There are days when you crave Mexican restaurant-style queso dip, and our Tex-Mex queso is a quick and easy recipe for satisfying your cheesy needs. Serve it alongside our homemade tortilla chips, spicy pico de gallo, and grilled guacamole for the ultimate chips and dips spread. Use it as the cheese for our loaded chili cheese nachos or sheet pan nachos, or enjoy it just as is for an indulgent afternoon snack. For the ultimate party spread, check out our guide to creating a nacho bar toppings station!
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
Creating great homemade queso does not take a lot of ingredients, and it comes together quickly.
The full ingredient list and measurements are listed in the printable recipe below.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese: You can substitute cheddar cheese with other types of chees,e such as asadero cheese (or white American cheese), pepper jack, or Monterey Jack. The key is using freshly grated cheese.
- Evaporated Milk: To keep the queso creamy and smooth, you will want to use evaporated milk instead of regular milk or water. Evaporated milk contains high protein levels with less water, making the cheese dip creamy and less likely to separate.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch acts as a thickening agent and helps keep the fat from separating.
- Green Chiles: Adding green chiles will give the queso some flavor and a little bit of heat. Check out our guide on how to roast hatch chiles to make your own, or you can use canned green chiles in a pinch.
- Tomatoes: If you don’t have any fresh tomatoes, you can substitute them with a can of diced tomatoes. Just be sure to drain out all the liquid first.
The Best Cheese for Queso
To get the best restaurant-style queso that doesn’t use processed cheese like Velveeta, use a combo of cornstarch, evaporated milk, and freshly grated full-fat American or cheddar cheese. Full-fat cheese produces creamy and smooth queso, so avoid using low-fat or no-fat cheese. Low-fat and no-fat cheese takes longer to melt and can be stringy and tough. You will get the creamiest queso using cheese you hand grate on a box grater or food processor. Pre-shredded cheese contains additives such as potato starch to keep the cheese from clumping, which can prevent the cheese from completely melting.
How to Make Tex-Mex Queso
Here are the quick step-by-step instructions with visuals; you can find the full instructions with the exact ingredients in the recipe card below.
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Pro-tip: Skip the store-bought shredded cheese. It can contain additives to help prevent it from clumping but will produce grainy queso.
1. Cook the Onions and Garlic: Melt butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add garlic and onions, cooking slowly for about 3 minutes or until the onions are translucent.
2. Cook the Tomatoes: Add diced tomatoes and cook for an additional 3 minutes or until they begin to break down and soften.
3. Whisk in the Cornstarch and Evaporated Milk: Combine evaporated milk and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Whisk until cornstarch is dissolved. Add milk and cornstarch mixture to the saucepan with vegetables.
4. Melt the Cheese: Stir until the mixture begins to thicken, and then add shredded cheese. Continue to stir until the cheese has completely melted.
5. Add Chiles and Spices: Add cumin, salt, black pepper, green chiles, and cilantro and stir.
6. Simmer: Bring queso to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes.
7. Serve: Serve warm, topped with spicy pico de gallo and accompanied by homemade tortilla chips.
What to Serve with Queso
Queso is perfect with homemade tortilla chips, and we love topping ours with spicy pico de gallo and grilled guacamole. Served with a frozen strawberry daiquiri or mangonada margarita, it makes for the perfect happy-hour spread. Add some cooked ground beef, chorizo, or game-day chili to turn it into a heartier dip.
Use it to create loaded chili cheese nachos, or top your Texas burger with it. It’s also perfect on top of a loaded baked potato (check out our baked potato bar toppings guide) or stirred into Tex-Mex migas for a cheesy breakfast.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Add some protein. Pork sausage, ground beef, or chicken are great additions to this queso.
- Keep it warm in a slow cooker. Tex-Mex queso can also be prepared in a slow cooker. After simmering for 2-3 minutes, transfer it to a slow cooker and set it to warm. Serve it directly from the slow cooker to keep it smooth, creamy, and warm.
