Chile Con Queso
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Whip up my restaurant-quality chile con queso at home—a dish so deliciously creamy, cheesy and perfectly spiced, it’ll have everyone enthusiastically double dipping!
Every week, it’s the same story: my kids make a big pitch for take-out from their favorite Mexican place. They’re absolutely crazy about the food there, especially the chile con queso, a warm dip made from melted cheese, spices, and chilies. I’ve taken a few stabs at recreating this elusive queso at home, suspecting the secret might be a Velveeta-style cheese block (not exactly my go-to ingredient). But my culinary experiments were always met with a chorus of “too fancy” from my critics.
Determined not to be outdone by a block of processed cheese, I finally hit the jackpot with a recipe that’s a win-win for both my kids and me. This chile con queso is rich and creamy with just the right touch of spice. It’s perfect for scooping up with tortilla chips and makes a generous amount for a crowd. Enjoy it warm from the stove, and watch it disappear as quickly as it came together!
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Queso
I developed this recipe using pre-shredded cheese from a bag for ease and convenience, as it saves the effort of grating cheese by hand. Note that pre-shredded cheese is coated with anti-caking agents to prevent clumping, which incidentally aids in thickening the queso, resulting in a perfectly smooth and creamy texture ideal for dipping.
Should you choose to grate the cheese yourself, I recommend increasing the butter and flour in the recipe to 3 tablespoons each. This adjustment compensates for the lack of anti-caking agents in freshly shredded cheese, ensuring your queso still achieves that wonderfully rich and creamy consistency.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Melt the 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Add the 2 tablespoons of flour.
Cook, whisking constantly, for about 1 minute.
Add the 2 cups half-and-half to the pot and whisk until evenly combined. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, a few minutes.
Turn the heat down to low and gradually add the 2 cups grated cheese, whisking and letting it melt as you go, until all of the cheese is incorporated.
Stir in ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ¼ teaspoon cumin, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon onion powder, and 1 cup diced tomatoes and green chilies. The mixture may seem a bit thick at first, but it will thin out slightly as the tomatoes warm in the sauce.
Add the 1 tablespoon cilantro, if using, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary; for more heat, add more cayenne pepper.
Transfer the queso to a bowl and serve warm with tortilla chips. If the dip cools while you’re serving it, you can reheat it in the microwave; just stop and stir at short intervals so it reheats evenly.
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Chile Con Queso
Whip up my restaurant-quality chile con queso at home—a dish so deliciously creamy, cheesy and perfectly spiced, it’ll have everyone enthusiastically double dipping!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 2 cups (8 oz) Mexican blend shredded cheese from a bag (I use Tillamook; see note)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 cup canned diced tomatoes and green chiles, such as Rotel (from a 10-oz can)
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro (optional)
- Tortilla chips, for serving
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, for about 1 minute. Add the half & half and whisk until evenly combined. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, a few minutes. Turn the heat down to low and gradually add the grated cheese, whisking and letting it melt as you go, until all of the cheese is incorporated. Stir in the salt, chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, diced tomatoes and green chilies, and cilantro (if using). The mixture may seem a bit thick at first, but it will thin out slightly as the tomatoes and peppers release their juices. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary; for more heat, add more cayenne pepper. If the dip seems too thick, you can thin it out with a bit more half & half or some milk. Transfer the queso to a bowl and serve warm with tortilla chips. If the dip cools while you're serving it, you can reheat it in the microwave; just stop and stir at short intervals so it reheats evenly.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The queso can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and reheated on the stovetop. If it's too thick, add a bit of half and half or milk to thin it out.
- Note: I developed this recipe using pre-shredded cheese from a bag for ease and convenience, as it saves the effort of grating cheese by hand. An important aspect to note is that pre-shredded cheese is coated with anti-caking agents to prevent clumping, which incidentally aids in thickening the queso, resulting in a perfectly smooth and creamy texture ideal for dipping. Should you choose to grate the cheese yourself, I recommend increasing the butter and flour in the recipe to 3 tablespoons each. This adjustment compensates for the lack of anti-caking agents in freshly shredded cheese, ensuring your queso still achieves that wonderfully rich and creamy consistency.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Serving size: 1/4 cup
- Calories: 233
- Fat: 19 g
- Saturated fat: 11 g
- Carbohydrates: 7 g
- Sugar: 4 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 9 g
- Sodium: 303 mg
- Cholesterol: 57 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This is really delicious! Everyone was surprised at the smooth consistency since I did not use velveeta. Turned out flavorful and smooth. Reheats well the next day, so long as you stir while reheating, it will be just as good as day 1. Only adjustment I made was that I replaced half of the “half-n-half” with cream cheese).
Can one make this without wheat flour?
Hi Libby, I’d recommend flour here, but think you could use a gluten-free flour. Hope that helps!
The pickled out of a jar would work great, just add right after sautéing the other veggies.
Absolutely loved this! I found the cheese and flour added enough thickness to the dip and the butter enough creaminess, so I used milk and no cream. I served this up with tortilla chips beside a spicy Mexican stew and the balance of flavours was to die for. 10/10 and will definitely the making this again.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe! I had been searching for the right queso recipe for years and this one stopped the search. I’ve made it no less than 10 times in the past year. I’m so happy everytime I do and anyone that eats it keeps going on and on about how wonderful it is.
I made this today and it was a total hit! I made it together with the Cornbread Muffins and the Best Ground Beef Chili! We bought good quality cheese for a splurge and it paid off. It was easy to make and soooo yum! Thanks for a great recipe that I will make again for sure.
Wow!! This was so good! Easy to make- and even easier to eat!
Disappointing. Something is missing in this recipe.
Great recipe! I cooked for the first time last night for a dinner party. We did carne asada and I wanted something for dipping besides guac and salsa. I usually like to try recipes before using in large settings but the ingredients seemed solid and the recipe is very forgiving (you don’t have to be exact). I roughly multiplied the recipe by 5x, cooked it on the stove and then transferred to the crock pot to keep warm. I will definitely use again.
Made it twice, with some variations. Used spring onions (take around 100 grams of fresh spring onions, cut and remove 2/3, where remaining 1/3 is mostly a white part, finely chop), whole milk instead of half and half (which is not available where I live). Also for creamier texture replaced flour with 1 1/2 tbs cornstarch. My favourite spices for this are nutmeg and chilli flakes with sea salt. Tried with tomato as well as large bell pepper, baked in a microwave for 3-4 minutes. Equally good. Cheddar is great for this, but I prefer Gouda. Spring onions provide a nice flavourful kick to the sauce.