Homemade Queso Recipe
The Best Queso Dip Recipe (aka Cheese Sauce) – Cheese sauce makes or breaks any nacho recipe. The Best Queso recipe is easy and flavorful, with sharp and smoky notes.
Why We Love This Homemade Queso
You say party, I say nachos… Party! Nachos! Party! Nachos! Sorry. When we get to the end of football season, everything tends to come out in chant format.
What I meant to say, was that it would be a shame to have a Super Bowl Party and forget the spicy cheese sauce.
You’ve probably tried the 2-ingredient version with velveeta cheese and Rotel, which features tomatoes and green chiles. I’m not knocking either of these products, or the queso they make. Let’s be honest, it is delicious in its own way.
But I do believe we can make even better-tasting queso with real cheese! And this my friends, is The Best Queso Dip Recipe I’ve ever made.
Start with fresh onions, garlic, and jalapeños, sautéed until soft, then add creamy half & half, smoky chipotle peppers, and three fabulous cheeses, including smoked cheddar to add a huge punch of flavor.
The reason so many people stick with said processed 2-ingredient cheese sauce is that it’s nice and smooth. However, if you know how to thicken your queso recipe and use quality cheeses (without fillers) you can create the best cheese sauces you’ve ever tried, that tastes authentic and super fresh.
Pour this Mexican cheese dip over tortilla chips, fries, broccoli, burgers, pretzels, and corn chips yourself...Just kidding, let’s stick to food!
Pour it over all things food, and enter cheese-lover’s heaven.
Ingredients for Homemade Queso
- Butter – to sauté the shallot, garlic and jalapeño peppers
- Shallot – finely diced
- Garlic – freshly minced
- Jalapeños – deseeded and diced
- Half & Half – or evaporated milk will do the trick
- Chipotle chiles – use the ones that are canned in adobo sauce for a smoky flavor
- Cornstarch – to thicken things to creamy perfection
- Cream cheese – cut into cubes and softened
- Yellow mustard – to balance the flavor with a little tang
- Smoked cheddar cheese – for a slightly smoky flavor
- Sharp cheddar cheese – if you don’t like the smoky flavor, use all sharp cheddar cheese
This is the Best Queso Recipe, Perfect for Nachos, Burritos, and All Your Dipping Needs!
How to Make Homemade Queso Dip
Place a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the butter, shallots, garlic, and jalapeño. Saute for 3-4 minutes to soften, then add the half & half and chipotle peppers.
Whisk in the cornstarch. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer, so the half & half can scald (not necessary with evaporated milk). Then lower the temperature to medium-low. Next stir in the cream cheese and mustard.
Slowly start adding the shredded cheese. Stir and add by the handful, until the sauce comes together. If you prefer your cheese sauce a little thinner, add an extra splash of half & half. Serve immediately, or keep warm in a slow cooker or fondue pot.
Serve with chips, or on top of nachos, burritos, or enchiladas!
How to Thicken Queso Dip
The best way to thicken your homemade queso is to use cornstarch as the thickening agent instead of flour.
It can be tricky to know when to choose cornstarch and when to choose flour. But the general rule of thumb is that if you plan to cook something for a longer time, use flour, and if you need your thickening agent to act quickly, use cornstarch.
Flour produces a much better flavor over time, but must be cooked quite a bit to ensure your recipe is smooth, not gritty.
Tips For Homemade Queso Dip
- In this queso recipe, there are so many bold ingredients to add flavor, so we don’t need to rely on the flour to build flavor. Cornstarch is the answer for a very smooth creamy consistency.
- It’s also important to mention that block cheese, shredded at home, produces a much better texture than pre-shredded cheese covered in additives to ward off clumping.
- Once you’ve scalded the half & half (also important for texture) keep the heat down and be patient as you slowly stir in the fresh shredded cheese.
You’ll be amazed by how rich, creamy, and zesty this smoky homemade queso sauce is.
Recipe Variations
- Peppers: I chose to use jalapeño pepper and chipotle chile peppers here. If you prefer a less spicy option, you can opt for canned hatch green chiles instead!
- Cheeses: If you don’t like smoky-flavored cheese, you can opt for all sharp cheddar cheese, or throw in some other options like pepper jack, or white American cheese!
- Seasonings: For a dash of extra spice, try adding a little bit of cayenne pepper! You can also add garlic powder in addition to the fresh garlic for a deeper savory flavor. No need to add salt here since there is salt in the cheese!
Frequently Asked Questions
Some people have trouble with their queso dip solidifying after it cools. The cornstarch in this recipe should help to stabilize the sauce and keep it in liquid form even after it cools. Then you can reheat it easily to use again!
