The Best Queso
Make this queso recipe! This Mexican dip is cheesy, creamy and full of fresh flavor. It's surprisingly easy to make and utterly irresistible.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 27, 2024
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I’m super excited to share this queso recipe with you. This Mexican dip is cheesy, creamy and full of fresh flavor. It’s surprisingly easy to make and utterly irresistible.
This recipe uses a simple secret ingredient—cream cheese—to achieve its gloriously creamy texture and light tang. No flour and no fussy roux required here (as a bonus, this queso is gluten free).
This stovetop queso possesses all of Velveeta’s positive attributes, but it tastes a million times nicer. It even cools down with grace, developing just a slight skin on top that really doesn’t detract from its appeal.
If you’re like me, you probably don’t need an excuse to eat queso while sipping a margarita. I grew up around a lot of Tex-Mex food and like to consider myself a queso connoisseur. If queso is on the menu, I’ve likely sampled it.
My husband, on the other hand, exercises an impressive amount of restraint when it comes to queso. He tells me he doesn’t like it. (He’s generally a rational man, though I question him in cheese-related matters.) This queso is an exception to his rule. He loves it.
We both agree that this is the best queso we’ve ever had. Try it, and I hope you’ll say the same!
Homemade Queso Ingredients
This recipe is made with all-natural ingredients. You’ll find the full recipe below. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Butter: We’ll start by cooking onion and jalapeño in melted butter. Sure, we could use olive oil instead, but butter offers some extra-delicious notes to this already dairy-rich recipe.
- Red onion: The onion flavor mellows significantly as it cooks and offers a nice savory backbone to this queso. Any variety of onion will work, but I like red onion’s flavor and color best here.
- Jalapeño: Fresh or jarred jalapeño is optional here, offering both fresh flavor and some heat. I love it, but if you’re sensitive to spice, you can omit it or just scale back.
- Garlic: Like onion, garlic adds another savory dimension to this queso.
- Milk: Whole milk is best, or I imagine 2 percent would work if that’s what you have. I’ve also successfully made this queso with a thick, unsweetened, plain alternative milk (specifically, Forager brand’s cashew milk).
- Cream cheese: Cream cheese makes this dip thick and ultra creamy. It also offers a bit of tang. If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you probably know that I love cream cheese!
- Cheese: We’ll use a combination of cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese for optimal flavor and melt factor. If you love spice like me, try pepper jack cheese instead of plain. It’s delicious.
- Tomatoes: You have several options here. I love quartered cherry tomatoes or diced ripe tomatoes, when tomatoes are in season. You could use drained, diced tomatoes instead, or even well-drained tomato salsa. (Despise tomatoes? Skip them.)
- Hot sauce: Again, technically optional, but just a few dashes of hot sauce like Cholula adds one more dimension of flavor.
- Cilantro: Cilantro offers one final burst of freshness. If you don’t like cilantro, skip it. If you do like it, add a scattering of extra cilantro leaves as a garnish.
Watch How to Make the Best Queso
Queso Serving Suggestions
Serve your queso with any of the following:
- Tortilla chips or warmed tortillas, of course
- Margaritas: Skinny Margaritas or fruity margaritas (find many variations here)
- More dips: Red Salsa, Guacamole or Classic Pico de Gallo
- Tacos: Easy Black Bean Tacos or Epic Vegetarian Tacos
- Enchiladas: Veggie Black Bean Enchiladas or Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas
- Salads and sides: Elote (Mexican Street Corn), Mexican(ish) Kale & Quinoa Salad or Green Salad with Jalapeño-Cilantro Dressing
View all of my Mexican-inspired recipes here. Also check out the blog Isabel Eats, which is where I learned this great cream cheese queso trick! Isabel is a first-generation Mexican American and offers tons of amazing Mexican recipes.
Please let me know how your queso turns out in the comments. I love hearing from you.
The Best Queso
Make this queso recipe! This Mexican dip is cheesy, creamy and full of fresh flavor. It’s surprisingly easy to make and utterly irresistible. Recipe yields about 4 ½ cups, enough for 8 servings (the recipe is easily halved).
