Smoked Queso Dip loaded with sausage and cheese is the ultimate party and football dip. With tons of smokey flavor, fresh jalapeno, and diced tomatoes, this dip is perfect with homemade tortilla chips.
Made on the grill (in a cast iron pan) or simply oven-baked for ease, everyone around you will want this cheesy dip recipe.
This recipe used to be on our sister site Viral Recipes, but you can now find all your favorite recipes in one place! Please note because we merged sites, this recipe is likely missing all of the amazing recipe ratings our readers had given us. We would love for you to come back and rate to help readers again!
Why you will love making Smoked Queso Dip
Variations are easy: As is, this recipe is not only easy but FULL of flavor. But the best part is mixing up the right amount of ingredients that will please YOUR family. Substitute cheese, meat, and toppings for the perfect balance.
No Smoker needed: Some people shy away from “smoked” Queso as they believe you must have a smoker to indulge. Not so! Just like our smoked cream cheese recipe, we make our smoked queso right in a pan in the oven. Just add liquid smoke and other seasonings to get the same flavor. Half the time and half the work. Who wants to make a dip for 60 minutes??
We recommend STUBB’s LIQUID SMOKE to help create smokey recipes without firing up a grill or pulling out a smoker. Check the best price here on Amazon.
Ingredients
- Hot pork sausage or chorizo sausage – The best way to make queso is with a hotter style sausage. However, with so many stores having groceries randomly in stock, any style of Italian sausage or regular ground sausage (as long as not breakfast sausage!) or ground meat will still do.
- Green pepper + yellow pepper – Smoked queso dips look fantastic and taste amazing with bright, beautiful vegetables. While I stick to green and yellow, red or orange flavors are good.
- Onion – white onion or yellow onion work best in this dish.
- Chili powder – The spicy sausage should give you tons of flavor, but a bit of chili powder is a nice kick. Other alternative spices are adding some black pepper and fresh minced garlic.
- Monterey jack cheese + Colby jack cheese – These cheeses often come packaged together, and as long as you still have the same amount of cheese, it’s OK to purchase shredded cheese bags combined.
- Toppings – Freshly diced tomatoes and chopped fresh jalapenos bring the most value in flavor and color. Leaving seeds in jalapenos will be spicier than removing them.
- Fresh cilantro – Do not opt for dried cilantro. It cannot be used as a topping in the same way fresh herbs can be.
- Chips for dipping – Strong tortilla chips work best when loaded with cheese and sausage, weighing the dipper down. To keep it carb-free, serve with a side of freshly sliced bell peppers.
Unlike some of the other viral recipes we test out, this recipe is a Viral Recipes Original recipe. Although trendy food is our style, we are excited to share what we are whipping up in our kitchen this week!
How to make Smoked Queso
- Preheat the oven to 400. In a large ovenproof skillet, cook sausage until browned and drain. Remove sausage from pan and place onto a plate, about 5-8 minutes.
- Add peppers, onion, and chili powder to the skillet and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender and onions are translucent. Remove from the pan and place onto a large plate.
- Divide the meat and vegetables into thirds on the plate.
- Mix cheeses together in a large separate mixing bowl.
Flavor Tip: To ensure a smokey flavor without the Traeger smoker or charcoal grill, add 1/4th tsp liquid smoke to the dish and mix.
- Layer 1/3 of the cheese, 1/3 of the vegetables, and 1/3 of the sausage in the skillet.
- Repeat creating two additional layers of the cheese dip.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until hot, bubbly, and cheese is melted.
- Serve topped with chopped fresh tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, and fresh cilantro. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips or other dippers.
Alternative
This recipe is easily altered to flavors you love.
Cheese: Honestly, any cheese works excellently for this recipe. Try switching the mild cheeses for something spicy, like Pepper Jack Cheese or a Mexican Cheese blend. To keep it mild, use simple cheddar cheese.
Protein: It’s hard to have the smoky flavor of queso without pork sausage, but this recipe works just as great with ground beef.
Seasonings: Add a bit of liquid smoke for a smokey flavor. Another great way to combine delicious flavors is to use a taco seasonings package.
Toppings: Load up on sour cream, green onions, diced serrano or poblano peppers, chopped avocado pieces, green chilies, or any other toppings you particularly love to eat on a smoked Queso dip recipe.
FAQ’s
Add aluminum over the pan and put directly in the fridge or add the queso recipe to an airtight container and store for two days. Any vegetable toppings like tomatoes can get soggy, so removing those before storage is best.
It absolutely can. Just mix in cast iron (be careful it gets very hot) or in a disposable aluminum pan and add to smoker or grill till heated through.
Related Viral Dip Recipes
- Load up on Mexican-style dips with this smoother cream cheese sausage dip recipe.
- Have a sweet tooth? A hot cocoa dip recipe (with marshmallows on top!) will be sure to cure you of that. As a bonus, this dip can be whipped up in minutes with zero cooking.
- Totally viral green goddess salad substitutes as the best dip. Healthy and savory – who could ask for more?
- Add leftovers to a TikTok Walking Taco Recipe!
- Pour it on a burger or dip it in some celery this sriracha aioli is a 5-minute dip full of flavor.
- Need a rich, restaurant-quality dip? This baked brie with honey dip recipe or fried brie with blueberries dip recipe goes down smooth and creamy.
- Need dip as on the go as you are? Try this TikTok Boat Dip recipe – a perfect addition to summer poolside fun.
Smoked Queso Dip (No Smoker Needed!)
Ingredients
- 1 lb hot sausage or chorizo sausage cooked
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper diced
- 1 small white onion diced
- ⅛ tsp chili powder
- 8 oz. Monterey jack cheese shredded
- 16 oz. Colby jack cheese shredded
- tomatoes chopped
- jalapenos sliced or diced
- fresh cilantro leaves chopped
- tortilla chips or other dippers
- ¼ tsp Stubby's Liquid Smoke OPTIONAL
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400.
- In a large ovenproof skillet, cook sausage until browned and drain excess grease (this takes about 5-8 minutes). If using liquid smoke, add 1/4th tsp to the meat while cooking. Remove sausage from the pan and place it onto a plate.
- Add diced bell peppers, diced white onion, and chili powder to the skillet and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender and onions are translucent. Remove vegetables from the pan and place them onto a large plate.
- Divide the meat and vegetables into thirds on the plate they are on. Each 1/3rd will be a layer in the dip so this helps control the portion.
- Mix cheeses together in a large separate mixing bowl.
- In a cast iron or oven proof pan, layer 1/3 of the cheese first, then 1/3 of the cooked and diced vegetables, and finally 1/3 of the sausage.
- Repeat this method creating two additional layers.
- Bake Queso Dp for 10-12 minutes or until hot, bubbly, and cheese is melted.
- Serve topped with chopped fresh tomatoes, sliced jalapenos, and fresh cilantro.
- Dip goes best with strong Tortilla Chips.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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