Best Chile Con Queso | Southwest Classic

Name: Chile Con Queso
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 4 tbsp Butter; ½ large Texas Sweet Onion (Use your favorite onion); 2 tbsp Minced Garlic; 3 tbsp All-Purpose Flour; 4 cups Whole Milk (Have more milk on standby. You may need to fix the thickness); ½ Jalapeno (Ad as much as you enjoy); 1 cup Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese (Grated); 8 oz Cream Cheese (Room temperature is best); 16 oz Mexican Blend of Cheese / 1 bag; 5 tbsp Canned Green Chiles; 4 tbsp Canned Pimentos; 1 tbsp Smokey Chili Powder; 1 ½ tsp Cumin Powder; 1 tsp Dried Oregano; 2 tsp Granulated Garlic; 1 T Kocher Salt (Add more if desired); 4 tsp Adobo Sauce (Canned chipotles - use the adobo sauce and add the smoked chipotles for extra heat/spiciness)

Down in Texas, we love a few things very much, BBQ, peppers, spice, and chile con queso. The best part is it does not take long to make, around 15 minutes.

There are wide different varieties of queso, and it can be spicy or mild depending on the ingredients used.

A lot of people think of homemade queso as Velveeta with peppers. Real chile con queso dips use all-natural ingredients resulting in a depth of flavor like no other. Our recipe can be made using the Instant Pot or on the stovetop.

Chile con queso served in blue bowl on wooden table — Texas Chile Con Queso

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⬇️ Table of Contents

🧀 What Is Chile con Queso?
🥘 Ingredients
📋 Instructions
🌶️ Spices and Herbs for Chile con Queso
👪 Serving the Queso
Queso Recipe with Velveeta
💭 Queso Faqs
Posts To Check Out
📖 Recipe Card

🧀 What Is Chile con Queso?

Chile con queso dip is a cheesy recipe with chili peppers. It's commonly eaten as a dip or sauce and can be utilized in place of cheese in tacos or burritos. Chile con queso is a recipe made with cheddar cheese or a quality blend of South American cheese.
The chiles can be fresh, canned, dried, mild, or spicy chili peppers.

Why This Recipe Works

We use easy-to-find ingredients from your local grocery store. Each ingredient brings something to the table. The result is an authentic chile con queso with real flavor where you can taste each ingredient.

Queso is not just another cheese appetizer; yet it's a Tex-Mex staple of southwest and south-of-the-border cuisine.

🥘 Ingredients

Mexican Blend of Cheeses

Sharp Cheddar cheese
Monterey Jack cheese
Colby cheese
Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese - brings great flavor and color
Cream Cheese - is a must ingredient to achieve the perfect texture

Peppers and Chiles 🌶️

Green Hatch Chiles
Pimento peppers
Adobo Sauce

Spices and Herbs 🌿

Chili Powder - the best chili powders come from San Antonio and New Mexico
Cumin - For best results, toast whole cumin seed in a dry pan until you can smell the aroma, then use a spice grinder
Oregano
Granulated Garlic

📋 Instructions

Use a medium to a large pot to cook over the stove on a medium-low, or use the Instant Pot or Crock-Pot. The chile con queso turns out the same in all three ways. We enjoy the Instant Pot for the reason it is one pot to serve, one pot to clean up.

Start the queso by making a simple roux of flour and butter cooked together into it becomes a paste. Then cook a little to hydrate the roux, about 2 minutes. The flavored roux will be the base of the chile con queso recipe.

First, turn the Instant Pot on to saute mode on high, or use a large pot on the stovetop over medium-high heat.

While the Instant Pot or stovetop pot is heating up, add the onions. Use a handheld cheese grater, and grate half of one large onion into the instant pot. Use whichever onion you enjoy best; we used Texas Sweet Vidalia onion.

Prepare the texas sweet onion by using a handheld cheese grater and shave into the instant pot. Use whatever onion you like and is easy to purchase.

Add 4 tablespoons of cubed butter to the instant pot or stovetop pot and allow it to melt. While the butter is melting, add 2 tablespoons of minced garlic and begin stirring and saute everything together.

Add minced garlic and cubed butter to the pot and melting the butter

Using a cheese grater, shave fresh jalapeno into the pot. Make sure all the ingredients are mixed well. Add a little bit more than half of the jalapeno.

