Table of Contents

Why We Love This Smoked Queso Recipe
Ingredients
Substitutions and Additions
How to Make Smoked Queso Dip
Tips
Storage Tips
Other Easy DIp REcipes
Smoked Queso Recipe

This smoked queso dip is the perfect party-pleasing starter to feed your crowd. Inspired by Tik Tok, this smoky, Tex-Mex appetizer only takes five minutes to prepare and is filled with a cheesy meat mixture that’s loaded with delicious Mexican flavors. This baked dip is perfect for parties, game day snacks, tailgating, backyard BBQs, anytime get-togethers, and potlucks.

Why We Love This Smoked Queso Recipe

Quick and easy to prepare in 5 minutes.
Only uses 7 simple ingredients plus optional garnish.
Bakes in a disposable pan for simple clean-up.
Filled with a cheesy meat mixture that’s loaded with delicious Mexican flavors.
Versatile recipe can be adapted according to your preferences: swap out the meat, use different cheeses, vary the cooking method, or add your favorite flavors.
Perfect for parties, game day snacks, tailgating, backyard BBQs, anytime get-togethers, and potlucks.

Ingredients

Ground beef
Velveeta cheese
Colby Jack cheese: Any melty yellow cheese will work for this recipe. You can use cheddar or Mexican style. However, I recommend shredding or slicing your own cheese rather than using pre-shredded cheese for better consistency.
Pico de Gallo: You can also use your favorite salsa or Rotel.
Jalapeños: If you don’t want as much heat in your queso, remove the seeds when slicing. You can also use pickled jalapeños for a different flavor and no crunch.
Taco seasoning
Liquid smoke: If you are cooking this in a smoker, you don’t need to use this. If you don’t have liquid smoke available, you can make this without it. You will still be left with a delicious dip!
Optional garnishes: Minced cilantro, additional jalapeños

Substitutions and Additions

Meat: While this recipe uses ground beef you can replace it with breakfast sausage, bacon, or chorizo. Or feel free to try ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground sausage for a slightly different taste.
Change The Cheese: While I believe Velveeta is the best melting cheese, you can replace it with Gouda cheese because it is also a good melting cheese. Or try a mix of Velveeta and Gouda cheese.
Tasty Toppings: Diced avocados, sliced black olives, and sour cream make tasty toppings in addition to the cilantro and jalapeños.
Vegetarian Version: For a vegetarian queso, simply omit the meat or feel free to substitute it with a plant-based alternative. Leaving out the ground beef will also impact the cooking time.

How to Make Smoked Queso Dip

Smoked Queso is a simple combination of ground beef, cheese, jalapeños, and taco seasoning, all mixed together with some liquid smoke, and baked into a delicious dip everyone will love! This easy, cheesy appetizer is the perfect party food or game day dip to feed your favorite fans.

Brown the ground beef over medium-high heat for 6-7 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain grease.
Add the cooked meat, Velveeta cheese, Colby Jack cheese, Pico de Gallo, jalapeños, and taco seasoning into a disposable pan.
Bake uncovered at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 minutes to 1 hour, then remove from oven but leave heat on.
Add the liquid smoke and stir until all ingredients are completely combined.
Bake uncovered for another 50 minutes to 1 hour.
Remove queso from the oven, stir, and top with cilantro and jalapeños (optional).
Serve warm with your favorite dipping chips. Enjoy!

Tips

Queso, especially this Velveeta cheese based dip, begin to harden and solidify as it cools over time. You can warm it back up if not eaten within an hour or so.
Feel free to use a homemade taco seasoning.

Storage Tips

To Store: Place your leftover Smoked Queso in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
To Freeze: You can freeze your Smoked Queso in a freezer-safe container for a few months.
To Reheat: To reheat, place your queso into a microwave-safe bowl. Cook in 20-30 second intervals, stirring in between, until the queso has melted completely again. If it is too thick, add some milk to thin it out.

Other Easy DIp REcipes

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Smoked Queso

Author — Jake

Serves —

Print Rate PinSave

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 1 40

Total Time 1 45

Ingredients

▢ 1½ pounds ground beef
▢ 32 ounce box Velveeta cheese cubed
▢ 1½ cups Colby Jack Cheese shredded or cubed
▢ 1½ cups Pico de Gallo
▢ 3-4 tbsps jalapeños sliced, about 2 jalapeños
▢ 1½ tbsp taco seasoning
▢ ¾ tsp liquid smoke
▢ Optional garnishes: Minced cilantro, additional jalapenos

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare the ground beef by browning it over medium high heat in a large skillet. Cook for 6-7 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain grease.
Add the cooked ground beef, Velveeta cheese cubes, Colby Jack cheese, Pico de Gallo, jalapeño slices, and taco seasoning into a 9×13 inch aluminum foil disposable pan.
Cook in the oven, uncovered, for 50 minutes to 1 hour, then remove but leave the oven on.
Add the liquid smoke to the ingredients. Stir everything together until completely combined.
Place back into the oven to cook, uncovered, for another 50 minutes to 1 hour.
Take out the oven, stir everything together one last time, and top with minced cilantro and additional jalapenos, optional.
Serve warm with your favorite dipping chips.

Notes

Storage:

To Store: Place your leftover Smoked Queso in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
To Freeze: You can freeze your Smoked Queso in a freezer-safe container for a few months.
To Reheat: To reheat, place your queso into a microwave-safe bowl. Cook in 20-30 second intervals, stirring in between, until the queso has melted completely again. If it is too thick, add some milk to thin it out.

Tips:

Queso, especially this Velveeta cheese based dip, begin to harden and solidify as it cools over time. You can warm it back up if not eaten within an hour or so.