Chile Con Queso Recipe | LaaLoosh (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between queso and chile con queso? ›

Chile con queso ( lit. 'chile with cheese'), sometimes simply called queso, is an appetizer or side dish of melted cheese and chili peppers, typically served in Tex-Mex restaurants as a dip for tortilla chips.

Place cheese, milk, and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir until cheese is melted. Add green chilies, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper; stir until smooth. Thin with more milk if sauce is too thick.

Evaporated milk works best in queso because it doesn't have that excess of water and it can help your dip reach a delicate balance between super thick and too thin. (As in you're not constantly having to alternate between adding more milk and then more cheese.)

Most importantly, cream cheese will also keep your queso smooth. Made from milk and cream, its high-fat content, soft consistency, and velvety texture complement the melted cheese, milk, diced tomatoes, and whatever seasonings and spices you choose to use to create a classic queso.

However, when people refer to “queso” in the context of food, they are usually talking about a type of melted cheese dip that is commonly enjoyed as a snack or appetizer, particularly in Tex-Mex and Mexican cuisines.

Queso fresco

This soft white cheese is a fresh cheese made with cow's milk, goat milk, or a combination of the two. It is sold in small rectangular pieces similar in size to adobo bricks, which is why it is also known as adobera. Queso fresco comes from Jalisco, in the western part of Mexico.

Queso is the Spanish word for cheese but (in the US) it is often used to refer to a cheese-based dip or sauce for tortilla chips.

If you're wondering what is queso made of, you needn't look much further than the name. It's mostly cheese. Beyond that, there is usually tomato, onion, and jalapeños or chiles for some added heat. Add in evaporated milk and cornstarch for thickening, and viola!

Though Velveeta is no longer an FDA-defined genuine cheese, it does have some similarities, namely pasteurized milk and cheese culture.

Evaporated Milk: This creates a creamy and smooth texture that is ideal for any good queso blanco. Milk, heavy cream, or half and half can be used instead, but evaporated milk has given me the best results.

Can I use condensed milk instead of evaporated milk for queso? ›

Evaporated milk — make sure to buy evaporated milk and not sweetened condensed milk. The two cans look similar but are different. Evaporated milk help keeps the dip from separating and turning clumpy as it cools. Chile — I use canned green chiles, but you can also use jalapeno.

Thus, heavy cream can easily be substituted for recipes that call for evaporated milk. How to Substitute: For 12 ounces of evaporated milk, combine 3 ounces of whole milk and 9 ounces of heavy cream.

Cornstarch. My queso is slightly thickened with a bit of cornstarch before we add the cheese. This helps encourage a smooth melt and silky consistency.

Thing is, once cheese is heated too far beyond its melting point, the proteins firm up and squeeze out moisture—the same way protein does in meat. When this occurs you're left with rubbery, clumpy bits of cheese protein that separate from the fat and moisture.

Why won't my cheese melt? There are many reasons, but the biggest is the moisture content. The moisture content of the cheese has a great effect on the melting process. Cheese that contains higher amounts of fat will melt better than one that doesn't.

And while chile con queso is usually only lightly garnished with pico de gallo or maybe taco meat, queso fundido often comes capped with mushrooms, chorizo, or grilled peppers. Notably, it's traditionally served with tortillas instead of tortilla chips.

Queso asadero is Mexican cheese that's great for melting. It is soft, white and creamy with a mild taste, and is often used to make pizzas, quesadillas and queso fundido.

Scanning the internet and the supermarket shelf, we realized that the cheese sauces are divided into two basic categories: Queso Dips, which include some amount of heat, spices, and other flavorings, and Cheese Dips, which are cheese and little else.