Instant Pot Queso Dip Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (2024)

FAQs

What is cheese dip at Mexican restaurants made of? ›

Many people think it contains goat cheese, but what you customarily find in restaurants is made from easy melt white american cheese, purchased thru suppliers or large supermarkets."

For dips, you'll want to use a tablespoon of cornstarch per pound of cheese, then add at least five ounces of evaporated milk. After that, you can use more evaporated milk to thin out your dip as much as you need.

Making a slurry with cornstarch and cold milk is how you will thicken your queso. A traditional slurry is a 1:1 liquid to cornstarch ratio, but for our queso purposes I used 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of milk.

One of the tricks to great cheese dip is keeping it warm, which is where the Instant Pot comes in handy. Since it has a built-in warming feature you can make the dip and then keep it warm all in the same pot.

Scanning the internet and the supermarket shelf, we realized that the cheese sauces are divided into two basic categories: Queso Dips, which include some amount of heat, spices, and other flavorings, and Cheese Dips, which are cheese and little else.

Queso Oaxaca is probably the most popular choice of cheese for melting. It has a stringy texture, not totally unlike mozzarella, and has a similar taste and texture.

The queso will thicken as it sits. If you find it's getting too thick, whisk in a couple of tablespoons of whole milk to thin it.

Starch (such as all-purpose flour, cornstarch, or potato flour) will keep the cheese from curdling. If using all-purpose flour, add it to the mixture before the cheese; it needs to be cooked for a few minutes to remove the starchy taste.

The sauce is gritty because you overcooked it and the cheese broke. Cheese is an emulsion and if it is overheated the emulsion breaks, separating it into oil and milk solids, which is the grit you taste in your mouth.

Adjust the consistency: When first prepared, the sauce will be slightly thin. This is to allow the queso to thicken properly as it cools. If you find your queso is too thick, add more milk, a tablespoon at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency.

What does cornstarch do to queso? ›

Cornstarch — this helps thicken the homemade queso, making it perfect for dipping! Evaporated milk — make sure to buy evaporated milk and not sweetened condensed milk. The two cans look similar but are different.

To make a thinner cheese dip, you can add more milk a little bit at a time until you reach the desired consistency. This is great scooped up with some tortilla chips, but it is also great for making nachos or burritos!

Round Warmers. For liquids that need to stay hot, like soup, restaurants can use round warmers (also known as soup warmers). These warmers will keep soups and other liquids at safe temperatures for long periods. They can also be used to melt cheese, making them very versatile.

Make ahead.

You can make this queso dip ahead of time! It'll keep in the fridge for about a week. When you're ready to serve the queso, it's easy to reheat. You'll want to simply warm it slowly over low heat on the stove top, stirring constantly so it doesn't burn at all.

Expert Response. The Instant pot can work like a slow cooker and when you leave it on a warm setting it will keep the food around 140 F so bacteria won't multiply. There would be a problem if they turned off the instant pot and left it over night. As long as the food stays warm out of the danger zone (40-140 degree F.)

“Queso Fundido” is usually made with Asadero, Menonite, Manchego, or Chihuahua cheese. These cheeses are hard to find outside of Mexico, and some good substitutes are Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, Muenster, or Oaxaca.

Queso Blanco

Translated to “white cheese,” this option is yet another crumbly cheese for Mexican food. It's softer than Cotija, making it a more subtle option for refried beans, salads, and enchiladas. Queso Blanco is unique in that it melts well without melting completely.

Queso is a dip of shredded & melted cheddar cheese with chopped onion, garlic, jalapenos, tomatoes, cilantro & spices. Melted cheese is just, well, melted cheese with none of the above.

It may come as a surprise, but the popular yellow queso so beloved by so many Americans (and ordered in many a Fort Worth Mexican restaurant) is not Mexican in nature at all. Unless that cheese is white, consider it completely Tex-Mex.