Fresh Homemade Queso Dip

Fresh Homemade Queso Dip is made from fresh ingredients and real cheese! It is cheesy, and filled with fresh tomatoes, diced jalapenos, diced red peppers, green onions, real cheese and heavy whipping cream and the perfect blend of spices.

Homemade Queso made with real cheese and fresh ingredients is so delicious! I love knowing that it is made with all things fresh and real cheese!

I have a super easy and yummy Copycat Chili’s Queso on the blog. It is a yummy cheese dip that is made with fast and easy ingredients. It is made with Velveeta and a can of no beans chili. It is not made with real cheese and has no fresh veggies in it.

Don’t get me wrong, my copycat queso is so indulgently delicious but I love this homemade queso made with real cheese and fresh ingredients so much better!

above shot of queso dip and tortilla chips

The Real Cheese for The Best Cheese Dip

For homemade queso made with real cheese and fresh ingredients you need REAL Cheese!

I have tried many cheeses, many cheese sauces and I found my favorite! At our Smith’s grocery store (Kroger), they have fancy cheeses and I love to browse and see what they have to offer!

I saw this Queso Fresco Verde Cheese. It is a soft cheese that is perfect for melting (as you can see on the label) and I had to try it! The cheese is soft and mild with a hint of Mexican flavor and some green chilis throughout it. It makes this queso so delicious and smooth.

I found this cheese at my local Smith’s grocery store (which part of the Kroger chain of stores). It was not at the fancy cheese counter but in the refrigerated section that has fancier cheese in it, right by the gourmet cheese counter. They have fancier, nicer meats along with fancier cheeses. You will not find this with the other everyday cheese slices and string cheese. So check out your fancy cheese and meat section!

Another cheese option if you can’t find Queso Fresco Verde Cheese is a good quality Pepper Jack Cheese. To get a better quality Pepper Jack Cheese, go to the fancier cheese section. You will pay a little bit more but I promise it is worth it to get the very Best Cheese Dip!

Dice your cheese into small cubes. You can grate it if you want but the cheese cubes melt fabulous!

diced queso fresco cheese

Fresh Veggies for Homemade Queso

This recipe is all about everything fresh! Nothing canned, no fake cheese! So you will need some fresh veggies, and you will need to chop them up!

For this recipe you will need some fresh roma tomatoes, seeds removed and diced into smaller pieces.

fresh roma tomattoes chopped into small pieces for Fresh Homemade Queso Dip

You will need some fresh jalapenos, seeds removed and diced fine. If you want to have a little more heat from the jalapenos look for some older jalapenos. I have found older jalapenos have a bit more heat to them.

finely diced fresh jalapeno pepper

You will need some red peppers with the seeds removed. Dice them up so they are chopped fine and little.

red pepper diced fine

Green onions are also needed and make this Fresh Cheese Dip super yummy! Chop off the bottoms and then chop them all the way up into smaller pieces!

fresh green onions chopped

I chop all of my fresh veggies up so I am ready to add them into this Fresh Queso when it is time!

Other Ingredients Needed for the

We have real cheese, we have fresh veggies but you will need a few more things to make this the best Fresh Queso you have ever eaten!

You will need some heavy whipping cream, butter and flour for thickening! I never said this was a low calorie dip! But you will not be thinking about those calories when you are dipping into this warm fresh queso dip.

For the spices you will need some, cumin, chili powder, garlic salt, garlic powder, ground red cayenne pepper (see photo below) and minced garlic. I use the bottled/jar of fresh minced garlic-I am lazy and it tastes great! (see photo below for that as well).

Making the Fresh Homemade Cheese Dip – How to Make it Thick

You will need a large skillet for this Best Cheese Dip you will ever eat!

Over medium heat melt your butter and add your minced garlic.

Once the butter is bubbly and the garlic fragrant, add your flour. SIDENOTE: Heavy whipping cream and cheese heated will thicken on its own, but I like to add flour and make a roux for this cheese dip. This ensures a thick and dippable cheese dip.

all purpose flour added to melted butter and minced garlic to make a roux for homemade queso dip

Whisk your flour into the butter and garlic and let it heat for about one minute to cook out the flour taste.

