Mexican Queso Dip

Pure comfort food. This recipe is so easy to make it feels like cheating.

View Instructions

Servings

around 6

Ready In:

30 min

Calories:

don’t be sad

Good For:

cheese lovers!

About this Recipe

By: Sharyn

I got really really excited when I discovered you can melt any cheese using only sodium citrate and a liquid. How cool is that?!

In fact I got so excited I wrote an entire post about it. Sodium citrate is hard to find but you can easily make your own at home. You’ll find the sodium citrate recipe on my rambling post.

This Queso Dip recipe is a celebration of that fabulous discovery.

Ingredients

Queso Dip:

285 g cheese grated
11 g sodium citrate
265 g water, beer, or stock

Pico de Gallo:

2 limes
1kg tomatoes
1 small white or red onion
1 garlic clove
salt
bunch coriander (cilantro)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 jalapeño finely chopped

Mexican cheeses are not readily available in Australia but most white cheeses should do the job. I really like Jack cheese for it’s milder flavour and creaminess, but if you can’t find it then just use a cheese (or combination of cheeses) that you would be happy to eat from a spoon – such as gouda, colby, or mild cheddar. If you like more heat use a chilli or pepper cheese.

You can add complexity to the overall flavour by mixing the sodium citrate in stock or beer (wheat beer if you have it – but it’s a matter of taste).

Once the cheese is melted you finish the dip by mixing through a salsa. This lifts the richness of the cheese and gives the dip its spicy finish. I have given instructions for making your own salsa – you wont be sorry if you do, ‘pico de gallo’ rocks and a bowl of this will work beautifully next to your queso. But the point of this recipe is speed to the table! So the quickest method is to buy a good salsa and stir it through the cheese dip and, just to fancy it up a bit, before serving top it off with freshly chopped jalapeño and coriander (cilantro).

If you plan to serve a batch of this as grazing food you can keep it warm by serving it in an open crock pot with the heat on low.

The queso can be store up to one week in the refrigerator, or up to two months in the freezer. It tastes just as good taken from the fridge and reheated.

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1

Do the prep jobs first:

Grate cheese
Make Pico de Gallo – if using

Step 2

In a saucepan whisk the sodium citrate and liquid (water, beer or stock) until dissolved. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat

Step 3

Gradually add the grated cheese a spoonful at a time. Mix each addition until completely melted and the sauce is smooth. Keep adding cheese until the dip reaches the preferred consistency.
The dip will thicken as it cools.
If the emulsion breaks, bring the mixture to a full boil and then continue processing it with a whisk or immersion blender. The mixture should pull together. If this fails, add a spoonful of heavy cream and try again.

Step 4

Stir salsa or pico de gallo through. Start with ½ cup and add gradually to taste.
Finish with freshly chopped coriander and chilli.