Queso Blanco Dip… This is the part where I’m going to embarrass myself. But in the process, I think I’ll find a new tribe of queso-lovers.
This goes back 2 months, let me tell the story…
Back in early February, I met some girlfriends for dinner at a new restaurant in San Antonio called Tacos and Tequila. It’s a joint out of Austin and they are expanding into other cities and I’m so glad they chose San Antonio.
We sat down, ordered a round of drinks and a bowl of their queso. They delivered the drinks, and dropped the queso down with a bag of corn tortilla chips and sweet potato chips. An interesting, yet delicious combo.
I took one bite of the queso and immediately declared it the best I’d ever had. This is no exaggeration. It really is the best queso I’d ever had. Not only was it ‘queso blanco,’ but I could see and taste the bits of poblano pepper and the onion. The onion. The onion is what made this the perfect queso ever.
I can still taste it now, even as I type that Queso Blanco.
So in the name of quality control & ‘copycat recipe’ research, I ordered another bowl.
And then a 3rd bowl. (You’re welcome, all my fellow queso lovers!)
Yes, there were street tacos mixed into the meal too.
True story: we had 3 bowls of this queso among 4 of us. Yup, there we sat…me and my 3 dear friends…practically drinking this queso out of the bowl.
The next morning, I definitely suffered from a ‘queso hangover.’ But it was totally worth it 😛
The next weekend was Valentine’s Day. I bought Steve tickets to the Rodeo & Keith Urban concert for his birthday and we were all set to go out for a rare dinner & entertainment date night. We hopped into the car and headed towards the Rodeo…and Steve says, “Where should we eat?”
Rather than the usual, “well, I don’t know…what are you hungry for? I’m not really craving anything? You decide?” type of conversation that generally takes place…I piped up with, “We have GOT to go to Tacos and Tequila.”
It was on the way, quick on and off the highway. We had plenty of time to stay for 2 bowls of queso. 😉
We ended up enjoying a lovely taco-queso filled meal before heading over to the rodeo, and I’ve been on a mission ever since to perfect this ‘copycat’ recipe for TnT’s Queso Blanco.
Oh, and Fiesta in San Antonio starts soon…I’ll be celebrating with a couple bowls of this queso blanco…and hitting a few of our family’s favorite events. VIVA FIESTA!
Here’s what I’ve got for you…
{Pay close attention to my onion strategy!}
You’re gonna need a double boiler, or a small 1 1/2 or 2 qt. slow cooker/dip cooker.
Add the chunks of cheese to the double boiler/slow cooker and turn on low.
Add the green chilies. (These are different from the poblanos below.)
THIS IS THE KEY…
Grate 1/2 large white onion, or small white onion.
Right over top of the pot. You can all the juices from the onion falling into the pot.
(If it’s too hot, grate it over a bowl and scrape every last juice out that you can!)
See…see why this is the best queso I’ve ever had.
Add cilantro and cumin.
(If you are one of those people who actually have the cilantro-loathing gene (it exists), leave it out. But don’t leave out the cumin.)
For the roasted Poblano peppers, you’ll want to lop off the top and pull out the seed bundle.
Then dice it all up.
Drop it in with some garlic powder and salt to taste.
Let it simmer for a bit, so the flavors will marry up perfectly!
Serve with your favorite corn tortilla chips.
And please, try not to drink it straight out of the bowl!
Best White Mexican Cheese or Queso Blanco Dip
Ingredients
- 1 poblano pepper
- 1 1/2 lbs Monterrey Jack cheese block cut into cubes
- 4 oz can green chiles undrained
- 1/2 large white onion, or small white onion grated
- small bunch cilantro (about 3 Tbsp worth) chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- Salt to taste
- Corn tortilla chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425. Place the poblano pepper in a small baking dish (or loaf pan.)
- Roast for 15-20 minutes. Then let cool slightly, before seeding and dicing.
- In a double boiler or minislow cooker, add the chunks of cheese with the green chilies and grated onion. Stir in the cilantro, ground cumin, followed by the diced poblano pepper, garlic powder and salt, to taste.
- Let simmer in the double boiler until completely melted and smooth, or cook on low for 2 hours in the mini slow cooker.
- Serve Queso Blanco with corn tortilla chips.
Mary @chattavore says
White queso dip is one of my very favorite things. Thanks for the recipe!
Dale Coyle says
I tried this recipe and the flavor was great but I could not get the Monterey Jack cheese to melt. What did I do wrong?
Thanks!!