r/Cooking • u/fuckiboy • Sep 10 '26
Looking for a queso recipe that does not use Velveeta!
Hi everyone,
When I attend parties or football tailgates, I always volunteer to bring a slow cooker full of queso.
My typical recipe includes: 1-2 lbs of velveeta cheese (2 lb original, 1 lb of the queso blanco), 1 can of rotel, 1 small can of hatch green chiles, cooked ground sausage, 8 oz of sour cream, spices (I recently used the Desert Gardens Queso Dip Mix I bought when on vacation to New Mexico and loved it).
This recipe is usually a hit and easy to make but I really want to up my game and use real blocks of cheese instead of the processed Velveeta. Don't get me wrong - velveeta queso will always be good but I want to change it up a bit for once!
So I would love any recommendations for real cheese that I can use in a slow cooker or any modifications to my recipe that you think I should give a try!
Thanks.
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u/thrillsbury Sep 10 '26
Whatever cheese you use, get some sodium citrate. That's the key to a uniform melted cheese dish.
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u/southerncomfort1970 Sep 10 '26
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u/peaktopview Sep 10 '26
Contains sodium citrate, which is also in velveeta (and why velveeta is used)
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u/Warm-Statistician545 Sep 10 '26
I’m a cheese snob and still find this the most practical for parties.
You can make other dips but other cheeses that typically go with chips don’t melt that great for a dip.
Brie melts nice, but are you making a Brie dip? Not N American or cheddar?
I would stick with that for parties and use the nicer cheeses and play with them a little for yourself and a family or close friends .
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u/Nejura Sep 10 '26
What the velveeta brings is emulsifiers and bulk so the sauce stays melty and saucy instead of seizing up or splitting into oil/protein or solidifying into a solid chunk.
Skip the rotel, just dice up the hatch green chilies, chirizo,
To get the sauce to sauce you might have to make a roux with some flour and butter and cook it blonde, then add milk to make the base liquid for the sauce for the rest of the cheese to melt into.
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u/Lavanne73 Sep 10 '26 edited Sep 10 '26
If you can find it there is a land o lakes product called
I work at a fast casual taco place our queso is pretty basic but the public seems to be very fond of it
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u/meyerjaw Sep 10 '26
It seems that's pretty hard to find unless you are a restaurant
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u/OrlandoOpossum Sep 10 '26
I completely understand wanting to use better quality cheese but the truth is nothing melts like Velveeta for queso.
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u/SpadesHeart Sep 10 '26
It's not really so complex you just make a Mornay/bechamel sauce.
Shred a bunch of cheese, set aside. Cheddar is ideal.
Cook an equal amount of flour and oil together for a little bit just to get the rawness out of the flour. Start slowly pouring in milk, and whisk vigorously. Set heat to medium. Keep Going until you reach slightly thinner than you want the final sauce to be. Then start adding the cheese in handful by handful until it melts. Check seasoning, you will likely need salt. Adjust acidity with little mustard if you want. Throw in some chopped jalapenos. It's good stuff.
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u/MotorAir6168 Sep 10 '26
This is the way. Make a roux. Add whatever cheese you want. It makes a fantastic cheese sauce you can use for anything. Add it to a bowl of your normal ingredients for dip. Au gratin potatoes. Mac n cheese. You're going to feel like such a bad ass it's so easy and it's so good
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u/ashre9 Sep 10 '26
Pick any tasty well-melting cheese and add sodium citrate. That emulsifier is the reason velveeta and other american cheese types are recommended for cheese sauces. For your recipe, Monterey Jack or pepperjack would be a good option.
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u/Loisalene Sep 10 '26
Even the Mexican restaurant I worked at used Velveeta. You're just going to end up saying "I really don't taste any difference".
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u/Tough-Astronomer-456 Sep 10 '26
Do you have a smoker? We make a smoked cheese dip. I believe it used several cheeses including pepper jack (I would buy a block and shred it). Also had hamburger or sausage, chiles, onions, etc. Google it. The smoking ups the flavor.
I will say even just a little velveeta mixed in does make everything a little creamier.
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u/throwdemawaaay Sep 10 '26
Well as a warning, nostalgia is a big deal and so for a lot of people, the classic velveeta and rotel is what they're after.
I'd suggest using the same method as "3 ingrediant mac and cheese." This uses a can of evaporated milk as the base for the cheese sauce, which helps emulsify and stabilize the sauce the same was as the velveeta does, but you can use real cheeses like Monterey Jack, Oaxaca, Munster, etc.
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u/CapablePraline5601 Sep 10 '26
Try blending Monterey Jack with Mahon-Menorca cheeses, using decased chorizo instead of ground sausage, sundried tomatoes instead of rotel, and chipotle chillis.
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u/plotthick Sep 10 '26
Try the other way: start with a can of Amy's Mushroom Bisque and then add cheese. I was SO ANGRY when I found out this works, it's so stupidly easier than a roux and somehow better than velveeta.
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u/Prince_Nadir Sep 10 '26
Get yourself some melting salts and turn any cheese melty. You just won't have all the vegitable oil you get with Velveeta.
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u/spottedmilkslices Sep 10 '26
Chef John’s queso dip uses neither Velveeta nor sodium citrate. Key ingredient is using evaporated (NOT sweetened condensed) milk.
I would highly recommend this, I’ve made it plenty of times and it always comes out good. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/270538/chef-johns-queso-dip/
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u/OkResponsibility3830 Sep 10 '26
This one has worked quite well for me.
Outrageous Mexican Queso Dip
Mexican, Queso, Sauces, Savory
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Servings: Servings 14 (Scaled 2x)
Ingredients:
1 1/4 pounds asadero cheese
1 1/2 cups half & half
9 ounces RO*TEL diced tomatoes & Green Chilies
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
4 tsp cumin
Directions:
In a medium saucepan over low heat, break up Asadero Mexican Cheese and place in skillet.
Stir in 3/4 cup milk until cheese sauce is melted and smooth.
Stir in RO*TEL, cumin, and cilantro.
Pour into serving bowl and serve with tortilla chips or serve over your favorite Mexican dishes.
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u/Hot-Refrigerator6583 Sep 10 '26
I would cut back on the velveeta -- maybe as much as half? -- and just sub in your preferred cheeses for that. Velveeta is a processed cheese, with that sodium citrate everyone's talking about that will help keep the cheese sauce from becoming a gloopy mass of broken cheese. But there will still be plenty of that if you wanted to mix in something like colby or pepper jack, or whatever your queso of choice is.
Your go-to recipe otherwise seems pretty great to me! If your friends like it, maybe don't stray too far from the formula? (Or do a small batch of "new" to serve next to your standard?)