Chile con Queso
Inspired by techniques from America's Test Kitchen and Food Network Kitchen.
A silky, molten cheese dip with golden onion, smoky chipotle, tomato and green chilli, made smooth with evaporated milk and served hot with tortilla chips.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Cook the base. Heat the oil in the saucepan over medium-high heat and cook the onion for 5-6 minutes, stirring, until soft and golden at the edges. Add the chipotle and garlic for 30 seconds until fragrant, then the drained tomatoes and green chilli for 2 minutes until hot and most of the liquid has gone. Cooking off the tomato juice now stops it thinning the cheese sauce later.
- 2
Keep it warm. Scrape the base into the cast-iron pan and set it over the lowest heat. Having it ready and hot means the finished dip arrives at the table steaming.
- 3
Dust the cheese. Toss both grated cheeses with the cornflour in a bowl until every shred is coated. The starch sits between the proteins and fat as they melt, which keeps the sauce from turning stringy or oily.
- 4
Melt gently. Wipe out the saucepan, add the evaporated milk and bring it to a bare simmer over medium-low heat. Off the heat, add the cheese a handful at a time, stirring until each addition melts, then return to low heat for 1-2 minutes until completely smooth and glossy, about 75 °C. Evaporated milk's concentrated proteins help hold the emulsion, but boiling would still make it grainy.
- 5
Combine and serve. Pour the cheese sauce over the tomato and chilli base and fold through just once or twice, so the red and green pieces stay visible. Serve at once, hot, with the tortilla chips tucked around the pan.
Storage
Cool and refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and use within 3 days. Reheat gently over low heat, stirring and adding a splash of milk, until piping hot.
EU nutrition claims
- Source of protein: 4.1 g protein per 100 kcal, about 16% of energy (needs ≥ 12%)
- Low sugars: 1.6 g sugars per 100 g (limit ≤ 5 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 129 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
0 g per serving
0 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 0 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- medium heavy saucepan
- 20 cm cast-iron frying pan or small flameproof serving dish
- box grater
- medium bowl
- silicone spatula or wooden spoon
- instant-read thermometer
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 379 kcal |
| Protein | 15.5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 25.8 g |
| of which sugars | 2.1 g |
| of which free sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 24.1 g |
| of which saturates | 11 g |
| Fibre | 2 g |
| Salt | 1 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
4.1 g High Protein needs ≥ 5 g (20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
