Queso Fundido

Cheesy and flavorful, this Queso Fundido is the ultimate appetizer! With chorizo and green chiles, it has a hint of spice.

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Queso Fundido recipe

Turn taco night into a party with a round of margaritas and a few delicious appetizers.

There are the usuals: Salsa, check. Guacamole, check. Salty tortilla chips, check.

But a big cast-iron skillet of melty cheese mixed with spicy chorizo sausage and flavorful veggies? Check, check, check.

Queso Fundido checks all the boxes. Let’s make this delicious cheesy appetizer!

More appetizer recipes: • Shishito Peppers • Pizza Dip • Spinach Artichoke Dip • Bacon Wrapped Dates with Chorizo

Why you’ll love this recipe

Queso Fundido is going to be your new favorite cheese dip, for a few reasons: 

• Made with chorizo sausage and green chiles, it has so much flavor.
• The cheese is deliciously melty and fun to eat.
• You can serve it with soft tortillas or with crunchy tortilla chips.

What is Queso Fundido?

Queso Fundido con Chorizo is a popular Tex-Mex dish of melted cheese with chorizo sausage cooked in a hot oven. 

It translates to “melted cheese” or “molten cheese” in Spanish. Sometimes it is called Queso Flameado or Choriqueso, meaning “chorizo-cheese.”

This cheesy dip is usually served at parties or restaurants as an appetizer. It can be scooped onto tortillas or chips.

Tools & equipment

For making this gooey cheese recipe at home, you really only need a skillet and an oven-safe dish.

It helps to have a cast iron skillet for this recipe because you can cook the chorizo on the stove, add the cheese and other ingredients and put it right into the oven — without dirtying another dish.

You might also want a meat chopper to cook the chorizo, which will help break up bigger sausage pieces.

Pre-shredded cheese totally works, but grating your own with a cheese grater is better. That’s because shredded cheese contains preservatives to keep it together and it doesn’t melt as nicely.

Ingredients

Here’s what you will need to make an easy Queso Fundido at home:

• olive oil: Any light-tasting oil like avocado oil will work, or you can skip it as chorizo has plenty of fat.
• green chiles: Green chiles are generally mild, though you can find spicier cans.
• Mexican chorizo: If you get it in casings, you’ll want to remove them before cooking.
• Monterey Jack cheese: Pre-shredded works, but grating your own is better. You can also use Oaxaca cheese. You could also use white cheddar or pepper jack cheese. 
• pico de gallo: A mix of red onion, fresh tomatoes, jalapeño or poblano peppers, cilantro, salt and lime juice adds so much flavor to this recipe. You can also use your favorite salsa.
• fresh cilantro: More cilantro for garnishing makes this dish over-the-top beautiful.

You’ll also want some kind of vessel for getting this amazing dip into your mouth! Warm flour tortillas and tortilla chips are common choices.

Queso mix-ins

Feel free to change up this classic Mexican appetizer by adding your favorite mix-ins and toppings, such as: 

• diced bell peppers
• wild mushrooms
• poblano strips
• green onions
• homemade salsa
• other Mexican cheeses

How to make Queso Fundido

Making Queso Fundido is pretty easy to do at home!

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Warm a skillet over medium heat. Warm the oil, then add the chorizo with casings removed. Brown the sausage in the skillet, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.
3. Remove from the pan and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain the grease.
4. In an oven-safe dish, stir together the cooked chorizo and green chiles. Sprinkle cheese evenly over the top.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. While hot, spoon pico de gallo over the top and garnish with fresh cilantro.
6. Serve hot with flour tortillas or tortilla chips.

Tips & tricks

Here are some tips for making the perfect Queso Fundido:

• Grate your own cheese, instead of using pre-shredded cheese.
• You do not need a lot of oil to cook the chorizo. It has a lot of fat in it, which is usually enough so a little oil will go a long way.
• Be sure to drain the grease, so you don’t have an oily queso.
• To get that perfect stringy texture, not a chewy texture, don’t overcook the cheese mixture. Start checking it a few minutes before it should be done and remove when the cheese begins to bubble.
• Be sure to serve the hot cast iron pan with a kitchen towel wrapped around the handle so no one burns themself!

How to eat Queso Fundido

A hot cheese dip, queso fundido can be eaten a couple of different ways:

• Serve with a spoon or knife to spread over warm tortillas. Roll them up and eat them like a soft taco roll-up. Or fold them like a queso quesadilla. You could use corn tortillas or another kind of gluten-free tortillas instead.
• Use tortilla chips to scoop up bites of cheese and mix-ins.

What to serve with Queso Fundido

To eat Queso Fundido, serve it with flour tortillas or crunchy tortilla chips. Scoop the cheesiness onto your vessel of choice and munch away!

It goes very well with guacamole and salsa for a delicious dip trio. Try another flavor of salsa, such as peach salsa or pineapple salsa.

Queso Fundido is the perfect start to a dinner of tacos or any other Mexican food.

And don’t forget the drinks! Try it with a sparkling grapefruit paloma, a spicy jalapeño mule or an ice-cold frozen margarita.

FAQ

More appetizer recipes

• Chipotle Lime Popcorn
• Deconstructed Nachos
• Spicy Bacon Pimento Cheese
• Steak and Blue Cheese Nachos