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There’s nothing like warm, spicy, ooey-gooey melted cheese for appetizer dipping — or even as an unconventional binge-watching dinner; who’s judging? Certainly not us, especially when it involves a deliciosa Tex-Mex queso dip. Queso is actually just the Spanish word for cheese, but not in Texas, where the term evolved to mean a warm, creamy dip officially known by its full name, chile con queso. It has deeper roots in Mexico, dating back to the region’s ancient Aztec civilization, where it was reportedly known as queso chihuahua. But The Lone Star State famously adapted it for the wildly popular assortment of Tex-Mex dishes.
Traditional Tex-Mex queso is made from meltable cheeses, especially processed ones for ultimate creaminess and supreme scoop-ability. The exact blend of cheeses can be subjective and sometime mysterious. That’s why we reached out to an expert on the topic, Michael Sambrooks, owner of Candente, a Houston Tex-Mex restaurant that recently earned Michelin Bib Gourmand honors in 2024.
If you’re new to making queso at home, his choice for the best queso cheese may be surprising. “You can use a blend of cheeses, but true Tex-Mex queso must include American cheese. That’s what gives it its velvety texture,” says Sambrooks. That’s right, the core ingredient is processed American-style cheese rather than the wide array of available Mexican cheeses. As for exact brands names, Sambrooks reveals: “H-E-B brand has a block of American cheese you can buy (shout out to H-E-B!) that is great; if not, Velveeta works, but the flavor is a bit different.”
Blended cheeses make a flavorful queso dip
As with most tasty foods including dips, there’s more than one way to make the magic. Sambrooks agrees, sharing his penchant for more complexity in flavorful queso. “I like to blend cheeses,” he says. “The American [cheese] is at least half for the texture, and then you can blend with cheddar if you want some extra sharpness or a Monterey jack for a milder creaminess.”
Plenty of culinary devotees agree, with some queso dips pulling from a much wider field of cheesy options. They include two meltable Mexican options: the buttery flavored Asadero cheese and the Oaxaca cheese resembling an American string cheese. Some recipes call for the aptly named queso fresco cheese, which has a more crumbly texture and works well as a queso-dip garnish. There’s also Colby, pepperjack, and cream cheeses, all bringing their own defining attributes to your homemade queso dips.
To cut down on decision-making stress, many supermarkets offer pre-shredded cheese packages, including a Mexican style blend of shredded cheeses with plenty of meltable flavor potential. The H-E-B store-brand cheese packet includes two of the same cheeses recommended by our expert: Monterey jack and cheddar, plus the Mexican favorites Asadero and quesadilla cheeses.
On a different note, Sambrooks reveals an additional ingredient for keeping homemade queso stable and smooth instead of grainy. “Buy a bag of sodium citrate from Amazon,” he suggests, such as this option from It’s Just! “You can make queso with any cheese and milk. [The sodium citrate] will give it the signature texture American cheese does.”