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium jalapeño or 2 tablespoons drained jarred jalapeños (both optional)
- 1 small-to-medium red onion, chopped
- ½ teaspoon fine salt, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ¾ cup whole milk, more to thin if desired
- 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 8 ounces mild cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
- 8 ounces Monterey Jack or pepper jack cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
- 1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes, diced ripe tomatoes or canned drained diced tomatoes
- Several dashes of your favorite hot sauce, such as Cholula
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- Tortilla chips or warmed tortillas, for serving
Instructions
- Before you get started, be sure that all of your ingredients are prepared and ready to go near the stove. The optional jalapeño adds some flavor and some heat. If using a fresh pepper, remove the seeds and ribs, then finely chop. For jarred jalapeños, just finely chop them.
- Melt the butter in a small-to-medium Dutch oven or large, deep skillet. Add the onion, jalapeño (if using), and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Cook, while stirring often, until the onions are tender and translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant while stirring, about 30 seconds.
- Add the milk and cream cheese to the pot. Stir until the cream cheese has melted into the mixture (it should be mostly smooth), about 5 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low and start adding the cheese in medium handfuls, stirring after each one. Once the cheese has melted completely into the mixture, add the next handful, and so on until you have added all of the cheese.
- Stir in the tomatoes, hot sauce, cilantro, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Gently stir until the mixture is combined and the dip is smooth and creamy (if the mixture seems gloppy at all, you may actually need to increase the heat a bit here). If desired, thin the queso with up to ½ cup additional milk in ¼-cup increments, stirring after each until it is fully incorporated.
- Promptly remove the mixture from the heat (don’t leave the queso on the stove, or it may overcook). Serve while hot. Garnishes are optional, but I like to add some additional cilantro leaves and a scattering of additional tomatoes.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Isabel Eats.
Serving and storage suggestions: The queso will develop a bit of a “skin” over time, with minimal impact to the overall texture. You can gently reheat queso on the stove or in the microwave as needed, being careful not to overheat it. Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 5 days. Gently reheat before serving.
Dairy note: Sorry, this queso cannot be made dairy free (try my Creamy Vegan Queso instead!). You can, however, reduce the dairy products somewhat by using a thick, plain, unsweetened non-dairy milk. I’ve successfully made this recipe with Forager’s brand cashew milk.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This is the first recipe I’ve made. I’ve read a ton and they all seem great, my reluctant husband isn’t so sure about meatless.
The queso was AMAZING! My huband couldn’t get enough and the recipe was so large that we have enough to keep for Mother’s Day.
YUMMY!
Thanks so much for your feedback, Clare! Really happy to hear that the queso was a hit. :)
This sounds so good. I don’t live in the US and wonder what I could substitute for Monterey Jack cheese. Could I use Gruyere instead?
Hi there! Yes, I think Gruyere is a pretty good bet. Havarti would likely work well, too. Please report back if you give it a try.
Pinned to enjoy quite soon ! :-)
Do you think this could be made in a slow cooker? Maybe still cooking veggies on stovetop and starting Step 3 in slow cooker?
Hey Ciarra! I haven’t tried to be sure, but that would likely work. For an even safer bet, I’d probably carry through at least step 4. Or, I believe that you could the fully made queso to a slow cooker on low heat to keep it warm and melty (wouldn’t save you time, but it would stay nice and hot that way).
I made this last night and woke up glowing thinking of my successful dinner. This was the perfect addition to my traditional family Mexican meal. I couldn’t stop eating it. My son said, “This is GOOOOOD” without me prompting. It was flavorful and never got too hard to eat during the entire dinner. I added a bit more milk to make it thinner.
That’s great! Thank you for sharing, Kelly. I appreciate your review.
Hi! The flavor was fantastic but the texture didn’t turn out–it had a kind of chalky/gritty texture. I grated my own cheese and added more milk. Did I overcook maybe? I want to figure this out! Thanks for all your wonderful recipes!
Hi, You may have over cooked it and added too much milk. I found getting the cheese to really melt (maybe adding a bit more time) helped in the overall end result. Let me know if you try it again! Try to melt longer before adding more milk and see what that does.
I had the same outcome. I’m super disappointed. I even tried using my immersion blender to see if I could get it smooth. Maybe I didn’t give the cheese enough time to really melt before adding more milk? As I added the cheese, it got SUUUPER thick, so I added more milk when maybe what I should have done was turn up the heat a bit and give it more time. Were you able to salvage it?
