Best Vegan Queso (Quick + Easy Recipe) - The Simple Veganista (2024)

FAQs

Why put evaporated milk in queso? ›

Evaporated milk helps to keep this dip extra creamy as it's thicker than other dairy products thanks to its lower water content. Another incentive to use evaporated milk is that it helps prevent the dip from congealing-- especially when combined with cornstarch.

Tear the cheese into chunks (or grate it) and throw into the pan with the optional butter. Stir until melted smooth and thick. Add all the other ingredients to taste. If the dip is too thick, add more milk; if it's too thin, add more cheese.

If you find it's getting too thick, whisk in a couple of tablespoons of whole milk to thin it. Serve it straight from the pan kept over low heat on your stove or transfer the queso to a slow cooker set on warm. Stir the queso frequently to prevent a skin from forming on the surface of the dip.

Place cheese, milk, and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir until cheese is melted. Add green chilies, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper; stir until smooth. Thin with more milk if sauce is too thick.

Missing evaporated milk for some Queso-Filled Mini Peppers, and all you have is condensed? Then it's a no. Sugary sweet condensed milk will ruin savory dishes, so try a substitution if you're whipping up a dish at the last minute.

To increase the stability of the final emulsion, Kenji adds evaporated milk to the mix, which contributes a high volume of milk proteins without adding too much water. To get an idea of how proteins add stability to an emulsion, think of mozzarella, a low-fat, high-moisture, high-protein cheese.

You could add sodium citrate to the cheese sauce to help prevent it from breaking. If you just melt cheese it begins to harden as soon as it starts to cool. If you want it to stay liquid you need to emulsify it with something.

Making a slurry with cornstarch and cold milk is how you will thicken your queso. A traditional slurry is a 1:1 liquid to cornstarch ratio, but for our queso purposes I used 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of milk.

Use Flour and Water

Combine 2 tablespoons flour with every 1/4 cup cold water and whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to your sauce over medium heat, and continue to stir and cook until you've reached your desired consistency. Test with a spoon.

Usually, when cheese melts, the fat and proteins begin to separate, but sodium citrate “binds them together so that when they melt, they do it evenly and hom*ogeneously,” Vaculin explains. Keeping the mixture hom*ogenized ensures that this queso fundido can stand the test of time.

How do you keep queso from clumping? ›

Use Corn Starch

You can coat your shredded cheese with a thin layer of cornstarch to prevent clumping. Corn starch works by absorbing excess moisture, meaning the cheese will not become sticky. It's also flavorless, so it won't affect the taste. Add 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch per 1 block of shredded cheese.

Dips can turn watery if food, such as chips or vegetables like carrots and celery, is being dipped directly into the container and then refrigerated and re-opened for later use.

Whether it's orange or white, queso can contain green chiles or jalapenos or both, and it may be spiced with a dash of cumin or chili powder. Some even add meat to queso, like ground beef or spicy sausage.

Other soft, fresh Mexican cheeses labeled "queso de frier" or "queso de parilla" (cheese for frying or grilling, respectively) can be used as a substitute if you can't find queso blanco or queso fresco. Other frying cheeses, such as paneer and halloumi, may also be used for this purpose.

Queso is a Spanish word that translates to “cheese” in English. However, when people refer to “queso” in the context of food, they are usually talking about a type of melted cheese dip that is commonly enjoyed as a snack or appetizer, particularly in Tex-Mex and Mexican cuisines.

But when left in its thickened, low-moisture canned state, it can also stand in for milk or heavy cream as an enriching agent. Evaporated milk gives body to smoothies, thickens up and sweetens coffee, and adds nuance and richness to creamy soups and chowders, not to mention savory sauces and even oatmeal.

Making a slurry with cornstarch and cold milk is how you will thicken your queso. A traditional slurry is a 1:1 liquid to cornstarch ratio, but for our queso purposes I used 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of milk.