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.
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 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.)
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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
See the printable recipe card below for ingredients and instructions all in one place!
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add the sausage and cook, breaking up into small pieces.
- Add the Velveeta cheese, 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 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).
- 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.
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.
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
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.
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.
FAQ
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!
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.
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
Cowboy Queso
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
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.
jess says
wow wow wow! this has become my newest favorite dip to make! thank you so much for sharing this with the world
Julia says
Oooooh Yall!! this is some good stuff! An absolute must try!
Diane V says
The ultimate party food! This was the first appetizer to go at our girls’ night!