Chile Con Queso
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This Chile Con Queso recipe is delicious, spicy, silky, super cheesy and perfect for a crowd! It’s the dip that you’ll be asked for over and over again at all gatherings. It’s also ready in only 25 minutes!
The Best Chile Con Queso Recipe
I love this super simple chile con queso dip which can be ready in 25 minutes start to finish. What can be better than a hot and cheesy dip that’s got some beef, lots of fire roasted tomatoes, green chiles and jalapeños. So you see, I am also getting my veggies in. It’s all in how I justify it, at least to myself.
This chili con queso dip is so perfect for a snack or appetizer and it sure is impressive! It’s silky smooth and is great served with some crispy tortilla chips!
Why You’ll Love This Chile Con Queso
- Easy Peasy Recipe! This recipe is super simple to make! With just one pan and a few basic ingredients, you can whip this tasty dip together in just 25 minutes.
- Cheesy Beefy Tex-Mex! Full of chunks of tender ground beef and made with two different types of cheese, this silky smooth cheesy favorite is incredibly good.
- Party Favorite! Perfect for your next party or potluck, serve this all-time favorite with some crispy tortilla chips and it will disappear in minutes.
- Olive Oil – I like to use olive oil, but you can use any type of vegetable oil.
- Ground Beef – You’ll need ground beef for this recipe. You can use regular or extra lean.
- Chili Powder – Used to give the dip some classic Tex-Mex flavor.
- Onion – For this recipe, I used red onion, but any onion you have on hand will work.
- Garlic – Freshly minced garlic is going to add the most flavor.
- Green Chilis – These mild canned chilis really boost the southwestern flavors.
- Jalapeno – Remove the seeds to control the heat. But if you like extremely spicy food you can leave the seeds in your jalapeno. Just be warned.
- Fire-Roasted Tomatoes – In a pinch, regular canned diced tomatoes can be used, but it’s just not quite the same.
- Evaporated Milk – Gives the dip a creamy texture without the fat of real cream.
- Velveeta – Produces a truly silky smooth queso. You can replace it with any cheese that melts well like Cheddar, but Velveeta really is the best choice.
- Monterey Jack Cheese – Used to top the dip, you can also use cheddar if you prefer.
- Cilantro – A sprinkle is used for garnish. Fresh parsley is another option if you don’t like cilantro.
This is a really easy dip that’s ready in just a few simple steps and on the table in about 25 minutes! A little bit of effort and a lot of flavor!
Start by heating the olive oil in a 10-inch oven-save skillet on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the ground beef and chili powder, and cook until it’s no longer pink. Make sure you break it up into nice and small pieces.
Once the beef is no longer pink and cooked through, you’ll need to stir in the red onion and garlic. Cook until the onion begins to soften and turn translucent.
Next, add the canned chiles, jalapeno, fire roasted tomatoes, and stir everything together. These fire roasted tomatoes are a game changer! I use them whenever I have the opportunity. They add so much more amazing smoky flavor than your regular run-of-the-mill diced tomatoes. Bring to a simmer.
Add in the evaporated milk and velveeta, or whatever cheese you decide to go with. Cook for 2 more minutes until the velveeta melts. Stir in 2 cups of the Monterey Jack cheese and cook for another minute until it all melts.
Now I love to top mine with a little bit more Monterey Jack just because I like my dips super cheesy and place it under the broiler for just about 5 minutes until the cheese melts and is all nice bubbly. You’ll want to serve this hot with your favorite crackers or tortilla chips.
What Is Chile Con Queso
This velvety smooth and creamy cheese dip is a popular Tex-Mex recipe made popular by restaurants in the southern USA. It’s most often served with tortilla chips, but can be used to top fajitas, tacos, enchiladas, etc. You can put this delicious dip on anything!
Can You Make Chile Con Queso Without Velveeta
Velveeta is great for making a super creamy smooth dip. I know that a lot of people aren’t the biggest Velveeta fans, and that’s totally okay! You can sub 1 – 1½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese. The more you use the thicker the dip will be, so feel free to add more or less depending on your personal preference.
But if you want a creamy, super smooth dip, go with Velveeta. Just saying.
What Can I Serve With Chile Con Queso
I love serving this with some crispy tortillas or chips and crackers. If you want to feel healthy about this, how about serving this with some veggies such as carrots, celery, broccoli and cauliflower.
You can also try some homemade Baked Zucchini Chips with this dip!
Expert Tips
- Brown the meat well. Make sure you cook the ground beef properly and break it up so that it browns evenly. This will make the chili con queso more flavorful.
- Make it creamy. Use the evaporated milk and Velveeta for the best texture. The consistency of both of these ingredients ensures that your dip turns out silky smooth.
- Use turkey instead. If you are trying to cut back on beef or you want to make this dip a tad bit lower in fat, you can use ground turkey or ground chicken in place of the beef.
Storage
Leftover chile con queso will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months in an airtight container or sealed freezer bag. To reheat, just put it in the microwave for a few minutes on medium power, stirring it every minute or so. You can also reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat while stirring often. However, if the dip is frozen you will want to let it thaw out overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Other Delicious Dips To Try
- Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Baja Spinach Dip
- Crockpot Queso Blanco Dip
- Bacon Corn Dip
- Skillet Pizza Dip
- Caramel Apple Dip
- Bread Dipping Oil
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Chile Con Queso
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ pound ground beef (extra lean)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 small red onion (diced)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 4 ounce green chiles ((1 can))
- 1 jalapeno (fresh, seeded and chopped)
- 14 ounce fire roasted tomatoes ((1 can))
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 cup velveeta (cubed)
- 2½ cups monterery jack cheese (shredded)
- 1 tablespoon cilantro (fresh, chopped)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet, or oven safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef to the skillet, season it with the chili powder, and cook for about 5 minutes until no longer pink, breaking it up as you go along.
