drained fresh salsa, but sparingly as our grandchildren are not yet accepting of much ‘heat.” My husband likes it as do I, so now we see if the grandkids take to it! Fingers crossed.
Does it keep well, to be warmed up a little at a time ?
Hi Cathy! Yes this keeps well! To reheat, we recommend using a stovetop and whisking occasionally until smooth.
Made this yesterday. Delicious! I think the juice in the tomatoes/green chilis made it too thin so thickened it with a little cornstarch (1 tbsp). Next time I will not include the juice. I also added a touch of black pepper since I had de-seeded the jalapeños. It tastes even better warmed up today. Thanks for such a great recipe!
Made it, loved it!
Hello, this will be the first time I try something on your site, fingers crossed. My thing is that I have tried a bunch of other recipes for queso, and they are just never as good as quite a few Mexican restaurants, mine has either turned out grainy, or not great flavor…….but here we GO!!!
Can I make the night before and hear up in crock pot?
Yes! When you heat it up in the crockpot, make sure to set it on the lowest heat. If it gets too hot, the cheese can get grainy due to overcooking.
Cannot wait to try this! I absolutely love queso (I mean, who doesn’t??), but it’s one of those things I never think to make for myself. Seems like now is the time!
It is definitely time, Christy. I know you’re going to love it!