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This Jalapeño Queso is silky smooth, better than anything you could order from a restaurant. Serve with salsa, a simple guacamole, and plenty of salty tortilla chips for the perfect homemade Mexican appetizer. It truly is the BEST!
I have debated for at least an hour now about whether or not I should be sharing this recipe today. It’s not that this queso is not delicious, because trust me, it is DELICIOUS. It’s just that I have been talking all things Mexican food for the entire week, and for a second I felt like it was a bit too much. I went back and forth on this issue for waaay to long, but then I decided that Cinco de Mayo is just over a week away, and that we actually need to be talking all things Mexican, and all week long.
It’s the right thing to do.
So long story short, I’m declaring it Mexican week here on HBH. Because, I just love Mexican food. Have I gotten you excited yet? Today we’ve got this jalapeño queso, and tomorrow I’ll be sharing something on the sweeter side. Olé!
Also, I’d love to go to Mexico right now. It’s still snowing here and I am dreaming of one hundred degree temperatures, blue waters, and tropical fruit. Take me there, please!?
Double also, should I share my Cinco de Mayo menu with you guys? Would that be helpful? Maybe a post with tips and tricks for creating the perfect Cinco de Mayo fiesta next week? Let me know what you think!
OK. And moving right along…
When my family and I traveled to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico this past summer, we were served queso, guacamole, and chips every single night before dinner. The queso was the very first thing to disappear every night, because it was truly the best thing we’d all ever tasted. The Mexican women who were cooking for us gave me a few of their tips and tricks before I left, and I knew I would have to at least attempt to remake their queso when I got home.
Just like Italians, it seems that a lot of Mexican men and women don’t write their recipes down, so I had to do a lot of testing with this recipe. It sure took me a while to get the recipe just right, but I can confidently say it tastes just as delicious as Gloria’s, and the texture is spot on too.
A couple of facts first. Homemade queso is life changing. Yes, life changing. And it’s also surprisingly easy to prepare. If you’ve only ordered queso when eating out, it’s now time to change that.
Here is what you need: some onion, garlic, spices, lots of jalapeño, a little chipotle, and plenty fo cheese. A lot pantry staples (for me at least) and basically all the Mexican food basics. Oh, and some lime too.
The secret to my queso…what makes it silky smooth, addictingly good, and well, the BEST? A little cream cheese.
I know, that may seem weird and totally not traditional, but just trust me on this one. The cream cheese acts as a binder of sorts, it holds all the other cheeses together and makes for an extra creamy and smooth queso, that’s not greasy. Greasy queso is no bueno in my book.
For easy entertaining, I like to make my queso in a cast iron skillet so that I can serve it right out of the skillet. It makes life so much easier and keeps the queso warm too. That said, you can also transfer the queso to a bowl like I did in these photos, but if I’m being honest, I much prefer serving this out of a skillet. I was just having a hard time photographing a pile of cheese in a skillet.
It’s a little tricky, if you didn’t know…
I like to top my queso with salsa and guacamole. Normally, I’ll use either a spicy red salsa or a fruity salsa like mango or pineapple. Either option is amazing, but I’m loving mangos with avocado right now, so I went with a mango salsa. I also used my super simple guacamole, which consist of avocado, lime, jalapeño, and flaky sea salt. It’s so good and perfect atop this extra cheesy queso, along with a side of homemade tortilla chips.
YUM.
If there’s one dish you make this weekend, next week, or for Cinco de Mayo on May 5th, it NEEDS to be this queso, and I think the reasons why are pretty obvious. Hello to melty cheese, guacamole, and a side of chips. Add Mexican beer or a margarita, and life is good.
If you make this queso and love it, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love, love, love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every one of you. Oh, and of course, if you do make this queso, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram so I can see!
Enjoy!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Made this last night and absolutely LOVED it!!! I did make a few changes. Probably will make again tomorrow for football Sunday. Thanks for the recipe!
I am so glad you loved this Mel! Thank you so much!
My husband was in a queso mood and this was the winner! Really good and easy to make! Thank you!
Thank you so much Gretchen!
Hi, I loved this queso, just made it for the first time when friends came for dinner. The flavor was delicious. But about 10 minutes after I made it, it hardened up. It was thick to start with. Do you think it’s because I used pre-shredded cheese? Also if it’s turning out thick is there a way to add something and thin it out? Maybe more milk…. Wondering what you recommend. Thanks for the great recipes on your site.
Hey Laura! Because of all the cheese, as soon as this begins to cool, it will be begin to hard up a bit. You can add milk to thin it out and I do recommend buy blocks of cheese and then shredding it yourself. My best tip for serving queso is to one, leave it over LOW heat on the stove or serve it in a slow cooker and keep on the LOW or WARM setting. Please let me know if you have other questions. Glad you love this recipe! thanks so much! xTieghan
mmmmm…! this looks so delicious! I’m planning a mexican themed dinner and I think this needs to be included! Do you think i could make it ahead and then re-heat to serve?
HI! this is best serve right after making, but I do think you could reheat it on the stove top if you wanted to make in advance. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
I love this recipe, so easy and tasty! I used pre-shredded cheese (forgive me, new mom 🙂 ) and it ended up being very thick, with the two tablespoons of flour. Turns out, the cheese already had some corn starch added so it doesn’t stick in the bag… So just a tip for others, consider reducing the flour if using pre-shredded cheese.
Thank you for taking my Cinco de Mayo so easy!
Thank you so much Jess!! I am so glad you liked this!
I made it this weekend and absolutely loved it! My husband already asked me to cook it again 🙂
That is amazing! Thank you so much Christina!
The flavor was fantastic! I don’t usually love chili’s in adobo, but they totally made the dish. BUT, mine separated. Not sure what happened. Everything looked great until my last two additions of cheese.
Sometimes the cheese separates if it’s been over cooked. Did the cheese ever come to a boil? Glad you where still able to enjoy this! Please let me know if you have other questions. Thanks! 🙂
It’s tasty! But it’s definitely not queso. More like a cheese dip. The texture is like Mac and cheese. Maybe because of the flour? Anyways, still searching for an authentic Tex-Mex queso recipe that isn’t “Bob Armstrong dip”… thank you for helping me on the way!
Hi Jeffrey! I am so sorry this recipe did not turn out as you expected! I hope you enjoy some others on my blog ?
Do you think this would be ok made in a Crockpot?J
I think transferring this to the crockpot just before adding the cheese will be great, just stir often. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
I can never have enough queso in my life. You can talk about Mexican dishes every day of the year-I won’t fight you on it!
I love that!! Thank you so much Becky! I hope you try this recipe!
Sounds yummy! Do you add the minced Chipotle peppers after you add the cheese or top with?
HI! I add the chipotle peppers after the cheese. I just stir them into the cheese. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
I would love to see more of your recipes if you can please share them thank you have a good and blessed day…..
Thank you Stacy!
delicious and healthy. thank u for share it.
cooking recipes
Thank you! I am so glad you like this Mario!
This is so cool! I watched this in the morning and I started feeling hungry, this stuff is new to me so thanks a lot for sharing this I think I will get to try this one day.As a kind request keep sharing more stuff like this please.
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Thank you so much! I am so glad you like this!
Hey, this looks amazing! What kind of chips do you have in the picture? They look so good! All the best! xx
Hi Rachel! The chips in this are homemade! I am so glad you like this!