Making the Fresh Homemade Cheese Dip – adding the good stuff

Now where it starts to get good! Add in your diced red peppers, and jalapenos in to the roux (hot butter and flour mixture/paste). DO NOT ADD YOUR GREEN ONIONS AND TOMATOES AT THIS POINT!

diced jalapenos and diced red pepper adding to the roux for Homemade Queso Cheese Dip

Add 1/2 tsp of cumin and stir/whisk it all together. It will be a thick mix of veggies and will start to smell so mouth-watering good. Keep stirring the veggies over medium heat. They will want to stick to the bottom of them pan, so keep stirring so they don’t stick and burn. Stir them for about one minutes.

Next, add your heavy cream and gently stir it in to the pan of veggies. Keep stirring it, scraping the bottom of the pan to make sure no veggies are sticking to the bottom. It will be thin at first, but the heat slowly will thicken it. Keep stirring. You can see in the photos, I use a rubber scraper at this point.

Next turn your heat to medium-low and add in your spices and that glorious fresh real Queso Fresco cheese. Stir, whisk (whatever you prefer) until the cheese is melted.

Let the cheese dip simmer so the seasonings can meld together. Adjust your seasonings to your liking. I always add a touch more cumin and cayenne pepper that this recipe calls for. For the recipe I kept it mild, but you can add to your personal taste.

Turn the heat to low and add in the diced tomatoes and green onions. Let the cheese dip heat on low and let the green onions and tomatoes heat in the fresh queso dip.

The Fresh Homemade Cheese Dip should be thick! Adjust the seasonings to your liking. Like I said, for this recipe I have kept it pretty mild, so you can add in more cayenne or chili powder or even a dash of hot sauce. I always add in more cayenne, chili powder and cumin.

Serving Fresh Queso Dip

This Cheese Dip does need to stay heated and warm for serving. It still tastes pretty yummy cold but since it is made with fresh cheese it will thicken as it cools. So keep it on low on your stove or transfer it to a slow cooker and keep it on warm/low (depending on how hot your slow cooker cooks). Stir the dip every now and then to make sure it is all mixed up and warm. The fresh butter may start to separate on top of the dip looking a little greasy, that is ok, it is from the butter and real cheese. Just give it a good stir!

Fresh Homemade Queso Dip can be stored for 3 to 4 days in an air tight container in your fridge and reheated stove top or in the microwave. If it is really thick when reheating you can add some more fresh heavy cream or milk. When reheating stir it so it doesn’t burn while it re-heats and if microwaving, heat it in small intervals, stirring it as it heats.

We love to eat our dip with tortilla chips of course, but this dip is amazing added to baked potatoes or Mexican dishes!

Fresh Homamde Queso Dip being dipped and eaten with tortilla chips
white square bowl of fresh homemade queso dip

For some other yummy dips, try my Chili’s Copycat Queso, Easy Blender Salsa, Fresh Restaurant Style Salsa, Pineapple Mango Salsa, My Best Bean Dip, Baked Taco Dip, 2 Ingredient Clam Dip, or my sweet Pina Colada Fruit Dip!


I LOVE these knives. They are a bit pricey for an entire set but this set is a bit smaller and all you really need!

I LOVE these plastic cutting boards. They are cheap so I don’t feel bad replacing them. They are super easy for cleanup- spray them right off with bleach and toss them in my dishwasher and they are not bulky for storing them!

I LOVE these Rubber Scrapper/Spoons! They are a kitchen must-have!


