You can easily make homemade queso with real cheese in a cast-iron skillet for a delicious appetizer any time of the day.
Jump to RecipeCheese is one of my weaknesses. I love cheese. Therefore, I also really enjoy queso. But I don’t like eating processed cheese (or anything processed) and a lot of recipes call for processed cheese. I prefer to make my homemade queso with REAL cheese.
My recipe uses a mixture of cheddar cheese and Monterey Jack cheese. I made this in the cast-iron skillet which was great for having it ready quickly. Otherwise, the slow cooker is a great option if you want to let it slowly cook throughout the day. Just make sure you stir now and then while the cheese is melting.
The homemade queso is great for all your TexMex meals such as Sheet Pan Nachos and 5 Layer Bean Dip or to eat with chips as a snack.
Step by Step
Why Cubed Cheese?
Cubed cheese melts much better than shredded cheese or full blocks of cheese. When you cut it into cubes, you are keeping it closer to the same size. Shredded cheese tends to have a lot of different sizes which means it doesn’t melt evenly.
Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add the cheddar cheese, Monterey jack cheese, and cream cheese. Stir frequently until melted.
Mix in the Rotel tomatoes. Add the milk, as needed, to thin the queso.
Serve immediately with tortilla chips.
Leftovers
Reheat leftover queso on the stovetop. Add a bit more milk as needed to thin out the cheese.
Recipe
Originally Published On: January 6, 2021
Homemade Queso with Real Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 oz cheddar cheese (cubed)
- 16 oz Monterey Jack cheese (cubed)
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup Rotel tomatoes
- 1/2 cup milk
- Tortilla chips
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add the cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, and cream cheese
- Stir frequently until melted
- Mix in the Rotel tomatoes
- Add the milk, as needed, to thin the queso
- Serve immediately with tortilla chips
Notes
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Yes we loooove cheese too. And thanks for the tip about cubed cheese vs shredded cheese. Makes perfect sense!
Cheese is amazing. That’s all 🙂 Hopefully cubing cheese helps you in the future if you need it to melt like this.
This looks unreal wow!!! I am so gonna make it over the weekend, i can’t be more excited about it.
I love making things homemade, especially when I can use better ingredients. I hope you enjoy it!
YUMMMM I want to make queso. I used to in my dorm with velvetta. Don’t judge me LOL
Don’t worry, I made lots of Velveeta in my college days, too 🙂
I firmly believe that cheese makes everything better! This is perfect for one of our family movie nights.
Yes! Cheese is life at my house.
What happens if there isn’t cubed cheese? Japan isn’t too big on cubed cheese, more like shredded. Fancier cheeses (and more expensive cheeses) are sold in bricks or pie slices, which is easy to make into cubes.
You can purchase the cheese in a brick and cut it up yourself. That’s what I did for this recipe. It’s expensive to buy it pre-cubed. But, shredded will work, it just may not melt as uniformly as cubes.