Ground Beef Queso Dip with Velveeta Cheese
Ground Beef Queso Dip is a warm cheese dip made with ground hamburger meat, canned green chiles, Velveeta cheese, and homemade pico de gallo.
The pico de gallo only takes minutes to make and I love using it instead of Rotel, which similar recipes call for.
Using fresh vegetables is really worth a few extra minutes of chopping. In my opinion, it’s what sets my beef queso recipe apart from other Velveeta dips made with canned Rotel tomatoes.
This queso dip with meat is the perfect dip to serve for game day, a pot luck, or for family taco night. It’s warm, cheesy and filling!
Easy Buffalo Chicken Dip is another hot, cheesy dip that I put out for game day munching.
What you’ll Love About Beef Queso Dip
Fresh Ingredients. Fresh ingredients are so delicious in this easy beef queso dip. It only takes a few extra minutes to chop the veggies and is time well spent.
It’s definitely worth it and simple enough to make, like my Easy Frito Corn Dip recipe.
Beef Queso with homemade pico de gallo. Homemade pico de gallo is so much better than canned tomatoes. And with this simple recipe you won’t be in the kitchen all day.
Make it two ways. You can make beef queso dip from start to finish in under 40 minutes on the stove, or cook it in a crock pot on low heat. Either way, it comes out warm and cheesy.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Ground Beef
- Velveeta Cheese
- Milk
- Green Chiles
- Red pepper
- White Onion
- Roma Tomatoes
- Jalapeno
- Cilantro
- Green Onions
Ground Beef: Queso dip wouldn’t be complete without ground beef. Ground sausage is really good in this queso con carne, as well.
Velveeta Cheese: Velveeta cheese melts smoothly and gives this dip a creamy texture. For a queso blanco cheese dip try Velveeta queso blanco cheese.
Milk: For a thinner texture add milk to cheese dip. See recipe notes for variations.
Green Chiles: Canned green chiles add a spicy kick to this beef queso dip.
Red Pepper: Diced red pepper adds a delicious taste to cooked ground meat and tastes delicious in queso dip.
White Onion: Use half of diced white onion for pico de gallo. Reserve the remaining half of white onion and cook in ground meat.
Roma Tomatoes: Chop roma tomatoes and let tomatoes drain while you chop other produce.
Cilantro: Cilantro adds fresh flavor to this queso dip and is a must have ingredient.
Green Onions: Add white parts of green onion to ground meat and cook.
Reserve remaining parts of green onions for garnish when dip is ready to serve.
How to Make Queso Dip
- Chop Produce. Dice roma tomatoes, then set aside and drain in a colander. Dice jalapeno, white onion, cilantro, and red pepper. Set aside half white the onion and red pepper for ground meat.
- Make Pico de Gallo. Combine tomatoes, diced jalapeno, half diced white onion, and cilantro in a small bowl. Squeeze lime juice over and let marinate until ready.
- Cook ground beef. Cook ground beef until beef is no longer pink. