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a hand dipping a cracker in a bowl of chili con queso.
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4.63 from 58 votes

Chile Con Queso

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!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American, Mexican
Keyword: appetizer, chile con queso, chili con queso, dip, queso dip
Servings: 8
Calories: 328kcal

Ingredients

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.
    process shots showing how to make chile con queso.
  • Stir in the red onion and garlic and cook for 2 more minutes or until the onion softens and becomes translucent.
    process shots showing how to make chile con queso.
  • 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.
    process shots showing how to make chile con queso.
  • 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.
    process shots showing how to make chile con queso.
  • Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve with tortilla chips.

Video

Notes

  1. Meatless option: Skip the beef, just saute the onion, garlic in the olive oil and then continue with the rest of the steps.
  2. 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.
  3. Why use evaporated milk: It's used in this dip to provide extra creaminess or body without the fat of real cream.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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 9x13 baking dish or a 9 inch round baking dish.
  7. 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. 
  8. 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. 
  9. 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

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 328kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 862mg | Potassium: 350mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 934IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 540mg | Iron: 1mg