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    Home » Recipes » Appetizer

    Cowboy Queso

    By: Jessica · Posted: Oct 2, 2022 · Updated: May 5, 2025 · This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

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    Jump to Recipe 5 comments
    5 from 5 votes
    Image collage of cowboy queso with text on image

    Cowboy Queso: This cowboy queso dip is loaded with cheese, sausage, beans and more and makes the perfect appetizer at a party or side dish for a southern-inspired meal!

    Ready in less than 30 minutes, this dip is quick and easy, and oh so satisfying.

    A tortilla chip is being dipped into a big bowl of cowboy queso.

     

    Why You’ll Love This Recipe

    Cheesy queso like this is a personal favorite of mine, (like this jalapeno artichoke dip) but it has also proven to be a cowboy favorite- it’s loaded with black beans, three different kinds of cheese, Rotel tomatoes, chorizo sausage, and a bunch of other delicious (but simple) ingredients!

    This cowboy queso with chorizo is also the ultimate party dip or game day dip, along with this hot taco dip. Serve this up with some salty tortilla chips and watch it disappear at your next gathering! (Or you can make this Rotel cheese dip that only requires 3 ingredients.)

    Jump to:
    • Why You’ll Love This Recipe
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Substitutions
    • Variations of This Dip Recipe
    • What to Serve with This Cowboy Queso
    • Storage
    • Top Tip
    • FAQs
    • Related Recipes
    • Recipe
    • Comments

    Ingredients

    Grab these simple ingredients next time you’re at the grocery store and whip up a batch of this Texas queso in less than 30 minutes!

    • ½ pound chorizo sausage, casing removed
    • 8 ounces Velveeta cheese
    • 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (I used a 3 cheese blend)
    • 4 ounces cream cheese
    • 1 – 12 ounce can evaporated milk
    • 1 can rotel drained
    • 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
    • 1 can corn drained
    • 1 – 4 ounce can green chilies, chopped
    • juice from one lime
    • chopped cilantro and diced avocado for garnish (optional)
    • tortilla chips for serving
    The ingredients needed to make cowboy queso on a counter with labels on the image.
    Ingredients

    See the printable recipe card below for ingredients and instructions all in one place!

    Instructions

    1. In a large skillet over medium heat, add the sausage and cook, breaking up into small pieces.
    Pork sausage being cooked in a large skillet.
    Cook chorizo.
    1. Add the Velveeta cheese, shredded cheese, cream cheese, and evaporated milk and stir until all the cheese is completely melted.
    Shredded cheese, cream cheese, and velvet cheese being added to the skillet.
    Add the cheeses & evaporated milk.
    1. Stir in the rotel, black beans, corn, and chopped green chilies with your wooden spoon and allow to cook 3-4 minutes, or until everything is heated through (you can reserve some black beans and corn for topping if desired).
    Rotel, black beans, chiles, and corn being stirred into the skillet.
    Add beans, corn, chiles, and Rotel.
    1. Remove from heat, stir in the lime juice, then garnish with chopped cilantro, avocado, corn, and black beans if desired.
    Cowboy queso in a large skillet garnished with lime wedges, cilantro, and a few black beans.
    Garnish & serve!
    1. Serve warm with tortilla chips.
    Close up of a tortilla chip being dipped in cowboy queso.
    Perfect with tortilla chips.

    Substitutions

    This queso cheese dip is pretty versatile. If you need to make an ingredient swap, you can do that without too much difficulty. For example:

    • Chorizo – if you don’t have/don’t want to use chorizo (a spicy pork sausage), you can use ground beef instead. Alternatively, you could omit the meat altogether! It will be delicious either way. (We love Chorizo so much, we even put it in our gravy – like in this jalapeno gravy and this chorizo gravy!)
    • Beans – instead of black beans, you could use kidney beans (or chili beans if you want to add a bit of extra spice).
    • Green Chiles – instead of green chilies, you could use chopped jalapeno peppers. Again, you could omit this altogether if you don’t want any spice and the dip would still be cheesy and delicious.
    • Corn – instead of a can of corn, you could use cooked fresh corn.
    • Evaporated Milk – instead of evaporated milk, you could use heavy cream.
    A close up of cowboy queso dip.
    Cheesy, melted goodness!

    Variations of This Dip Recipe

    Another beautiful thing about appetizer dips is that they can be changed up easily to create a customized dish! Try these…

    • Cheese – you can swap the cheddar cheese for a tex mex cheese blend for extra flavor and heat. You could also swap it out for 2 cup pepper jack cheese, which has a little heat.
    • Spicy – if you like a lot of spice, you can add some red pepper flakes in your dip, a pinch of ground cayenne pepper, swap the cheese for the tex mex as suggested above, and even add some extra green chiles or other hot pepper!
    • Meat – you can add a second ½ pound of meat (like ground beef cooked with some homemade taco seasoning) into this dip if your cowboy crew likes things really hearty.
    • Beans – if you like beans, go bean crazy! Add in some kidney beans, chili beans, pinto beans…the more the merrier.
    • Onion – fry up some red onion in butter and mix that into your cowboy queso for some extra flavor.

