The Ultimate Queso (2024)

I have a confession: I had never had queso at a Mexican restaurant (or anywhere else) until about 5-6 years ago. Sure, there were cheese dips at parties, usually Velveeta-based dips, but I had never had white queso until I went to dinner with some friends and one of them ordered a bowl of it for the table. Looking back, it was not the best queso in the world. But there was something oddly comforting about it, scratching an itch the guacamole and/or salsa couldn’t really itch.

Since then, I feel like I have become something of a queso connoisseur. I’ve tried the good (Torchy’s Tacos in Texas is probably the best I’ve ever had), I’ve tried the bad (which, at its worst, is thin and processed-tasting but still not the worst thing) and I have experimented. What I’ve found is that a lot of people (myself included) try to fancy up the queso recipe itself.

Don’t do that.

What I learned from Torchy’s is to keep your queso recipe delicious and simple, then make it fancy with toppings. They serve theirs in a bowl that has a generous scoop of cold guacamole in the bottom, then the bowl is filled with queso and topped with cheese, cilantro, and their spicy sauce.

This queso is not a Torchy’s knock-off…I didn’t want to set out to re-create something I haven’t even tried for several months. But, not to toot my own horn or anything, thisis the best homemade queso I’ve ever had.

You’ll need a pound of high-quality American cheese–look for it at the deli counter of your grocery store. Try Boar’s Head or Land O’ Lakes; those are the best American cheeses I’ve found. You’ll also need 8 ounces of pepper jack cheese, a pint of half and half, onion powder, chili powder, garlic powder, and some roasted green chilies.

Remove the paper from the American cheese slices and chop into pieces. Shred the pepper jack cheese and reserve 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese for later.

The key to success here is vigilance and patience. Low and slow. If you scorch any of the (many) dairy products we’re using here, you’ll have to start over. So keep stirring, keep the temperature low, and just enjoy the process.

Place the half and half in a medium saucepan.

Add the salt, onion powder, chili powder, and garlic powder. Cook over medium heat, stirring very frequently (constantly near the end), until bubbles form around the edges and it almost boils. Reduce heat to medium-low.

Whisking constantly, add a handful of the chopped American cheese. Stir until the cheese is completely melted, then repeat until all the American cheese has been used. Repeat with the pepper jack cheese, reserving 1/4 cup. of the cheese for later. When the mixture is completely smooth, remove from heat. Stir in chilies. Transfer to a serving dish,

add toppings as desired (I used Chipotle Tabasco, which is much more mild than regular Tabasco, green onions, cilantro, and chopped jalapeño peppers, but there are so many possibilities! Check out the notes in the recipe below for some ideas.) Sprinkle with reserved pepper jack cheese.