Creamy Queso With Pickled Jalapeños Recipe (2024)

Funny thing about cooking, there can be different ways to make something. Some people even visit recipe sites like this one to find something different from the usual, and enjoy trying new ways to make food delicious. And cilantro, being an extremely common Tex-Mex ingredient, doesn’t seem like a radical idea.

Velveeta contains sodium citrate, which gives it its slippery texture and also causes it to melt smoothly. You can buy sodium citrate and use real grated cheddar to make queso: dissolve a teaspoon of sodium citrate in a cup of liquid (water, beer, etc.), bring to simmer, then stir in four cups of grated cheddar. As soon as it's melted, take it off the heat and add your chiles, salsa, or whatever. It holds perfectly in a small crock pot, and reheats just fine.

Add another 10 years to my history & ditto on the cilantro, sour cream, etc. Basic queso is a pound of Velveeta (rough chopped) and a can of Ro-Tel; two 3-minute sessions in the microwave; a bag of chips and you're done.

Sure! Why make my own pizza when I could just put a Hot Pocket in the microwave?

There are plenty of ways to make queso without processed Amer. Cheese by any name, no matter how loud (some) folks proclaim it is the ONLY way to be authentic. I SOOO don't care: we will not use it. Ever. And we make fantastic queso. Basically: cheddar/jack/milk/flour/+sour cream or cream cheese sub out GREAT.Check out Saveur's great queso recipe (no Am. cheese). https://www.saveur.com/queso-dip-recipe. You can still use Rotel tomatoes or any seasonings that bring it home for you.

No....Velveeta is not a must. Using processed so-called American cheese is a habit, not a necessity. Queso fundido does not use it. Velveeta was used because it was cheap, easy, accessible. We have plenty of recipes and experience making it with real cheeses and no processed cheese and it is awesome. Not as inexpensive, takes a bit more cooking focus... worth it in every way... to us anyway.

Others can make whatever fancy cheese dip they want, but Tex-Mex queso starts with Velveeta and Rotel. Smooth, never curdles. A great variation is called Bob Armstrong Dip. See Lisa Fain's "Queso!" cookbook or the Homesick Texan website for the recipe.

I make a version of this 3 times a year for a crowd of 40. It's always a hit even with friends who are chefs or food writers. I grew up in Tex-Mex, America. Velveeta is a must. It stays melty. YES, it's bad for you-but you're not doing shots of it for your health. There are other delicious cheese dips that don't use processed cheese, like queso fundido. They just aren't queso in this divine Tex-Mex fashion. Tip: Add a little dark beer. Bon Appetit, y'all!

A little fried Mexican chorizo makes a nice garnish for this dip.I used to be an anti-Velveeta cheese snob until I started making Queso after a trip through Texas. People, there is no substitute for the velvety smooth texture it lends to this dip. I had to get over myself and if you want to make this dish you should too.

Thanks. More for us Leviathans.

This is so much better than rotel and velveeta. Used pepper jack, cheddar and Velveeta. No clumps. Perfect

Velveeta noooo nooooooo noooooooi

I've eaten Tex Mex for over sixty years and I have never seen cilantro mixed in. Never. Ever. Also, no sour cream. Rest of recipe is okay except Velveeta is a must. the individual slice for faster melting.

I am not a big fan of "ultra-processed" foods, and Velveeta or its "American cheese" mates (no matter how exclusive the brand name may seem) are not in a regular rotation for me. However, there are times, like these, when it's very difficult to substitute other cheeses and get a really creamy finish. What I do do is mix in some plain yogurt to lessen the issues of the Velveeta.And--DON'T put as much salt in as shown in the video till you taste--everything else here is full of salt already!

Strongly suggest double boiler to prevent burning

Made this vegan with oat milk and Violife Mexican shreds and it was delicious! Added some chili pepper for additional kick. Will make again.

Please help. I'm Canadian. What is American cheese? Could someone give me a trade name to look for?

I *love* Alison Roman, but I have to say: this recipe didn't work for me. Not really sure what exactly happened, but my go-to queso now is Sohla El-Waylly's.

Reasons why dip may be lumpy FYI:1. Using too low fat percentage of milk2. Wrong / low quality cheese with high oil content (use real cheese, not processed)3. Milk not hot enough before adding cheese - add slowly & whisk in between

This recipe, without the sour cream on top is over 4000 calories. I am a huge fan of cheese dip, and my go to recipe utilizes cornstarch to thicken, which requires less cheese (and can be made with lowfat milk). This is delicious, but I would save for special occasions only & change servings to 8 minimum (not 6), considering you’re eating chips, too! I like to make cheese dip a meal by adding some ground meat, too.

I think the base recipe here is as good as queso gets—the right real/fake cheese mix, actual sautéed veg, etc. But once done (followed to a T) it left a lot to be desired. If you want a straightforward, uncomplicated mild queso this might be it for you. I doctored the final product incrementally, and here is where I landed: a can of green chile Rotel, a healthy dose of cayenne and cumin, and juice from a whole lime. The lime was critical and made the whole thing sing. Yum.

Pro tip: if you serve queso in a fondue pot warmed by tea lights, everyone will think you are both very fancy and very down to earth, because queso. It also keeps it perfectly smooth and warm through the entirety of a football game.

Along with the others, I ended up with milk that never truly incorporated into the cheese. The cheese was super globby and difficult to scoop up after just minutes of not being on the heat. I’m a Texan who always makes queso with velveeta, Rotel, Jimmy dean sausage and chili powder - it just tastes like home. I wanted to try something with “real” cheese and something more elevated. Unfortunately this did not deliver. I might have to try to make a roux with flour or try the cornstarch slurry.

Agree with others - milk didn’t incorporate with cheese. Needs some sort of roux or cornstarch slurry as others suggested…or I just need to go back to my texas roots and use velveeta! Haha!

Made this despite mixed reviews- and our group loved it! Not sure about authenticity but I used American cheese sliced at a deli and it worked perfectly (I think this might be a happy medium for those totally against velveeta) My only warning is to plan how you will serve it, the dip needs to be pretty warm to keep its consistency and not turn into rubber. We kept ours on the stove top and let guests ladle it onto chips as needed. Also, more jalapeños would have been welcome!

I made this recipe subbing velveeta for American for extra meltiness, but otherwise followed it. At the end I tasted and it wasn’t quite there.... added a can of tomatoes with green chiles and it became incredible. This recipe needs the acid and tomato flavor. Add them!

This was a great recipe! But it definitely took more than 30 minutes, because the cheese melting takes a long time. I used the queso for some nachos, which worked great as it didn't make the chips too soggy, and had lots leftover.

I’d never had queso before, but it looked delicious and this recipe did not disappoint. How are you supposed to serve queso? I ended up treating it like a fondue, and served it for dinner with sliced bell peppers, mushrooms, broccoli and tortilla chips for dipping. Yum.

This was one of the worst recipes Ive encountered on NY Times. The consistency terrible and the flavor was bland. It took well over 30 min. It created a mess and wasted a ton of ingredients. Im convinced they didn’t test this before posting. After reading other queso recipes, it looks like it’s missing key ingredients that make the consistency work. Do not recommend.

This was fantastic! I subbed the jalapeños for serranos and the American cheese with Velveeta because that was what I had on hand. For everyone who is very anti-fake cheese, keep in mind that this is a texture thing, not so much taste (you could almost think of it as adding a cornstarch slurry as a thickener). I'm sure you could play around with the other cheese though, depending on your flavor preference.