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.
Wow, amazing! And no crazy ingredients, had almost everything on hand! :) thanks we loved it!
This was really amazing! Everyone in my family loved it!
This queso was fabulous! It was a hit at our Super Bowl party!
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I feel negligent in not commenting before on your exceptional recipes. I enjoy all of same that I have ever tried, and being a recipe collector for my own use only, of all the food blogs I follow, I am certain of all the recipes I have copied and pasted to my recipe collections, a lot were/are from your fine blog. I can’t remember dishes to cook through the week, for (the woman who must be obeyed) so I just check my lists! Thanks from a cold Nova Scotia! Cheers!
I made this today and while the flavors were delicious, the texture was grainy! I followed the recipe exactly (I thought) – any idea where I went wrong?
Hi Michelle,
Did you remember to turn the temperature down? Too much heat will cause cheese to separate instead of blend smoothly into the sauce.
That was gooooood. Great replacement for store-bought nacho sauce.
Made this tonight and it’s the best queso I’ve ever tasted. I wasn’t sure how I’d like the smokier flavor (I do love smoky cheese but wasn’t sure how I’d like it in a queso) but all the flavors blend together really well and it’s perfectly balanced. Yum!! Thank you!!!
Absolutely delicious sauce. I used it on chimichangas. Yummy!
This is awesome!!! I changed it a bit to suit the ingredients I had on hand, but not much.
So so yummy! Going on my regular Mexican rotation.
So good and creamy. No weird ingredients and we made it extra spicy with extra jalapeño. The texture is perfect.
This was delicious! I will cut the mustard in half next time though.
Damn, I went to the store with another recipe that calls for medium cheddar cheese, claiming sharp doesn’t melt as well and asking for flour instead of cornstarch.
Then I saw this recipe right below it on the google search and had to check it out because of the amazing reviews… Welp, now I have to deal with this other recipe so I don’t waste this half pound of medium cheddar hahaha… Bookmarking this for later! :)
We don’t have half and half, substituted milk and a dollop of cream, did not use cream cheese or smoked cheese turned out fine. did add a few drops of annatto to give it an orange color
So delicious and easy to make. Followed it exactly with no substitutions. Also would be easy to customize as well. The directions were clear and the notes on scalding the half and half were also really helpful. After preparing this at home I traveled about a half hour to a party and was concerned it would get lumpy or change in texture, but keeping it warm helped and it ended up not needing any added liquid at all. Everyone loved it. Great recipe, thank you for sharing!
What brand and size is your pot in the wooden thing in your last two pics? Forget the cheese! Haha! The pot looks awesome! Where did you find it and what did it cost? Do you know if it’s still available?
Hi Allie,
LOL! I think that is part of the Cat Cora cooking collection. I have no idea if they still make it, but I bet Amazon would know. ;)
Found this recipe while searching for a replacement to an old nacho cheese I used to purchase from the grocery that was called Kaukauna deli mex nacho cheese dip. They discontinued the product almost 10 years ago and I have missed it dearly up until trying your recipe. Never thought I would find a better sauce but without a doubt I surely have now.
I use a mixed variety of fresh peppers from our garden including Chocolate bhut jolokia, Tobasco peppers and mustard trinidad scorpion peppers in place of jalapeno which adds a little extra kick and smoky flavor. Your sauce is perfect and despite my small change mentioned needs no alteration. Thanks for the post you have given me a recipe to remake many more times over the years.