Chile con Queso
The parade of Mexican-inspired food for Cinco de Mayo continues! I don’t know about you, but I find it nearly impossible to celebrate a holiday or throw a party without including at least one type of dip. Dip is where it’s at, right? There’s nothing better than plunging a chip into a creamy, cheesy bowl of deliciousness. The cheesier, the better, which is what makes queso so darn addicting. As you may have guessed from its name, it includes lots and lots of cheese. This is sometimes known simply as “queso” on some restaurant menus, but the concept is the same – a bowl of melted cheese along with chiles and tomatoes. While the shortcut method to chile con queso is usually a block of Velveeta and a can of Rotel, I’ve often times nuked cream cheese and salsa together. No doubt about it – this from-scratch chile con queso puts both of those to shame. It’s thick, creamy, smooth, and packed with flavor and a little a spice.
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The dip starts with a quick saute of jalapeño and serrano peppers, onion, and garlic, and then moves on to a bechamel sauce base. The chile con queso gets finished off with milk, cilantro, tomatoes, and lots of cheese. I used a combination of cheddar and Monterey Jack, but the recipe is very forgiving, and as long as it’s a good melting cheese, it will be awesome in this recipe.
We were able to polish this off in two or three sittings, and had we not eaten dinner, I’m sure we could have finished it off much faster! I love all the cheese, the little bit of a spicy kick, and the flavor from the tomatoes and cilantro. It’s perfect and should definitely be on your short list of dip recipes. It’s a Cinco de Mayo necessity, for sure!
Two years ago: Pecan Sandies
Chile con Queso
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup (80 g) chopped yellow onion
- 2 serrano chiles, seeds and stems removed, diced
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeds and stems removed, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (244 ml) whole milk
- ½ cup (8 g) chopped cilantro
- 15 ounce (425.24 g) canned diced tomatoes, drained (about 1 cup)
- 12 ounces (340.2 g) cheddar cheese, grated (about 3 cups)
- 12 ounces (340.2 g) Monterey Jack cheese, grated (about 3 cups)
- ½ cup (115 ml) sour cream
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion, serrano chiles, and jalapeño, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Whisk the flour into the pan and cook for about 30 seconds. Slowly pour the milk into the pan while whisking, and continue to cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce has thickens, about 3 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and tomatoes.
- Reduce the heat to low, and add the grated cheeses a ¼ cup at a time, stirring after each addition, until it is completely melted. Repeat until all of the cheese has been added. Stir in the sour cream until completely combined. Serve immediately with tortilla chips. Leftovers (if you have any!) can be refrigerated for up to 5 days, and then reheated when you're ready to serve.
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One question – did you mean 6 cups of cheese in total or did you actually mean 3 cups in total? 6 cups seems like a lot so I made this with 3 cups instead – still
turned out great!
Hi Alisha, The recipe is correct as written – 6 cups total. Glad you still enjoyed it!
My kids love queso dip. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
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I’m sure this is a great queso recipe but I just tried to make it and it was a disaster. If you are going to make this, buy your own cheese and grate it yourself. If you buy already grated cheese, you’ll end up with a stringy, gloppy mess. I tried to add more milk and heat up the cheeses but it was unsalvageable.
Hi Tracy, I actually never use pre-shredded cheese for this very reason – it gets clumpy and nasty. I always buy a block and shred it myself. I’ve seen a lot of cooking magazines mention that it’s coated in a powder that keeps it from getting moldy, but that anti-caking agent actually keeps it from melting well.
I just made it with pre-grated cheese and it turned out fantastic, my family loved it! (I didn’t read the comments until after I made it)! I usually make the Velveeta/Rotel version, but didn’t have those on hand… now I will make this version from now on, delicious!
Also made with pre-grated cheese – I live in Australia so we only have ‘Mexican Blend’ cheese – Monterey Jack is impossible to find unless you want to pay A LOT of money! I was so happy with the way this turned out!! YUMYUMYUM!!!
We just didn’t like this recipe. We thought it was bland. Don’t think we’ll be making it again. Maybe we’re just picky.
We made it last night and agree that it was bland. It needed some sort of seasoning. I also used pre-shredded cheese and it was ok. Not as smooth as I like it, but not a gloppy mess either.
I made this with using pre-shredded cheese and then a block of cheese of Monterrey that I grated myself. It came out stringy, a little clumpy too. So is I am guessing the trick is to only buy blocks of cheese and grate it myself? Or what else could have caused lumpy non-creamy queso? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Rachel, Yes, absolutely buy a block of cheese and shred it yourself. The pre-shredded cheese is absolutely awful for recipes where you need to actually melt the cheese.
Another one of your that I HAVE to make and gobble up!
Boy that looks so good. I wish I was making a Cinco de Mayo party. Son is going to one at school but I am already making Arroz con Pollo for it. I will hold on to this for the next party I go to. Thanks.
Oh niiiceee! My partner would love this. He loves hot dips. Me on the other hand, I’m a wimp and can’t handle the heat, lol!
This sounds so good, it would be incredibly dangerous to have at my house! We’re not having a Cinco de Mayo get together, but I think I need to find another excuse to have people over to make this, and soon :)
Oh this looks so delicious!!
Love Chili Con Queso!!! Looks yummy!
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This is my biggest weakness. Love it.
This looks delicious! :) I can’t wait to try it, thanks for sharing the recipe!
looooove queso! I could eat it all the time :) I also cannot possibly have a party without dip. It’s a must for a good time.
Think this would hold up ok if I threw it in a mini crock pot and took it to a party?
Absolutely!
My brother will be thrilled with this!
Oh this looks good, and so comforting!!! I have to make this asap!
love queso dip!!
This looks perfect. I have been wanting to find a creamy queso that does not use Velveeta, and it looks like I have finally accomplished that mission. I cannot wait to make it.
It’s like you read my mind. I have been wanting to make some homemade queso for quite some time, and now I can with your help! I might need a straw, though….it’ll just be easier to slurp it up.
I have honestly never had queso, but I think I will have to add this to my Cinco de Mayo party menu, it looks so good!
Yum! This would pair so nicely with almost anything!! Love it!
I could eat buckets of this. Never mind that my body would hate me!
I love chili con queso dip, but I never made it from scratch. As a kid my Mom would make the traditional dish by mixing Velvetta and Salsa together. Yum! I may have to splurge and try your recipe out!!!
yum! have you ever done your own tortilla chips? we are on this kick now, i wont buy them any more..just buy corn or flour tortilla and cut them in to triangles, fry in a tiny bit of peanut or corn oil and dust with sea salt…delish!~ :) would go great with the homemade dip!!!
Ooh, no, I haven’t done my own chips. Sounds yummy!
you could go a step further and make your own tortillas first…
I am not hugely into queso, but my wife would be a happy woman if I made this. Looks very creamy!
This dip sounds and looks so good that I think I would need a big spoon along with the tortilla chips.
Perfect recipe post for this week, absolutely delicious!!
I love cheese dips! And I am not a fan of velveeta at all so this homemade version looks so perfectly delicious!
I love the homesick Texan! And who doesn’t love queso? I must say, every single time I make a recipe off your site, it turns out perfectly. This will be no exception!
I want that dip, right now. Oh, that looks soooo good!
I was totally just thinking how much I wanted to make Chile con Queso last night! I made a point to look up a recipe in the morning, and here you’ve posted what looks like a great one! What luck :)