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Smoked Queso

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Jessica Pinney Avatar

Author

Jessica Pinney

Published

Sep. 4, 2020

Updated

Mar. 7, 2024

Make the most delicious queso ever in the smoker! This cheese dip is loaded with meat, cheeses, peppers, onions, and more! The perfect summer BBQ appetizer or snack. 

Overhead shot of a pan filled with sliced velveeta, pepper jack, jalapenos, onion, rotel, and chorizo

Have you guys heard of smoked queso yet? 

It was all over social media this summer and it looked amazing! You know we don’t need much of an excuse to throw something in the smoker so we definitely had to try it!

I’m happy to say that it exceeded expectations! Cooking queso in the smoker gives it this wonderful flavor with a hint of smoke. I also love how low maintenance it is – I only had to stir it a few times during the cooking process. I’m not sure I’ll ever make it another way again! 

Overhead of disposable pan filled with cheese, chorizo, onions, jalapenos, and canned tomatoes to make smoked queso

Ingredients

  • Cheese – Cheeses that melt well are (obviously) the best for queso. I like to use a base of Velveeta and add in some pepper jack. 
  • Meat – I like to use pork chorizo in my queso, but many other types of meat work just as well. I have used ground beef, breakfast sausage, and bacon with great success. You can always leave the meat out entirely if you’d prefer. 
  • Peppers – The type of peppers you use will influence the heat level of your queso. Use jalapeños for mild, a mix of those and serranos for medium (our preference), and all serranos for hot.
  • Onion – White onion is the best choice for queso. 
  • Canned Tomatoes – You’ll want to add some canned fire-roasted tomatoes or canned tomatoes and green chiles. 
  • Wood – Because this recipe has a short smoke time, I like to use hickory wood. Hickory can be overpowering on longer smokes, but in recipes like this, it can infuse just the right amount of smokey flavor. 
  • Liquid – This is optional, but if you want to thin your queso out you’ll need some kind of liquid. You can use milk, beer, or even water.
Close up of smoked queso ingredients: velveeta, pepper jack, chorizo, rotel, chopped white onion, and chopped jalapenos

How To Make

To make smoked queso, you first need to get your smoker going. Prepare your wood chips and preheat the smoker to 200F.

Next, get the ingredients ready. Slice your cheeses and chop your peppers and onions. Place all of the ingredients into a pan (I used this disposable 9×13) and then place it on a rack in your smoker once it is preheated. 

A pan of smoked queso ingredients inside an electric smoker

The queso will need to cook about 1.5 – 2 hours until it is done. I check on it about every 30 minutes and give it a good stir. When the cheese has completely melted and is bubbling, the queso is ready. 

Close up of a finger holding a tortilla chip that has been dipped in smoked queso

More Recipes For The Smoker

  • Smoked Tofu
  • Smoked Corn on the Cob
  • Smoked Pineapple
  • Smoked Hamburgers and Hot Dogs

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Smoked Queso

This queso cheese dip is cooked in the smoker and loaded with meat, cheeses, peppers, onions, and more!
5 from 3 votes
Print
Overhead shot of a pan filled with sliced velveeta, pepper jack, jalapenos, onion, rotel, and chorizo
Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Cook Time: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
Servings: 20

Ingredients

  • 32 oz Velveeta
  • 16 oz Pepper Jack
  • 1 lb Chorizo
  • 2 10 oz Cans of Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles, I use Rotel
  • 1 Medium-size White Onion, chopped
  • 4 Jalapenos, deseeded and chopped

Instructions

  • Preheat your smoker or grill to 200F.
  • Add all ingredients to a 9×13 pan.
  • Place in your smoker and cook 90 – 120 minutes, until cheese is bubbling. Be sure to stir the queso about every 30 minutes during the cooking process.
  • Remove from smoker and serve with tortilla chips.

Nutrition

Calories: 266kcal (13%)
Author: Jessica Pinney
Did you make this recipe?Please tag @cookingwithjanica on Instagram! We’d love to see!
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Recipe Rating




7 responses

  1. Susan
    September 13, 2020

    5 stars
    This was incredible! We used taco seasoned ground beef instead of the chorizo and it was a huge hit out our football party.

    Reply
  2. Naimur Rahman
    September 20, 2020

    Thank you very much for providing us a very good guideline on making the most delicious queso in the smoker!

    Reply
  3. Sam
    December 23, 2020

    Do you cook chorizo before smoking?

    Reply
    1. Jessica Pinney
      December 23, 2020

      No.

      Reply
  4. Earlester Monroe
    September 1, 2021

    If you don’t like chorizo or turkey. And not a fan of breakfast sausages what other meat could you use

    Reply
  5. Joe
    October 31, 2021

    5 stars
    Can you freeze any leftovers?

    Reply
  6. Gary
    September 30, 2024

    5 stars
    This was great! Followed instructions as written, but omitted the bell peppers. I used beer to thin as mentioned. Will definitely be making on repeat for football season and beyond.

    Reply

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