- Use freshly grated cheese. Store-bought shredded cheese contains additives such as potato starch to keep it from clumping, which can prevent it from completely melting.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: Queso is best when made fresh since it will thicken and get grainy as it cools due to the cornstarch. It is easy and quick, so we recommend not making it ahead. It can be kept warm in a slow cooker or crock pot.
How to Store: Leftover queso will never be as good as fresh, but if you have leftovers, you can refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to 4 days. And believe it or not, we have actually frozen leftover queso. Once it has cooled, use a freezer-safe bag. It can be frozen for up to 3 months.
How to Reheat: The queso will begin to thicken as it cools. To reheat it, place it in a pot on the stovetop on low heat and add a splash of milk if it is too thick. It can also be reheated quickly in the microwave. Using a microwave-safe bowl, add queso and a splash of milk and heat in 15-30 second increments, stirring between increments to make sure it’s heated thoroughly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Queso translates as cheese, but when someone mentions queso, they usually mean the liquidy, melty cheese dip, which is an American invention. It is a common appetizer in many American-Mexican restaurants.
Chili con queso is a queso that has been made with chile peppers. Queso and chili con queso are used interchangeably since most queso is made with chile peppers.
Queso is an American-invented dish that was first created in Texas in the early 1900s (although with any popular dish, this is often debated). Queso fundido translates as molten cheese and is an authentic Mexican dish with real Mexican cheese. It is made in a clay pot or metal/cast iron skillet.
To make Queso Blanco, use white American cheese instead of yellow American or cheddar cheese.
The queso will thicken as it cools because it is made using cornstarch and real cheese, but it will remain creamy. Stir it to prevent the film from forming on top. You can use a splash of milk or evaporated milk to thin out the queso.
More Tortilla Chip Sides To Try
Looking for more recipes to go with homemade tortilla chips? Try these other favorites:
- Jicama Corn Black Bean Salad – This light, bright, and refreshing appetizer is great with chips or as a side dish. It’s quick and easy to make and packed with nutrition.
- Hatch Queso – This cheese dip is made with freshly roasted hatch green chiles, cheddar, and Monterey Jack cheese. It’s rich and creamy and makes the perfect snack, appetizer, or party food.
- Habanero Mango Salsa – A little sweet, a little spicy, and perfect as a dip for chips or as a topping for tacos, chicken, or fish.
- Grilled Avocado Guacamole – This recipe is smokey, creamy, and full of flavor. It is the ultimate dip for tortilla chips, topping for tacos, or spread on your favorite burger.
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Tex-Mex Queso
This recipe may contain paid affiliate sales links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please see my full disclaimer policy for details.
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Equipment
- Cheese Grater
- Medium Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ cup white onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 cup tomato, diced
- 12 ounce can evaporated milk
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 ½ cups cheddar cheese, freshly shredded
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 ½ ounce can green chiles
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
- pico de gallo, for garnish
- tortilla chips, for dipping
Instructions
- Melt butter over medium heat in a medium saucier.
- Add garlic and onions, cooking slowly for about 3 minutes or until onions are translucent.
- Add diced tomatoes and cook for an additional 3 minutes or until tomatoes begin to break down/soften.
- In a medium bowl, combine evaporated milk and cornstarch. Whisk until cornstarch is dissolved.
- Add milk and cornstarch mixture to the saucier.
- Stir until the mixture begins to thicken and then add shredded cheese. Continue to stir until cheese has completely melted.
- Add cumin, salt, black pepper, green chiles, and cilantro and stir.
- Bring queso to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Serve warm topped with pico de gallo and tortilla chips.
I do not see salt mentioned in ingredients but it instructs to add salt with pepper and cumin. I used 1/4 tsp salt same as pepper and cumin. Love it so much. Delicious just like a restaurant. Thank you for sharing 💖
Oh no! Thank you for letting us know. Glad you loved it…it is one of our faves.