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Simple and Fast Homemade Queso Dip

Name: Simple and Fast Homemade Queso Dip
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 2 Tablespoon Butter; 2 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour; 1 cup whole milk; 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese; 1 cup restaurant-style salsa; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 1 teaspoon chili powder (optional); 1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder or to taste (optional)

September 25, 2020 (Last Updated: September 3, 2020) - As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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If there is any dip I might bathe in, it would be queso dip. Today, I am sharing my Simple and Fast Homemade Queso Dip recipe with you so that you can bathe in it too. Well, bathe your chips in it. Jokes aside, this is a great recipe that can be made quickly with some cheese, salsa, and a few pantry staples. It is fast and simple, but the best part is that it is delicious! Make this Homemade Queso Dip for your next gameday party or just to eat something delicious.

Homemade Queso Dip in a white and gold bowl and a hand dipping a single corn chip into it.

Homemade Queso Dip Summary

The recipe is simple and can be made in less than 20 minutes with just a few ingredients. We are taking a simple mornay sauce, but adding cheddar cheese to it instead of the traditional cheeses. Then, we add some salsa to it and that is it! It really is that easy.

While I also have a great homemade restaurant salsa recipe, you can use whatever salsa you have. There are also other additions you can add to make this your own, but this simple homemade queso dip is delicious and can be ready in minutes.

Cheese Sauce

We start of with a simple cheese sauce in this recipe, which will require butter, milk, all-purpose flour, and shredded cheddar cheese. If you have made a roux or Mornay sauce, this should be familiar to you and we have used similar recipes in several recipes like our Cauliflower Au Gratin and Macaroni and Cheese.

First, we melt butter in a saucepan and then stir in flour to make it a paste. Then, while mixing and heating, we add our milk. Stirring is important here, as the dairy can scald on your pan and we don’t want that.

After the milk is incorporated and when the sauce starts to heat, just when a boil starts, it should thicken to a nice sauce. At this point, we add the cheddar cheese and stir that in until it is melted.

Now, we have a delicious cheese sauce.

Pan with butter and flour in it being made into a roux before adding milk to thicken. — Making the roux for this queso dip and before I add milk, cheese, or salsa. This flour and butter mixture will thicken the sauce.

Add the Salsa

Once the cheese sauce is made, add in the salsa and mix in! Use whatever salsa you like, but I love a good restaurant-style salsa. While I recommend using the ratios in my recipe, you can add more or less to your taste.

Cheese and salsa being mixed in a saucepan over heat, with a wooden spoon stirring the concoction. — Adding the salsa into the cheese sauce just prior to mixing and serving. This is the last step besides eating the dip.

Spices

We do add in a few spices in our recipe, but this is where you can really make this your own if you want. Would you like more spices, perhaps add a bit more cayenne pepper? Or perhaps some canned green chilis? Try it!

There are many options here, but the recipe I provide is a great queso recipe as it is.

How to Use this Dip?

Well, you dip stuff in it! Really though, some nice corn chips are all you need to make this recipe complete, but there are other ways you can use it. I think it is a great topping for tacos or perhaps to serve with your enchiladas.

The honest truth is that this can be used for anything that needs a little Mexican flavor.

This Can Be Refrigerated

One thing I have seen with some queso recipes is that once it is cooled, it hardens. That is not the case for this recipe. I have eaten it as a dip directly from the refrigerator and the cheese sauce is subtle enough so that it does not harden when cooled.

Make More For Your Guests!

This recipe can be easily multiplied. This recipe is intended for four servings, but just multiply the ingredients to make a bigger batch. If you are having friends over for a gameday fiesta, just triple or quadruple the recipes.

You could even put it in a crockpot on low to keep this warm if you wanted and serve with chips to the side. This is an easy and quick recipe that should not need a whole lot of time, but if you want to keep it warm, I would suggest using a crockpot or keeping it on the stovetop at your lowest setting.

Homemade Queso Dip Tips

Use a Restaurant Style Salsa for best results, but any salsa will work.
Here is my homemade restaurant-style salsa recipe.
Cheddar cheese is what we use, but really any meltable and shreddable cheese would work for this including swiss and pepper-jack.
Try adding canned green chilis or cooked taco meat for different flavors
I use this for corn chips, but it would also be great as a taco topping or to pour over burritos.

Bowl of queso dip on a gold platter with corn chips spread all around the platter and the table underneath.

Products I Used In this Recipe

Slow Cooker to keep warm

Did you Make This Recipe?

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