Is there any replacement for the cream cheese? It’s just a taste I dislike strongly no matter what recipe it is in.
The cream cheese is really the secret ingredient here. It makes this dip thick and ultra creamy. It also offers a bit of tang. I don’t have an alternative and would love for you to see if you like it here. It’s delicious!
I think the cream cheese ruins it.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love it. I appreciate your feedback.
Marscapone cheese. Doesnt have the tang but it has the texture.
First time made this for a potluck and we all loved it.
I’m so glad! Thanks for letting me know, Carmen.
Could I use a milk substitute? Oat milk?
Hi Catherine, this one really works best as written. If you need a dairy free queso, try my Creamy Vegan Queso
The first time I made this I did not heed Kate’s advise to prep everything in advance, which resulted in me cooking everything too long and the queso curdled. The second time, I followed the instructions exactly and this really is the BEST queso. Thanks for another excellent recipe Kate!
Made this for football season.. It was a hit with the guys and ladies alike. Next time I will have to make two batches, maybe one with a hotter pepper and one with the jalapeño. Outstanding recipe, and very easy to make.
Great for football season! Thank you for sharing, Lisa.
Whole family loved it!
That’s great, Michelle! Thank you for sharing.
Can you make this in a crockpot?
I haven’t tried, sorry!
Could you prep it the day before and warm up in a crockpot?
I haven’t tried it, so I can’t say for sure.
I’m going out on a limb here and will add some well-drained Chorizo to this recipe for an added layer of flavor.
Stay tuned!
OMG, this recipe is the bomb! We make it and eat it with chips and call it dinner!
Thank you, Jenn! I’m glad you loved it.
First time I have ever made queso and it’s delicious! Super easy. I ended up having to add just over the additional 1/2C milk called for. An extra 1/4C+/-. Perfect consistency. Thanks!
Thanks for the recipe. This was my 1st attempt at making queso from scratch that wasn’t Velveeta and rotelle! Living and being from Texas Queso is a staple!i just got done making yours, the only issues I’m having is I cut the cream cheese more then half and it still has a strong cream cheese flavor I don’t think I caramelized enough onion and there’s a really odd grittyness to the texture. I’m not sure if it’s because the store substituted my block mild cheddar for already grated ♀️. What could I use in place of cream cheese for next time?
The grittiness was probably from the pre-shredded cheese. Pre-shredded cheese from the store is coated in starch to prevent the shreds from sticking together.
Could I make with evaporated milk instead of regular milk?
Hi Julia, I haven’t tried it. I hope you try it as written!
I added a third block of pepper jack with 1/3 cup half & half along with chipotle powder, a dash of red hot, crushed red pepper and two fire sauce packets from Taco Bell lol. Can wait for the nacho bar this weekend at my sister’s 21st b-day!
Going to make your queso now can’t wait to dig in
I hope you loved it, Kristy!
This was absolutely delicious! It was my first time making any kind of queso and it came out better than I expected! It was super smooth and packed with flavor. I followed the recipe except the cheese I had on hand was sharp cheddar and Colby jack. And I did add in the Cholula as well as the cilantro, as I love both! We ate it with tortilla chips and also mixed it into beans and rice; yum! Thank you for a great recipe. :)
Like to consider myself as knowing my way around the kitchen AND recipes be the domestic or…otherwise (love throwing together Japanese, Korean and Mexican). Loved your detailed step-by-step instructions and recommendations of “…have ingredients already setup beginning. Found I needed to add the additional 1/2 cup of milk due to thickness. I spicy, wifey IS NOT, so I limited the Jalapeño. The cheese and milk worked in tandem to neutralize that. So my rating was hampered by the web site program, else 8* would have been inline. Gracias, Queso was delicioso, Senora Kate
I used pre-shredded cheese to save some time and I regret it. Queso came out chalky. Texture weird but flavor is good. I’ll try it again when I can take some time to grate the cheese.
I’m sorry to hear that! Yes, pre-shredded can impact it. Thank you for your review.
Made your best queso for a gathering. Super easy to make and it was DELICIOUS. Only a few Tablespoons left in the bowl. So enjoy your recipes, healthy and satisfying. Thank you for all you do.
This did not turn out well for me. Horribly salty. I had to it out. I used Monterrey Jaxk, cheddar, and cream cheese plus the other not salt items.
