This Easy Queso Blanco Recipe is a quick way to make white cheese dip using Velveeta and peppers. Serve with chips as a side dish or an appetizer!
Our favorite place to vacation is Wilmington, North Carolina. Over the years it’s become our home-away-from-home. We love visiting our friends who live in the area and, of course, we love spending time on Wrightsville Beach.
One of our favorite local restaurants is called Islands Fresh Mex Grill. Everything we’ve tried at the restaurant is delicious but we all agree that our favorite item on the menu is the chips and queso!
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Not long after returning from one of our vacations, I tried making queso blanco dip and it turned out great! Then, I tried to make it again, when a bunch of friends were at our house and it didn’t work as well.
I realized that the biggest difference in the queso recipe was the cheese I used. The first time I made it, I used Velveeta Queso Blanco and the second time I used white cheddar cheese.
While it tastes great with the white cheddar cheese, it was way too thick. As my friends filled their plates, they let me know that the dip was too thick and wondered what how I could thin it out.
Finally, I added a bunch of salsa to the dip and that thinned it. So, I wanted to go back to the first time I made the white cheese dip using Velveeta to see if it would turn out smooth again… and sure enough, it did!
How To Make Easy Queso Blanco
Step One:
To make the queso blanco recipe, cut a two-pound block of Velveeta queso blanco cheese into cubes.
Step Two:
Puree one 4-ounce can of diced green chilies with two tablespoons of canned, diced jalapenos (add more or less depending on how hot you want the dip).
Step Three:
Put the cheese cubes, pureed peppers, milk, butter, cumin, and pepper into a saucepan.
Step Four:
Over medium heat, melt everything together, stirring often until smooth. Add additional milk if needed.
If you don’t eat it all right away, you can store it in the fridge and reheat the queso blanco in the microwave.
Easy Queso Blanco Recipe Tips and FAQs
1. Can I leave the diced green chilies and diced jalapenos out? Yes, but you may need to add more milk because the liquid in the peppers helps to thin out the queso.
2. Can this easy queso blanco be made in a crockpot? Yes! Just put all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on low for 1 – 2 hours. Stir until smooth. Turn the temperature to warm for serving.
3. Can this recipe be made ahead of time and reheated? Yes, this queso blanco reheated. Add more milk it necessary.
4. I can’t find the Velveeta Queso Blanco. Can I make queso with the regular Velveeta instead? Definitely! It will change the color, of course, and change the flavor but it will still be delicious.
5. Want more ingredients in your queso blanco? Add diced onions, a can of Rotel, a dash of hot sauce, minced garlic
6. How about toppings for the queso blanco? Try topping it with diced tomatoes, cilantro, or jalapenos.
7. To make this queso more hearty, include some meat. Try adding one pound of cooked hot Italian sausage or seasoned, cooked, ground beef taco meat.
Easy Queso Blanco Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lb Velveeta queso blanco
- 4 oz can diced green chilies
- 2 tablespoons canned diced jalapenos more or less, if desired
- 1 cup milk add up to 1/2 cup additional milk if needed
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cut a two-pound block of Velveeta queso blanco cheese into cubes.
- Puree one 4-ounce can of diced green chilies with two tablespoons of canned, diced jalapenos (add more or less depending on how hot you want the dip).
- Put the cheese cubes, pureed peppers, milk, butter, cumin, and pepper into a saucepan.
- Melt over medium heat stirring often. Add additional milk to thin the cheese sauce, if desired.
- Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Recipe makes 5 cups of queso blanco.
- Store leftovers in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval.
- If serving at a party, keep warm in a slow cooker, set on the lowest setting, stirring occasionally.
Nutrition
Updated from the original recipe shared in October 2014
Beverly K Short says
I love good queso at Mexican restaurants, so I wanted to make some for our Christmas Eve get-together. Normally we do regular Velveeta and Rotel. This was a huge hit with my nephew he raved about it all night. I added about a 1/8 tsp chili powder and one more can of green chilies, so a total of two 4 oz, since I love their flavor so much. I’m sure by the time I was through I added 1 cup of milk maybe more. I’ve added more milk to the leftover. I was told it’s a keeper.
Erica says
My family loves this recipe! We tried it for our camping trip and now it is a staple to all gatherings! So super easy to throw in a crockpot.