The possibilities are truly endless. You can pair this cheese dip recipe with tortilla chips and fresh veggies and call it a day. Or, you can use it to enhance a variety of different meals such as Mexican sopes, chicken burrito bowls, tacos, or even enchiladas!
Check the Recipe Card for Instructions on How to Make the Best Queso Recipe!
Looking for More Delicious Dips? Be Sure to Also Try:
- Amazing & Easy Queso Blanco
- 3-Ingredient Beer Cheese Dip Recipe
- Smoked Queso Dip
- Hot Pimento Cheese Dip
- Baked Brie Bites
- Fresh Ricotta Cheese
- Creamy Sausage Cheese Dip
- Homemade Cheese Spread
Check the printable recipe card below with the nutrition information including calories, carbohydrates, protein, cholesterol, sodium, fiber, vitamin c, and calcium percentages.
Homemade Queso Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 shallot, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 jalapeños, seeded and diced
- 1 1/2 cups half & half, or evaporated milk
- 2 chipotle chiles, diced (canned in adobo sauce)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 4 ounces cream cheese, cut into cubes and softened
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 8 ounces smoked cheddar cheese, shredded
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Place a medium sized pot over medium heat. Add the butter, shallots, garlic and jalapeño. Saute for 3-4 minutes to soften, then add the half & half and chipotle peppers.
- Whisk in the cornstarch. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer, so the half & half can scald (not necessary with evaporated milk). Then lower the temperature to medium-low. Next stir in the cream cheese and mustard.
- Slowly start adding the shredded cheese. Stir and add by the handful, until the sauce comes together. If you prefer your cheese sauce a little thinner, add an extra splash of half & half. Serve immediately, or keep warm in a slow cooker or fondue pot.
I made my own version of this because I was missing a few ingredients and had others that I could substitute in. It turned out delicious! I ended up using flour instead of cornstarch because we like our queso extra thick.
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Made your queso dip for a housewarming party last night and it was a HUGE hit!! Thanks for the recipe!! :D
Just made this sauce for nachos tonight. So good!!! This one is going in my arsenal!!!
This dip is great, however is tastes even better if left in frig over night to let all the ingredients blend together
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Hola!
Grandes recetas!
Me gustaría presentar un sitio que vende moldes de queso: http://www.moldesparaquesos.com/
Gracias,
Aline.
Stumbled across your recipe today, and made it as the cheese for a big plate of nachos. It’s was delicious!! Perfectly Spicy and so full of flavor. Everyone commented that the cheese sauce was especially good. Thank you!
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Looking to make this the center piece of my nacho buffet for my annual Super Bowl party this upcoming weekend and had a question regarding the Chipotle chilies with the Adobo sauce. Should I rinse off the peppers before dicing, or should I throw in some of the adobo sauce?
Hi Nate! You don’t need to rinse them. Just scoop out the peppers and chop away. Happy Cooking! :)
Excellent & thanks!
I’m making this for Super Bowl this year! It looks amazing! I googled California cream cheese to see what the difference was from regular cream cheese and the Urban dictionary’s definition isn’t something I’d want in my cheese sauce or ever for that matter and it makes me regret looking it up on my work pc. ;)
Hi Ashley! “California Cream Cheese” is just cream cheese made and California. Feel free to buy whatever brand of cream cheese you like! :)
Thank you so much for the tip!!
Hello all! This sauce looks amazing and I will definitely be making it for Super bowl Sunday. I also like that this recipe is a lot easier than other homemade Ve/$&&+@ recipes. I do have a question though… If I am making this to be the cheese over nachos how long will it hold? I guess what I am saying is will the sauce gelatnize while it is sitting on the nachos? I am hoping that it keeps its smoothness while on the nachos… I ask this because while at a holiday party I took home some Mac and cheese and the cheese was a cheese sauce and it definitely took on the shape of the bowl. It looked like an old school jello mold but made out of cheese I think it was made with some processed cheese sauce and I was horrified! Hope to hear from anyone! Have a good day y’all.!
Hey Melissa! It does firm up as it cools. Not to a hard state, but it’s definitely better warm. My suggestion would be to keep it warming in a crockpot and let your guests add their own cheese sauce when they are ready to eat.
Looks so good! I am having company over Sunday night but have plans during the day. Is it possible to make this in advance and just reheat it in the microwave?
Thanks!
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This sauce is so delicious! I didn’t have smoked cheese but wanted that smoky flavour so I added some smoked paprika when I added the mustard. Wow! What a delicious flavour! Also, the next day, I added shredded chicken with the leftover sauce and served it on toasted english muffins. Thank you so much for this delicious recipe.
So glad you liked it Pat!! :)
This looks amazing! I’m assuming it would be good over enchiladas too?