Mexican white cheese sauce is easy to make. It takes just 15 minutes and uses just a few ingredients. One of the biggest questions I get about making Queso Dip is what type of cheese to use. Throughout this post, I talk about the variety of Mexican cheeses found throughout grocery stores that can be used to make an authentic homemade queso blanco every time.
Queso Cheese Dip is a classic appetizer I love to indulge in frequently. Once you try my recipe to make restaurant style queso dip at home, you’ll be making it all the time.
Homemade Queso Dip is the quintessential Mexican side dish to serve on top of tacos, burrito bowls, tamales, taquitos, enchiladas, and to smother over other classic Mexican dishes. I make my own tacos bowls with ground beef, Mexican rice, beans, sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, pickled jalapenos, and top it all with queso dip. Next, I use salt-free tortilla chips to dip into the taco bowl and eat it all together! It’s pure bliss and it’s something I make frequently. Get ready because I’ll be sharing my homemade burrito bowl recipe next with an Instant Pot Taco Bowl recipe.
White Asadero Mexican Cheese Dip also doubles down as the perfect appetizer to serve for Game Day. I love to serve this cheesy dip with guacamole, salsa, and 7-layer taco dip. The combination of Mexican dips on a platter is commodity throughout the year.
Authentic Mexican Queso Dip is made with real Mexican cheese. Although there are a few varieties of cheeses that can be used to make Queso Dip, I alternate using asadero cheese and quesadilla cheese. This cheese comes packaged in a round circle. Asadero Cheese is an excellent melting cheese with a creamy-smooth, velvety texture. It’s also the cheese that authentic Mexican restaurants use to make their dip. Cacique brand cheese carries a lot of Mexican cheese varieties and I can usually find them by the specialty cheeses.
APPROVED CHEESES TO USE FOR QUESO
In case you can’t get your hands on this type of cheese, this recipe may not work. Cacique does carry shredded queso quesadilla cheese right where you’d find other shredded cheese brands, but do not use it. Only use Cacique rounds of cheese. I have used these Cacique cheeses before such as queso quesadilla cheese for queso dip and it’s pretty delicious as well. Besides Asadero Cheese and Queso Quesadilla Cheese, Oaxaca Cheese, and Queso Fresco Cheese are both other options of Mexican cheese that work for this queso dip recipe. Take a look at Cacique brand packaging before heading to the store. Queso Blanco (white cheese) never uses processed American cheese.
DO NOT USE SHREDDED CHEESE. ONLY USE CACIQUE CHEESE THAT COMES IN A ROUND CIRCLE. SEE ABOVE PHOTO.
Shop around at a few local grocery stores while you’re out getting groceries next time to see if any of them carry Cacique brand Mexican cheeses. I use this strategy while grocery shopping and I keep a mental note as to where I found something that I’d like to use in the future.
Queso Blanco takes just a few minutes to make. I melt 10 ounces of cheese and milk on low heat over the stove top. Any hotter and the dairy may foam and create a crust that sticks to the sides of the saucepan. I always try to avoid this as I dislike the texture of the crust in my dip.
Authentic Queso Dip is easy to make. Cicique Asadero Cheese works because it’s the perfect Mexican melting cheese with a mild flavor. Heating the cheese with half & half on the stove top allows the cheese to become soft and melt. I like to add chopped green chiles, diced tomatoes, and cilantro to the Queso Dip to develop those Mexican flavors even more.
Classic Queso Dip Meals
Serve classic queso dip with tortilla chips for an authentic homemade appetizer with real restaurant flavors.
Drizzle cheese dip over carne asada tacos, taco bowls and scoop eat bite with tortilla chips. Try these Ground Beef Street Tacos with cheese on top. Top Roasted Brussels Sprouts with melted cheese or Roasted Broccoli.
Mexican Queso Dip
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The most incredible Mexican Queso Dip. An authentic homemade version that uses real Mexican white melting cheese with other traditional flavors. Top onto your favorite Mexican dishes or serve as an appetizer.
4.82 from 22 votes
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Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 20 minutes mins
Servings 7
Calories 231 kcal
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp butter
- 10 ounces Cacique Asadero Cheese or Cacique Queso Quesadilla Cheese (or any queso cheese in a block form) SEE PHOTO BELOW FOR CORRECT CHEESE TYPE** Only use Cacique cheese in rounds. Do not use pre shredded cheese.
- 1 cup half and half
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4½ ounces chopped green chiles canned works just fine
- 2 jalapenos chopped
- 2 vine-ripe tomatoes, diced optional
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- tortilla chips, to serve optional
Instructions
Melt butter on low heat. Whisk in flour. Whisk for 2 minutes.
Add grated Asadero Mexican Cheese or Queso Quesadilla cheese.
Stir in 1 cup half and half. Whisk on low heat until cheese sauce is melted and mostly smooth.
NOTE: Sauce may be lumpy until heated and melted. If it does not melt, turn up the heat a very little, whisk, and add in a splash of half and half until it is smooth.
Remove from heat and keep stirring until smooth. More half and half may be added to thin out queso dip to desired texture.
Stir in chopped green chiles, chopped jalapenos, diced tomatoes, minced garlic cloves, and cilantro.
Pour into serving bowl and serve with tortilla chips or serve over your favorite Mexican dishes.
NOTE: This recipe has been updated as of 3/2022 to reflect comments. It appears newer stovetops heat too high on low so a roux of flour and butter has been added to the recipe to fix it.
Notes
CHEESE – Do NOT use pre-packaged shredded cheese. Instead, grate the cheese at home or it will not properly melt.
Use Cacique brand cheese: Either Asadero Cheese or Cacique Queso Quesadilla Cheese.
MELTING: I have made this recipe using asadero and queso quesadilla cheese dozens of times and have not had an issue with it not melting. However, some readers have noted clumping. Turn the heat up and continue to whisk until it smooths into a sauce. Additional milk may be added to thin the consistency.
This post is being updated to include using ONLY Cacique Cheese that comes in rounds like the one below. This cheese can be found by the specialty cheeses or by the regular cheese. I have only tried making queso with this type of cheese. NOTE: Pre-packaged shredded cheese contains starches that will prevent the cheese from melting so using a bag of queso cheese will not work in this recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 231kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 12gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 65mgSodium: 415mgPotassium: 159mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 639IUVitamin C: 16mgCalcium: 331mgIron: 1mg
Nutritional information is only an estimate and it’s accuracy is not guaranteed to be exact.
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updated 3/21