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white square bowl of fresh homemade queso dip

Fresh Homemade Queso Dip

Fresh Homemade Queso Dip is made from fresh ingredients and real cheese! It is cheesy, and filled with fresh tomatoes, diced jalapenos, diced red peppers, green onions, real cheese and heavy whipping cream and the perfect blend of spices.
This recipe makes about 7-8 cups of fresh queso. Giving you about 14-16 1/2 cup servings.
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 14 servings (half cup)

Ingredients

  • 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
  • 2 tsp jar/bottled mined garlic or 4 fresh cloves minced garlic
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 quart heavy whipping cream
  • 1 lb. Queso Fresco Verde Cheese *found by fancy cheeses-see notes for alternative
  • 2 jalapenos
  • 1 red pepper
  • 2 roma tomatoes
  • 1 bunch green onions
  • 1 tsp cumin, divided *or more to taste
  • 1 tsp garlic salt
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder *or more to taste
  • 1/2 tsp red cayenne pepper *or more to taste

Instructions

  • Cube your cheese into small cubes for melting. Set aside.
  • Rinse, remove seeds, and chop your roma tomatoes into smaller pieces. Set aside.
  • Rinse, remove seeds and chop your jalapenos and red pepper into fine very small pieces. Set aside.
  • Rinse, cut off the bottoms and chop your green onions. You can chop them as large or as small as you like. I prefer them pretty small. Set aside.
  • In a large skillet over medium heat, melt your butter. Once the butter starts to melt add your minced garlic. Whisk it together until butter is fully melted and garlic is fragrant.
  • Add your flour to the butter and garlic and whisk it together. It will be a bit thicker, kind of like a thin paste. Let it simmer for about one minute so the flour taste will cook out of it. Keep whisking so it doesn't stick and burn to the pan.
  • Next, add in your red peppers and jalapeños to the butter/flour mixture. Whisk them together and add in 1/2 teaspoon of cumin. It will be thick and pasty. Keep stirring/whisking so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Let is simmer and cook until the jalapenos and red peppers are fragrant.
  • Add in your quart of heavy whipping cream. You can use a rubber scraper spoon if needed. Whisk/mix the heavy cream into the red pepper and jalapeno mixture. Keep the heat on medium. Keep stirring it making sure it is not sticking and burning to the bottom. It will slowly start to thicken as it heats.
  • Turn your heat down to medium-low and add in your cheese cubes and seasonings (don't forget the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of cumin). Mix it in together and let the cheese melt and spices meld together. Your dip should be thick!
    After it has heated and simmered for a few minutes adjust the seasonings to your liking. I always add a dash more cayenne red pepper powder, cumin and chili powder.
  • Turn the heat down to low, add the chopped tomatoes and chopped green onions. Mix them in to the cheese dip. Let the onions and tomatoes heat, and then adjust the seasonings again if needed.
  • For serving keep the dip heated on low in the skillet, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick and burn. Or transfer the dip to a warming dish or slow cooker on low or warm setting, stirring it every now and then to make sure the dip stays uniformly warm.
    Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!

Notes

The Queso Fresco Verde Cheese I use for this cheese dip is found by the fancy cheeses at my Smith’s (Kroger) grocery store.  If you cannot find this kind use a high quality pepper jack cheese.  Spending a little bit more for a good quality cheese makes all the difference in melting and the end result.
You can season this dip to your liking. I always add a bit more cumin, chili powder, and cayenne red pepper powder at the end.
If you want your dip spicier look for older jalapenos at the store.  I have found these have a bit more heat than younger “fresh” jalapenos.
You can add a dash or two of your favorite hot sauce to kick it up a notch as needed.
This Queso Dip is delicious on baked potatoes and in Mexican dishes.
The cheese dip may start to look a bit greasy as it cools. This is just the fat from the butter and fresh cheese, just give it a good stir and turn up the heat to reheat the dip if needed for a few minutes.  The dip is much better warm, it will thicken a bit as it cools but it is still yummy!  It stays warm perfectly in a slow cooker on low or warm (depending on how hot your slow cooker cooks).
This can be reheated stove top over low heat, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t burn, or in the microwave.  Heat it slowly in intervals in the microwave, stirring it in between so it doesn’t burn.  If it is too thick add some more fresh heavy cream or milk and stir it into the dip.

Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.


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