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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!

Bowl of queso dip surrounded by tortilla chips.

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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.

Large saute pan with melted mexican queso dip.

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.
Mexican queso dip with a tortilla chip dipped in it.
4.58 from 162 votes

Easy Queso Dip Recipe

This Mexican Queso Dip recipe is easy to make and comes out creamy and smooth every time! Like your favorite restaurant queso at home!
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 35 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
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Ingredients 

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ยฝ medium onion, minced (yellow or white)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 jalapeรฑo pepper minced (seeds removed if you don’t want it spicy)
  • ยพ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 ยฝ cups milk, divided
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into cubes
  • 6 ounces mild cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 ยฝ cups)
  • 6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 1 ยฝ cups)
  • 2 tablespoons red salsa*, plus more to taste

Instructions 

  • Melt the butter in a large sautรฉ pan or deep skillet over medium heat.
  • Add in the onion, garlic, jalapeรฑo and salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and become very fragrant.
  • Add in ยพ 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 ยพ 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

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 319kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 91mg | Sodium: 705mg | Potassium: 183mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1050IU | Vitamin C: 7.4mg | Calcium: 390mg | Iron: 1.1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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66 Comments

  1. Mike says:

    5 stars
    Turned out smooth and fantastic.

  2. Mike says:

    I didnโ€™t think it would work sautรฉ in the butter with the peppers and onions, worked fantastic, I believe the best queso ever made. Again fantastic.

  3. Ron says:

    Just tried it and it was not good. Just tasted chalky.

    1. Ana @ Isabel Eats says:

      Hi Ron. We’re sorry to hear that, thank you for your feedback.

  4. Michelle B says:

    2 stars
    Was excited to try this. Havenโ€™t found a queso recipe yet that lives up to the claim of being smooth and creamy. Unfortunately this didnโ€™t either. Followed the recipe exactly but it turned out clumpy not smooth. Tastes good but texture is weird

  5. KP says:

    5 stars
    Yummy

  6. Audrey B says:

    Love a good Queso, I decided to throw in some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce too for that smoky spicy flavor 10/10

    1. Ana @ Isabel Eats says:

      Hi Audrey! That sounds delicious. Thanks for the tip!

  7. linda ledesma soto says:

    5 stars
    There are WAY too many tomatoes in the “can” tomatoes & chilis, is there another “brand” that is not so tomato y?

    1. Ana @ Isabel Eats says:

      Hi Linda! I’m not sure about that. Next time you may try only using half the can of tomatoes so that it’s to your liking. I hope this helps!

    2. Alice says:

      Try using a 4 or 8oz can of green chilis. That’s what I always use because I don’t like tomatoes.

  8. Joy E. Powers says:

    5 stars
    I thought it turned out great, just how the recipe said! Hot queso! Yum!

  9. Andrea says:

    5 stars
    Deliciouso!

  10. HomeChef says:

    3 stars
    This recipe is great however there is a very distinguishable cream cheese taste that also seems to mess with the consistency. The consistency is not smooth, itโ€™s more like curdled cheese despite really attempting to melt it down and add more milk. I would recommend halving the cream cheese and adding in salsa in stead of diced tomatoes