Just when you thought chips and queso couldn’t get any better…
…chorizo joined the party.
Oh, and not just any party. The homemade, creamy, flavorful, perfect-for-dipping and nacho-ing queso party. The all-natural, made-with-actual-factual-cheddar-and-fresh-ingredients party. The ready-to-go-in-20-minutes, easy-to-make, and perfect-for-serving-at-an-actual-party party.
NOT, mind you, the usual processed cheese party. No way, Jose. Our old, mysterious friend Velveeta was not invited to this one. So you can rest easy knowing that natural cheeses and ingredients are getting scooped up on those delicious chips.
So what do you think? Ready to partaaaaay?
If you’ve never made homemade all-natural queso before, it’s super simple!
Just begin by sauteing up a pan of crispy chorizo. (Yes, it really is that red in person!)
Then while the chorizo is cooking up, begin making your cheese sauce.
This particular recipe calls for a cornstarch and butter and evaporated milk base, which helps to make it extra smooth and creamy. Then sharp (or extra-sharp) cheddar cheese, fire-roasted tomatoes and Old El Paso chopped green chiles are added in to provide maximum flavor…with no Velveeta in sight. (Hallelujah!)
For an extra smooth and creamy queso, just be sure to use freshly grated cheese. As in, buy the block and grate it yourself. (Or use a food processor to grate it at lightening-fast speeds if you have one.) The pre-shredded cheese has a special coating on it to keep it from clumping, which doesn’t bode especially well for melting into cheese dips. So grate away!
Once your queso base is ready, stir in most of the cooked chorizo…
…and if you want bonus points for presentation, save a little of that chorizo to add on top as a garnish. And get ready, because this stuff is sure to disappear before you know it.
Party time!!!
Chorizo Queso
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: About 8 servings 1x
Description
This Chorizo Queso (a.k.a. Chorizo Cheese Dip) recipe is made all-natural with cheddar cheese, and spiced up with some delicious Mexican chorizo.
Ingredients
- 7-8 ounces chorizo, casings removed
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, freshly shredded
- 1 (4-ounce) can Old El Paso chopped green chiles
- ½ cup diced tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon salt, or more/less to taste
Instructions
- Saute chorizo in a large saute pan over high heat until cooked through and crispy, about 10 minutes, crumbling and stirring with a spoon constantly. Remove from heat and set aside.
- While the chorizo is cooking, melt the butter in a separate medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Whisk in the cornstarch until combined and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the evaporated milk, and whisk until combined and smooth. Add in half of the cheese, and stir until melted. Repeat with the second half of the cheese. Stir in the green chiles, tomatoes, and cooked chorizo until combined.
- Taste the queso, and season with your desired amount of salt. Serve immediately with chips.
This is a sponsored post in my partnership with Old El Paso, where I will be developing all sorts of fresh and tasty Mexican recipes to share with you. All opinions are 100% my own as always. Big thanks for helping support the brands which make this site possible.
I forgot to add that I used arrowroot instead of cornstarch, and it worked well.
This is a DELICIOUS replacement for the typical cheese and rotel dip. The Chorizo is excellent.
BEST ever Chorizo Queso! Only other place that serves (similar to this) is a Mexican restuarant down the street. I could eat this 24/7 and have no regrets. And Old El Paso definitely are my go to staples.
Thank you, Sheila, we’re so happy you loved this! :)
I made this and I’m not sure what I did wrong but it doesn’t taste right. First of all I did a double batch so obviously I doubled all ingredients. When you mix the butter and corn starch is it supposed to stay liquid? Mine got clumpy like instant mashed potatoes without enough milk. Also, I may have overcooked the chorizo? It never seemed to get non soupy so I kept cooking it hoping to dry it out. I got the cheapest chorizo they had. A buck a piece at Wal-Mart. Seems to taste very “floury”. Must be tasting the cornstarch
Hi Rob! Thanks for sharing all of this with us — we’re sorry to hear it didn’t turn out right. We wonder since you doubled the recipe if you used a larger pot? It could be that things just didn’t get evenly mixed. When you add the butter and cornstarch, it forms a roux, and it’s supposed to be a thick paste, then you want to whisk in the evaporated milk to make things smooth. You definitely shouldn’t taste the cornstarch. Could you have miscalculated one of the ingredient measurements by mistake?
Didn’t have chorizo (really hard to find where I live) or evaporated milk (substituted 1/2 cream, 1/2 milk) but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Best queso ever. :D Thanks for the recipe!
Yay, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
can this be made ahead of time?
Hi Cori! It’s a little tricky to reheat, so we wouldn’t really advise that. We hope you enjoy though!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I want to make it for a NYE party & I need an lot, so I would like to quadruple it. Will the directions remain the same as far as cooking time? Or would I need to make it in separate batches?
You’re very welcome Chelsea! We would advise making this in separate batches though – maybe two double batches. We hope you enjoy!
I made this last night for nachos. I didn’t use chorizo because it is IMPOSSIBLE to find Mexican chorizo here (at least, it has been so far). It was fabulous still. Whenever I’ve made queso I use a mix of milk and cream (and a little sour cream at the end) but the evaporated milk here was complete genius. It gave it the perfect texture. Great recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks David, we’re so happy to hear you enjoyed this! We’re sorry you weren’t able to find chorizo, that’s a bummer! It’s good to know it still turned out yummy though. :)
Any chance this can be frozen and reheated in a microwave or stovetop?
No, unfortunately this one won’t freeze well.
And I’m immediately reminded of one of the best quesos ever, at Frontera. And then of a wonderful lunch I shared with you there. ;) Your recipe looks awesome, Ali.
I remember that lunch with fondness! Such good times. :) Thanks, friend!