- Stir in the red onion and garlic and cook for 2 more minutes or until the onion softens and becomes translucent.
- Add the green chiles, jalapeno, fire roasted tomatoes and stir. Bring to a simmer, then turn down the heat to medium low. Add the evaporated milk and velveeta and cook for 2 more minutes or until the velveeta melts. Stir in 2 cups of the jack cheese and cook for another minute until it melts.
- Turn off the heat. Sprinkle the remaining jack cheese over the top of the dip and place the skillet over the broiler for about 5 minutes or until browned and bubbly. Watch it so it doesn't burn.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve with tortilla chips.
Notes
- Meatless option: Skip the beef, just saute the onion, garlic in the olive oil and then continue with the rest of the steps.
- What is evaporated milk: Evaporated milk, also known as unsweetened condensed milk in some countries, is a canned milk product with about 60% of the water removed from fresh milk. It’s a dense, creamy, and ultra-concentrated milk. You can usually find it in the baking aisle at your local grocery store.
- Why use evaporated milk: It’s used in this dip to provide extra creaminess or body without the fat of real cream.
- Why velveeta: I used velveeta because if you truly want a silky queso, velveeta is the way to go, however feel free to use any shredded cheese you prefer such as Monterey Jack, Cheddar, etc, anything that is a great melting cheese.
- I don’t have fire roasted tomatoes, can I use something else: Yes, of course. You can use regular canned diced tomatoes or just fresh tomatoes and chop them up yourself. I like the smoky flavor from the fire roasted tomatoes, which is why I chose it for this recipe.
- I don’t have a cast iron skillet, can I use something else: Yes! Feel free to use any skillet that is oven safe. If you don’t have an oven safe skillet, transfer the chile con queso to a 9×13 baking dish or a 9 inch round baking dish.
- I can’t find canned green chiles, what else can I use: Keep in mind that canned green chiles are not really spicy at all, so one substitute could be roasted bell peppers.
- Is this dip spicy: Yes, it is. It’s spicy because I use a whole jalapeno pepper, and my jalapeno was quite big, so feel free to omit it or use as much or as little as you like.
- What can I serve this dip with: I love to serve this with tortilla chips, carrots and celery sticks. However, any crispy crackers would also work.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Sounds great! I just actually made fire-roasted tomatoes from a recipe I found online. In the past mostly the cans I could find were the 28oz. ones so I figured, why not? They turned out really well and were super tasty. And also incredibly easy to make using roma tomatoes – San Marzano from the garden would also be good to use. Think I’ll add this dip to my Thanksgiving menu – our granddaughter loves spicy stuff so she’ll love this – probably add even more hot sauce!
That sounds amazing! Fire-roasted tomatoes homemade must add such a rich and fresh flavor to the dip! Adding more hot sauce sounds like a spicy delight for those who love a good kick. I hope it’s a big hit at your Thanksgiving!
Hi! Can this be adapted to cook in a crockpot??
Absolutely! Just cook the onions, garlic, ground meat and spices in a skillet as directed, then transfer that mixture to your crockpot. Add the remaining ingredients, stir well, and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours until it’s all melted and bubbly. Be sure to stir occasionally to ensure everything combines well.
It’s good. I bought crushed fire roasted tomatoes by accident. The recipe doesn’t say diced or crushed, but I’m guessing diced would be better. The tomato part is a little overwhelming and almost tastes like a pasta sauce. I’d also like it to be a bit spicier. It is creamy and smooth though.
I’ve only ever found diced fire roasted tomatoes, never seen the crushed ones.
I’m excited to try this recipe but wondered if you thought that doing half ground beef and half soft chorizo would work? Or do you think that it would make it too rich?
Thanks Jo
That would be great, love chorizo in dips!
Thanks for so many easy and delicious recipes!! You have brightened our table considerably
My pleasure!
I think that would be awesome! I haven’t made this recipe yet, just found it today, but I have used chorizo in queso. Might I suggest draining the fat on a couple of paper towels after you brown the meat. My experience with chorizo is that it’s pretty fatty.
I’m making this tonight! Can’t wait. Thanks Jo, for all the good stuff you help me prepare for my family!!
My pleasure, Stacy!
Love it is so loaded with cheese. My wife will love this for her birthday party coming up soon. What ever happened to pot luck’s. Have not been to one in years. Guess people just got away from that great tradition. Also the neighborhood progressive dinners. Now those were fun!
This was good. I added an extra jalapeño (one with the seeds, I love the heat). It’s a very rich dip and does taste like the typical “crockpot party dip” but I’ll definitely make again.
Can you make this the night before?
For sure!
Evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk are TOTALLY different. Also, look at the calorie count on the back of a can of sweetened condensed milk when using it instead of “all the fat of real cream”.
I said evaporated milk is known as UNSWEETENED condensed milk in some country, not sweetened. A quick google search should clarify that for you. 🙂
Thank you.
WOW!!! chile-con-queso !!. What a recipe and I liked the name you had given for the recipe. It is really mouth watering. Thank you for sharing the recipe. Waiting for many more post.
Happy you like it. 🙂
We made this for New Year’s eve, it was so delicious. Thank you for sharing!