If you were to ask me what my favorite food was as a teenager, I would have said queso. Since then, I have had so many culinary experiences that broadened my palate to appreciate flavors and textures that I never knew. Once you have tasted such a variety of dishes from around the world, your culinary cravings are bound to mature and if you were to ask me what my favorite food is today, I would proudly say with a mouthful of greatly matured tastebuds that it is…. queso.
I can’t help it. The mere thought of dragging a salty tortilla chip through spicy, melted cheese just makes me smile. I order queso from any menu that offers it. I do have my favorite, but I am definitely not a queso snob. If you say you have queso, I would love to try your queso and if it is not the best queso, I will toss a little pico and maybe some hot sauce on it and scrape that bowl clean.
I do have a favorite style of queso. In my opinion, Chuy’s Tex-Mex has the ultimate queso, but unfortunately, the nearest Chuy’s is several hours away from where we live right now. Although I would love to hop in the car and go order some of their beautiful queso, I can’t, but I don’t have to just dream about it until the next time we live close to one. I can do something about it! Making your own queso is not difficult and there is an upside to being able to flavor your queso how you want it to taste. You can use your favorite cheese and your favorite salsa and create a melty masterpiece that you can whip up the next time that queso starts calling your name. This is how I make my queso blanco…
One of the differences between queso blanco and traditional queso is that the blanco version is made with white cheese whereas traditional queso is made with yellow cheese. The flavors are unique in each version, but I love both. I have been reminiscing about a little old Mexican restaurant that my friends and I would meet up at in NC and they served a great queso blanco, so for old times sake, I am going with the blanco version today. The best cheese to use in your queso blanco is a good quality white American. I asked the sweet lady at the deli counter to cut me off a 2/3 lbs block off of their Boars Head white American and that’s the easiest way to do it. You can do slices, but it takes a while to unwrap all of them.
You don’t want to use pre-shredded cheese, as they add something to it to prevent the shreds from clumping together and this can prevent your queso from melting smooth.
Another difference between traditional queso and queso blanco would be the “add ins”. Traditional queso typically has a red salsa added to the cheese and occasionally chili, but the blanco version uses salsa verde (green salsa) and green chilies. If you have never tried salsa verde, I highly recommend it! In addition to salsa verde and green chillies, you will need some whole milk and heavy cream.
To start your queso blanco, place 1/4 cup of whole milk and 1/4 cup of heavy cream into a medium non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of salsa verde and 4 tablespoons of diced green chillies. Stir to combine. Add 2/3 of a pound of white American cheese cut into cubes. It takes a while to start melting, but you don’t want to use too high of a temperature, unless you are willing to babysit it consistently. If you keep it over medium heat, you can stir about every minute or so and this gives you time to make a little pico de gallo to go alongside your queso blanco.
Chop up some vine ripened tomatoes, red onion and cilantro. Add a little bit of the green chillies you have left over from the queso and 1 crushed garlic clove. Add a pinch of salt, a squeeze of lime and mix well. Pico de gallo is so versatile! I always make more than I will need for this recipe, so I will have some to add to tomorrow mornings eggs…
Once your queso blanco is smooth and thoroughly melted, pour it into the nearest bowl, toss some of that pico de gallo on top and enjoy!! Queso is usually served with tortilla chips, but that’s only one of your options.
You can use celery, sweet peppers, cucumbers… any vegetable really. You can use baguettes, sliced up apples, dip your tacos into it, spoon some over an omelet… it is deliciously flavored melted cheese, so you can put it wherever you want it! If you have any left overs (it occasionally happens), store it in the refrigerator and heat slowly when you’re ready for more!
I hope you enjoy this queso blanco!
Queso Blanco
Ingredients
- 2/3 lbs white American cheese, cubed
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons salsa verde
- 4 tablespoons diced green chilies
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients into a medium non-stick saucepan over medium heat
- Stir occasionally until fully melted
