You can easily make homemade queso with real cheese in a cast-iron skillet for a delicious easy appetizer any time of the day.
Jump to RecipeYou can easily make homemade queso with real cheese in a cast-iron skillet for a delicious easy appetizer any time of the day.
Cheese 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 and real ingredients.
My recipe uses a mixture of real cheddar cheese and Monterey Jack cheese. You can also use any other type of cheese that you prefer. If you want a dip with more of a spicy kick to it, try subbing pepper jack cheese for the Monterey jack cheese and adding some chili powder, poblano pepper, or serrano pepper.
The best way to make this homemade queso recipe is in the cast-iron skillet which was great for having it ready quickly. Otherwise, a small crockpot 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. It’s also a great option for a game day appetizer or a Cinco de Mayo meal.

Homemade Queso with Real Cheese Step by Step
Ingredient List
- 16 oz sharp cheddar cheese (cubed)
- 16 oz Monterrey Jack cheese (cubed)
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup Rotel tomatoes with green chiles
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- Tortilla chips
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. Pre-shredded cheese from the grocery store tends to have a lot of different sizes which means it doesn’t melt evenly.

Preparation
Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add the cheddar cheese, Monterey jack cheese, and cream cheese. Stir frequently until the cheese is melted with a creamy texture.

Mix in the Rotel tomatoes. Add the milk, as needed, to thin the queso.

Garnish with sliced jalapeños, diced tomatoes, green onions, or sour cream, if desired. Serve immediately with your favorite tortilla chips.

Homemade Queso with Real Cheese Leftovers
Storage: Leftover queso can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Reheating: Reheat the queso on the stove top in a small saucepan over medium heat stirring often. Add a splash of milk as needed to thin out the cheese.

Recipe
Originally Published On: January 6, 2021
Last Updated On: June 28, 2023

Homemade Queso with Real Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 oz sharp cheddar cheese (cubed)
- 16 oz Monterey Jack cheese (cubed)
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup Rotel tomatoes with green chilies
- 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.
More TexMex Recipes to try
- Chili Nacho Dip
- Bean and Cheese Tostadas
- Taco Pizza
- 5 Layer Bean Dip
- Frito Pies or Walking Tacos
- Taco Tostadas
- Chicken Enchiladas
- Pico de Gallo Recipe
- Tex-Mex Queso Recipe without Velveeta
- Southwestern Salad with an Avocado Dressing
- Taco-Stuffed Bell Peppers
- Homemade Queso with Real Cheese
- Chicken Enchilada Skillet
- Two Minute Salsa
- Sheet Pan Nachos
- Chicken Flautas with Buttermilk-Avocado Sauce
- Taco-Stuffed Poblano Peppers
- How to Create an Allergy-Friendly Taco Bar
- Chicken Enchilada Suizas Skillet Dinner
- Chipotle Chicken Tacos
- Halloween Quesadillas
- Tortilla-Crusted Chicken
- Taco Dip
- Chicken Tortilla Soup (Gluten Free and Dairy Free)
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!
This recipe looks do delicious. My mouth start watering. Can’t wait to try this.
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.
This looks so delicious. I love that its simple to make.
Oh, I love this! ANything with cheese recipes, I’m on board!
Cheese dip is really such an easy thing to make. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to make something delicious, as you’ve exhibited here.
Cubes are my favorite to just snack on too, but that’s a good tip about the melting. I do love me a good queso and if it’s homemade, even better!
This looks amazing! Queso is such a treat when we get takeout, and it would be fun to make it on our own.
OMG! This looks really delicious. I am totally drooling right now by simply looking at the photos. How much more if I can smell this. Thank you for sharing the recipe. Will definitely try making this.
This queso looks amazingly delicious. I will try your recipe. Thanks
I love this combo so much, I haven’t tried it with chillies, I would definitely try this sometime.
Wow.. i love this.. it looks really great dip for nachos and tacos.. as well as those bacon-wrapped burgers.. yum yum
thank you for sharing us the quick recipe
My family and I adore this queso. It’s hard to find a real cheese recipe and this one is amazing!
Looks so delicious!
Looks delicious and thanks for sharing the recipe.