    What to Serve with This Cowboy Queso

    We love serving this recipe alongside something like these crock pot chicken enchiladas or this taco chicken casserole!

    Storage

    This cowboy queso recipe makes a lot of dip, and if you have a lot of leftovers it stores well in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container. Simply reheat your dip in the microwave in 40 second increments, stirring well between each heat.

    An overhead shot of a skillet filled with cowboy queso. Around it are scattered ingredients and a bowl of tortilla chips.
    Queso cheese dip.

    Top Tip

    The texture is super creamy, and when it’s fresh off the stove it might seem a little runny. Don’t panic! It will firm up as it cools a little.

    FAQs

    Can I make cowboy queso without chorizo sausage?

    You can use ground beef instead of the chorizo sausage if desired, or skip it altogether. Either way, it will result in a delicious dip!

    Is cowboy queso dip really spicy?

    This is relatively mild. To add some heat you can add some cayenne pepper to taste to the dip when you add the corn and other mix-ins, or buy the “hot” Rotel tomatoes instead.

    What is “queso”?

    Queso in its simplest form is just melted cheese and chiles. Over the years queso has grown and there are now SO many recipes for unique recipes, but most still have melted cheese and chiles included.

    Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!

    Related Recipes

    This loaded cowboy queso recipe is similar to our smoked queso dip recipe (which is basically a beer cheese dip, by the way)! If you liked this one, you should definitely try it.

    And if you’re looking for another easy, cheesy appetizer dip our cheese dip without Velveeta is another winner – trust me, you’ll want to eat it with a spoon, it’s that good! Our smoked queso dip and cheese dip without Velveeta are both cowboy favorites, too.

    Recipe

    A tortilla chip is being dipped into a big bowl of cowboy queso.

    Cowboy Queso

    Jessica Burgess
    Cowboy Queso: This cowboy queso dip is loaded with cheese, sausage, beans and more and makes the perfect appetizer at a party or side dish for a southern inspired meal! Ready in less than 30 minuets, this dip is quick and easy and oh so satisfying. 
    5 from 5 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 15 minutes mins
    Total Time 25 minutes mins
    Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
    Cuisine American, Mexican
    Servings 24 ⅓ cup servings
    Calories 147 kcal

    Ingredients

    • ½ pound chorizo sausage casing removed
    • 8 ounces Velveeta cheese
    • 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese I used a 3 cheese blend
    • 4 ounces cream cheese
    • 1 – 12 ounce can evaporated milk
    • 1 can rotel drained
    • 1 can black beans rinsed and drained
    • 1 can corn drained
    • 1 – 4 ounce can green chilies chopped
    • juice from one lime
    • chopped cilantro and diced avocado for garnish optional
    • tortilla chips for serving

    Instructions
     

    • In a large skillet over medium heat, add the sausage and cook, breaking up into small pieces.
    • Add the velveeta, shredded cheese, cream cheese, and evaporated milk and stir until all the cheese is completely melted.
    • Stir in the rotel, black beans, corn, and chopped green chilies and allow to cook 3-4 minutes, or until everything is heated through (you can reserve some black beans and corn for topping if desired).
    • Remove from heat, stir in the lime juice, then garnish with chopped cilantro, avocado, corn, and black beans if desired.
    • Serve warm with tortilla chips.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 0.33cup | Calories: 147kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 265mg | Potassium: 199mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 401IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 176mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

    Keywords queso, ready in under 30 minutes, warm dip
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    Comments

      5 from 5 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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    1. Paula says

      May 05, 2025 at 10:40 am

      Question: 24 servings is a lot – will it be as good if I cut the recipe in half for 12 servings? It sounds amazing!!!

      Reply
      • Jessica says

        May 05, 2025 at 11:30 am

        Hi Paula! You know what, 24 servings is a lot… and that should probably be lowered on my recipe. It’s 24, 1/3 cup servings, so that’s not a lot per serving. So it really may not make as much as you may be thinking. I hope that helps!

        Reply
    2. jess says

      October 06, 2022 at 11:19 am

      5 stars
      wow wow wow! this has become my newest favorite dip to make! thank you so much for sharing this with the world

      Reply
    3. Julia says

      October 06, 2022 at 11:04 am

      5 stars
      Oooooh Yall!! this is some good stuff! An absolute must try!

      Reply
    4. Diane V says

      October 06, 2022 at 11:00 am

      5 stars
      The ultimate party food! This was the first appetizer to go at our girls’ night!

      Reply

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    Jessica Burgess of Fantabulosity, slicing an avocado.

    Hi, I'm Jessica! - Owner and Creator of the blog and brand, Fantabulosity.

    I’m here to teach you how to make quick and easy recipes, using simple ingredients, that your family will love.

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