Using the cheese grater shave fresh jalapeno into the pot

Have 4 cups of whole milk pre-measured before beginning this step. ⬇️

Add one 8 oz package of cream cheese and completely melt.

Add one 8 oz package of cream cheese to the instant pot and melt and combine very well

Add 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Make sure you keep stirring and cook out the raw flour.

Adding quarter cup of all-purpose to the melted cream cheese

While cooking the raw flour, you'll begin to notice the queso base starts to thicken up. This is the main reason to have the whole milk measured and ready to go standing by.

Cooking the raw flour with the melted cream cheese

Add in 2 cups of whole milk, adding it a little at a time until incorporated.

Mix and stir out any possible lumps at this point. You can start adding an additional 2 cups of whole milk at this point while stirring. Once cheese goes in and melts you can control the thickness of your chile con queso by adding more milk.

If you like your Chile con Queso to a certain thickness, add more or less whole milk. You'll need at least 4 cups. The longer it cooks, the thicker it will become. If you add too much milk, allow it to cook at a low temperature and the queso will thicken.

Stirring quickly and working out any possible lumps. You can start adding in the additional 2 cups or more of whole milk

🌶️ Spices and Herbs for Chile con Queso

A great chile con queso recipe is the balancing act of great cheeses, spices, and herbs. Queso does not have to be complicated. A few good ingredients, using good technique.
Before you begin making the roux, have all your ingredients measured out and ready to go. Making queso does not take long, around 15 minutes.

The Measurements

High-Quality Chili Powder - 1 ½ teaspoon
Granulated Onion Powder - Add 1 to 2 teaspoons
Dried Oregano - Add 1 teaspoon
Canned Green Chiles - Mild - Rotel works well as a replacement ingredient
Add Pimentos - 4 tablespoons
One full bag of shredded cheese - 4 Cups
Add shredded "Extra" Sharp Cheddar Cheese - 1 cup
Add 4 teaspoons for more of Chipotles in Adobo Sauce

👪 Serving the Queso

Use the Instant Pot "Keep Warm" setting to keep your Texas Queso warm for your guests. If the chile con queso begins to tighten up too much, you can add more milk to smoothen it out.

The next option is using a crockpot set to low temperature.

Or keeping the pot on the stovetop, set to the lowest temperature setting. The cheese will stay hot for a long time.

The buffet-style works well. Place the pot on a heat-safe coster.

Queso Recipe with Velveeta

This simple queso recipe using Velveeta is loved by most and is very easy to make. There is just something about Velveeta cheese. The color is classic when combined with Rotel you have solid queso. Queso with Velveeta recipe is an easy go-to for any party.

Velveeta cheese (16-ounce package/1pound)
Rotel - dried tomatoes and green chilies (10-ounce can), comes in mild, hot, chunky, fire-roasted, chipotle flavors.
Water (8 ounces) start with less and mix and adjust the consistency to your liking.

The amount: 1 quart (¼ of a gallon)

💭 Queso Faqs

What are some of the most popular ingredients for queso?

There are many different ways to make queso, so there are bound to be lots of delicious recipes out there. Some popular queso recipes include queso with ground beef, queso with chorizo, and queso blanco. No matter what your taste preferences are, there is sure to be a queso recipe that you will love.

How Long Does Queso Last?

Covered in the refrigerator, you can enjoy queso for up to 7 days.

How Can Queso Be Fixed That Is Too Thick

Hot queso over time will begin to thicken up. This is caused by the heat. To fix all you need to do is add more milk and stir. The queso must be warm when you do this or it will not combine.

Can I Use Low Fat Milk

Yes, the difference will be in flavor and consistency. To help, you can add a cornstarch slurry to help the thickness.
Using low-fat products, you can add in a small amount of bacon grease to up the flavor profile.
The end result will still be less fat than with normal milk products with the addition of the bacon grease.

What is the best way to eat queso?

There is no wrong way to enjoy queso! Some people like to dip chips or other snacks into the cheese dip, while others prefer to eat it with a spoon. Queso can also be used as a topping on tacos or nachos. However you choose to eat it, queso is sure to be delicious.

Best Chile Con Queso | Southwest Classic