Tonia says
Awesome! We made it NYE and I bought extra ingredients so that I can make it again soon!
Krystal says
I’ve been searching high and low for a recipe that imitates Chili’s White Spinach Queso, and this more than meets my expectations! This truly is THE BEST queso blanco recipe and every one of my guests raved over it at our Superbowl party! A new one for the books!
Tonia says
Yesssss! I’m so happy to hear that you love it as much as we do. Even my nieces and nephews request it at family get-togethers!
Sue says
Unfortunately, the quest hardens when not kept warm no matter how much milk or Rotel/green chilies you add to it. Fixed last night for party of six with each guest having individual queso bowls. Embarrassed that it hardened to undippable with my hand-fried tortilla chips. A thought: Maybe somebody will invent battery operated individual warming dishes. 🙂
Claire says
Try using a can of cream of mushroom, or cream of poblano, really anything — it keeps the sip from hardening!
Tyler says
Question for those using this recipe…is this enough to fill an entire 7/8 quart crockpot?
Debbie says
Just the recipe that I was looking for. Will try this weekend and get back to you. Thanks a bunch!!!!
Tonia says
Fabulous! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! ~Tonia
Kendra says
I made this for a nacho bar for teacher appreciation week and when I went to pick my crock pot up, everyone wanted to know who made it because it was so good! Thanks, it was a hit! They said it was restaurant quality! (There’s a great little Mexican restaurant down the street that serves a small bowl of Queso to everyone. This recipe sounded similar and I omitted the cumin and black pepper because I know they don’t use it in theirs. It tastes almost identical!)
Tonia says
That’s fabulous Kendra! We are making this queso and putting it in a crockpot for my daughter’s open house!
Wanda says
What is the difference in queso fresco & queso blanco cheese
Tonia says
Hi Wanda,
Queso fresco is a soft, moist curd-like cheese. Queso blanco is a creamy, semi-soft cheese.
Enjoy!
~Tonia
Clarice says
Love this! Tastes great. Thanks for the recipe.
Jane says
Found this site and recipe by chance! Making this tomorrow. This made me a little homesick. We just moved from Topsail Island (of course did all of our “in town” stuff in Wilmington!) we lost our home in hurricane Florence and just miss Wilmington and our island so so much!
If you’re ever up in Hampstead by Wilmington try Burrito Shak if you haven’t yet! It was our favorite place to eat! Puts Chipotle and Moe’s to shame! Not even close haha!
Tonia says
That’s terrible! We were so saddened by all of the damage! We love all of the beaches in the area. We’ve rented a beach house in Topsail and in Carolina Beach. We hope to make a trip there late this spring or during the summer. I can wait to try the Burrito Shak. Thanks for the suggestion!
Latei says
Can this also be made in a pressure cooker?
Fre says
You could have saved yourself a lot of trouble and money and just bought the Nice N cheesy queso Blanco from Kroger. Tastes exactly like all the white queso dips in Mexican restaurants (who used process American cheese instead of Mexican cheese). And it has jalapenos in it. I thin it with milk to make it whatever consistency I want. I am just sick that Kroger us closing all its stores in central NC. I have to find if this is made under another name or pay to buy it online somehow. I also spend a lot of time in Wilmington. Live 2 hours away, had lots of business there and my daughter went to college at UNCW.
Bigmule says
Incorrect. Krogers queso is more similar to all the other RTU queso’s, not bad by any means, and nice to use in a pinch…. but let’s say you have the time, then this recipe is next level…and price per ounce, this recipe is less expensive than Krogers as the yield is significantly more.
Janis says
Can heavy cream or evaporated milk be used as a substitute for the milk? I’m also going to try adding ground pork sausage. Looks amazing!
Tonia says
Hi Janis,
I’ve never tried making it with either one. If you decide to give it a go, both heavy cream and evaporated milk are thicker than milk so you might need to you more.
Best of luck,
Tonia
Janis says
Okay, thanks, I’ll stay with the original recipe. Thank you!
Amber says
I’ve been looking for a good white queso recipe. I made this recipe exactly like it is tonight and it was delicious! Thank you, this one is going in the recipe book!
Tonia says
Wonderful! I love hearing that!
Tara says
I made this recipe last night and it is fantastic! So glad to have found this!