This Mexican-inspired Instant Pot Queso is a creamy, smooth and cheesy dip made from scratch and with all-natural ingredients. 100% real cheese, real stuff and without Velveeta! This cheesy dip, Queso is the most important part of any game-day and also perfect for any occasion!
In preparation for your Cinco de Mayo celebration or get-together, I am going to share a delicious Instant Pot Queso Dip recipe. This cheesy dip is made with ground beef, diced tomatoes, and green chilies, jalapenos, white onion, garlic, Monterey Jack, Sharp Cheddar, chili powder, cumin, butter, cornstarch, evaporated milk, salt, and pepper.
Pair this Instant Pot Queso Dip with tortilla chips and you'll be sure to wow your family and friends.
A cheese dip makes for the perfect Cinco de Mayo celebration appetizer. This Instant Pot Queso Dip recipe is made from real cheese, a big step up from dip sold in jars, and a homemade dish that can compete with the queso served at your favorite restaurants. It's so creamy and cheesy. It's super easy to make in the Instant Pot.
True queso is eaten as a dip with crispy tortilla chips, but you can even serve this as a nacho cheese sauce to go well with other appetizers and dishes for any celebration.
This Instant Pot Queso Dip is made with a combination of cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses, browned ground beef, chili powder, garlic, onion, cornstarch, evaporated milk, cumin, diced tomatoes and green chiles, jalapenos, black pepper, and salt.
CHECK OUT MORE MEXICAN-INSPIRED RECIPES:
INSTANT POT CARNITAS - MEXICAN PULLED PORK
GRILLED LIME CHICKEN TACO RECIPE
ELOTES MEXICANOS - MEXICAN CORN SALAD
The best part of making my own cheese dip is that I have more control over flavors and consistency. You can solely use white cheese (such as the Monterey jack) to make white queso dip. I personally like my dip to have more of an orange hue, so I often use more of the cheddar cheese.
To serve my Instant Pot Queso Dip recipe, I add some toppings that complement the dip very well, especially for a Cinco de Mayo celebration: guacamole, sour cream, and fresh chopped salsa.
Here are some important steps I took to make this Instant Pot Queso Dip Recipe:
- I used extra lean ground beef (92% or higher) to avoid greasy looking queso dip.
- I browned the ground beef in a regular skillet pan. Faster and easier to clean.
- To get a nice browned ground beef, I seasoned with a pinch of salt, and pepper. I let the beef sit in the hot pan undisturbed for about two minutes until it gets browned then flip on the other side, wait undisturbed for about two minutes then start breaking apart with a wooden spatula.
- To thicken the dip, I used cornstarch. To avoid grainy and raw flour taste in dip sauce, I make sure to melt in butter over medium heat and stir in cornstarch, cook for 1-2 minutes.
- I used block cheeses and grated them before cooking.
On a final note, I found that many restaurants are actually a bit too conservative with their queso and don't add very many ingredients. A few others I've been to add so much that it doesn't even seem like queso anymore.
Instant Pot Queso Dip Recipe and Cooking Instructions:
Don't forget to re-pin this recipe: Instant Pot Queso Dip Recipe
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Queso Dip
Ingredients
- ½ pound lean ground beef at least 92%
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ cup chopped white onion
- 1-2 fresh jalapenos chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk or half n half
- 1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies
- ¼ teaspoon salt (add more according to your liking)
- black pepper (to taste)
- 3.5 cups a combination of Monterey Jack and Sharp Cheddar (you can also use white American cheese for white Queso)
- 1 bag of Mission® Strips Tortilla Chips
- Guacamole
- Fresh Salsa
- Sour Cream
Method
- Brown the Beef: In a skillet pan, brown the ground beef meat over medium heat. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Let the meat sit undisturbed for about two minutes, flip and cook the other side, let the meat sit undisturbed for about two minutes. Start breaking the meat with a wooden spatula and the meat is fully cooked. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Turn on the Instant Pot to sauté over medium heat (normal). Melt butter and add cornstarch, cook and keep stirring for about two minutes to avoid grainy dipping sauce.
- Add chopped onion and jalapenos, keep stirring until fragrant, add garlic, chili powder, cumin, and stir for about 30 seconds.
- Add 1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies, salt, black pepper and stir for about 10 seconds.
- Pour half of the milk and keep cooking and scraping the bottom of the pan until the sauce is smooth and thick.
- Pour and whisk in the remaining milk and add the ground beef. Press the Adjust button to increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil for about one minute. Stirring occasionally.
- Stir in all the cheese and press the “stop” button to shut off the heat.
- Cover the pot with the lid and let it stands undisturbed for about 3 minutes.
- Remove the lid and whisk the mixture until smooth. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve with guacamole, fresh salsa, sour cream and enjoy with Mission Strips Tortilla Chips.
Heather says
I keep seeing all of these awesome instant pot recipes and I don't have one yet. I need to put it on my holiday list!
Angela Ricardo says
You totally had me at queso! I love instant pot they are super easy to create stuff ... yummy stuff!
Marysa says
This looks incredible, and I love how you served it in the cast iron pan. I love some good queso - I'll have to save your recipe to make some for the whole family.
valmg @ Mom Knows It All says
I love my pressure cookers, they make things so simple to make. My oldest son loves queso, it's one of his favorite things to dip tortilla chips in.
chubskulit rose says
Love me some cheesy dip with my tortilla, this looks absolutely delicious! My daughter would love this!
Sara Welch says
I'm seriously addicted to queso dip of all kinds! I've made my own before but didn't like it as much as others I've had before. I'll have to give this a shot!
Tomi C says
Queso Dip in my Instant Pot! Mind blown! I love my instant pot and I am finding so many great recipes. Adding this one to my recipe index.
Vanessa Palma says
I just got an instapot and am always looking for new recipes to try. This will be next on my list to try.
Jennifer Mitchell says
Queso dip is one of my favorites. This looks like it is so good!
Sue says
I saw American cheese in the ingredients and was ready to just go back to my search. Then I saw that you said you used Monterey jack and cheddar and decided it looked good. You know that American cheese is completely different, right?
rika agustini says
Hi Sue, It's an alternate cheese option and I forgot to add word "OR". You can use white American cheese for White Queso or a combination of Monterey Jack and Cheddar. Thanks.