white queso with jalapenos, cilantro, and chips being dipped in it

This delicious easy dip is loaded with flavor – and crazy easy to make.

If you can melt and stir cheese, you can make this queso!

We hope you love this cheesy dip as much as we do.

At Ajpal, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. My goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

white queso with jalapenos, cilantro, and chips

Tips To Perfect Queso

How To Keep Queso From Separating

Queso can separate, so here are our tips to keep your queso velvety smooth if you have any problems with your queso breaking.

Make a roux with flour or a cornstarch slurry and stir in to queso – starch helps to keep fat from separating.
Stir in an emulsifier – mustard powder helps.

Shred The Cheese

We always recommend chopping, shredding, or even tearing cheese apart to make more surface area so cheese can melt quickly and more evenly.

What Cheese To Use For Queso

There are some cheeses that work beautifully in queso – cheese that has the right fat and moisture content to melt, without seizing up or getting too oily.

Oaxaca
Enchilado
Quesadilla
Mozzarella
White cheddar
Cheddar cheese

We love crumbling a little cotija cheese (preferably very cold, gives a great temperature twist when eating) on top of queso – but since it doesn’t melt well, we use it more as a topping than the creamy cheese base.