Hi Jeannine, did you use salted butter or unsalted? I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love the results.
Could you make a large batch of this and can it?
Hi Rachelle, this recipe isn’t meant for canning. Sorry!
Can you use heavy cream instead of milk?
This recipe is best as written. I hope you try it!
Made this for a party and it was AMAZING! The cream cheese and milk keep it from getting grainy. I split it into 2 mini Crock Pots to keep it hot and added Chorizo to one for the meat eaters. Not a drop left!
Hooray! I loved to hear that, David.
For the past few years, I’ve been sharing your creamy butternut squash recipe (that I adore and make quite often). Now, I’m going to be telling everyone about this incredible queso! Served it last night to our son and DIL and grandchildren and it was a huge hit. I’m not surprised… the recipe and video had convinced me — but as everyone sampled it, there was much swooning in appreciation… Even the 8- and 5-year-olds loved it! I can’t wait to make this again soon! Thanks for the great recipes, Kate (and Cookie!).
I’m glad you enjoy the soup and this recipe! Thank you for your comment. Be sure to let me know what you think of other recipes as you try them!
Hey! could I use poblano pepper instead
Sure, it would provide a little different flavor. Let me know what you think!
I was excited making this, is seem easy and quick. I have never made queso from scratch. However, I live in Texas so I know what good queso is! This recipe really fell short. I wouldn’t even call it queso, maybe just Cheese dip. It needs more flavor, cumin, paprika, cayenne. Also, I don’t think the cream cheese should be in quesso.
Hi Katie, I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love this recipe. I appreciate your feedback.
I Love onions and garlic, but it does not belong in this recipe. 8 guest did not care for this recipe and all agreed the garlic and onions did not belong.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love this recipe, Debbie. I appreciate your feedback.
Hi Kate, maybe you can help me. I made this queso before exactly as written and it came out fantastic! This time I decided to add an entire (drained) can of diced tomatoes instead of just the cup called for (because who wants to figure out what to do with half a can of tomatoes?). The queso eventually curdled so badly I had to throw it out. Do you think this was due to the acidity of the extra tomatoes or is it more likely that I overheated it? Any experience varying the mix-ins in other ways? Thanks for any help!
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that. It could have been either, or both.
I want to love this recipe but sadly, the texture was a bit grainy for my taste buds. The flavor was really good!
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love it, Cindy. I appreciate your review.
This Texan gives 5 stars!
Y’all, this queso recipe is delicious!
I set my ingredients out ahead of time to allow everything to come to room temp and then followed the directions exactly as written with a couple of modifications. I used the cheeses that I had in my fridge; gouda, a chipotle pepper cheddar, and red cheddar.
I chose to use bacon fat in place of the butter to add more flavor and omitted the dashes of hot sauce.
Hooray for queso without processed cheeses!
Thank you for your review! I’m glad you loved it.
I made this today using cherry tomatoes freshly picked from my garden. I made half the recipe. It was and is simply divine (as my grandmother mother used to say).
Thank you for sharing, Anne!
I made this tonight for a birthday party and everyone loved it (which is what matters!) However, I wanted to share my specific challenge in case any other readers experience something similar.
After mixing in the cheese one handful at a time, the result was too thick to serve. I added a little more milk and it still didn’t thin it out. In a pinch I added some butter one tablespoon at a time until it reached a desirable consistency. 6 tablespoons did the trick for me!
(Also, the only ingredient I didn’t add was the tomatoes).
Overall, it was a delicious and flavorful queso and I was grateful to find a recipe that didn’t require queso blanco!
That’s great to hear, Rachel!
I was really hoping for restaurant style queso. This was bad. I even added extra seasonings and it didn’t help.
I’m sorry you didn’t love this, Cori. I appreciate your feedback.
Hi Kate, do you think this would work in an electric fondue pot? I can’t wait to try this! I love every recipe of yours that I use.
I haven’t tried it. I recommend this best as written. If you try it, let me know how it turns out for you!
This recipe looks absolutely delicious and I’m going to get the ingredients for it when I get more groceries. I never get whole milk, can I use coconut milk instead? Or leave it out all together? Or water? Thank you.
I don’t think coconut milk will get you the same consistency or flavor. I recommend this recipe as written.
This was spectacular. Can you freeze leftovers?
I’m not sure how well this will freeze, sorry!