The Best Queso Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup (40g) finely diced white onion
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 4 oz (113g) can fire roasted diced green chilis, drained
- 1/4 cup (60g) diced roma tomato or canned petite diced tomatoes, juices drained
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Dash cayenne pepper, for a spicier queso (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon table salt, plus additional to taste as needed
- 12 oz (354 ml) can full-fat evaporated milk
- 8 oz (226g) freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese (see note)
- Corn chips, for serving
Steps
- Melt butter in a large pot or skillet over medium heat.
- Add onion and cook until softened and translucent (about 5 minutes).
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds), then add tomatoes and chilis and cook until well-combined.
- Sprinkle cornstarch over the ingredients and use a spatula to stir and cook until absorbed and no lumps remain.
- Add cumin, chili powder, paprika, cayenne (if using), pepper, and salt.
- Gradually drizzle evaporated milk into the pot while whisking. Cook, stirring or whisking, until milk is completely combined, warmed, and slightly thickened.
- Turn stovetop heat to low and add shredded cheese. Stir until cheese is melted and completely combined. Taste-test and add salt and pepper (and additional cayenne pepper if you like some heat!) as needed.
Notes
This is the smoothest, most flavorful, BEST queso recipe you'll find! It takes just 15 minutes from start to finish and uses only one pot for easy clean up.
Course: Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 8 servings (about 1/3 cup per serving)
Calories: 208kcal
Author: Sam Merritt
Equipment
Large pot or Dutch oven.
Notes
Chilis: If you can't find fire roasted, regular canned green chilis will work instead. You may alternatively substitute 1 small jalapeno pepper (ribs and seeds removed), if you don't mind the heat. If using fresh pepper, toss them in to cook and soften along with the onion. Tomatoes: You can substitute 1/4 cup of drained petite diced canned tomatoes instead. Cheese: You can use yellow or white cheddar cheese. Mild, sharp, or extra sharp will work but sharp is preferred for the best taste and smoothest texture (sometimes extra sharp can seem a bit grainy). Do not use pre-shredded cheese as it often contains additives that will keep the cheese from melting smoothly. This recipe has also been successfully made with 8 oz of white or yellow American cheese, for anyone wondering if that would work. Nutrition (per serving): Calories 208kcal, Carbohydrates 7g, Protein 10g, Fat 16g, Saturated Fat 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat 1g, Monounsaturated Fat 4g, Trans Fat 1g, Cholesterol 50mg, Sodium 352mg, Potassium 209mg, Fiber 1g, Sugar 5g, Vitamin A 588IU, Vitamin C 7mg. The source page has three hand-drawn strikethrough marks in the printed ingredient list (over the cornstarch, ground black pepper, and table salt lines). These are not treated as omissions here: the continuation page shows those same three ingredients used normally in the numbered steps (unstruck), so the strikethroughs most likely function as a shopping/prep checklist ("already have this") rather than a recipe edit — [UNCLEAR: intent of the strikethrough marks, low confidence]. There are also two handwritten margin additions: "+ 1 can whole milk" next to the evaporated milk line, and "8oz American White / 8oz American Yellow" as an alternate to the sharp cheddar — both appear to be the same American-cheese substitution already covered in the printed Cheese note above, written out by hand for a quick-reference version.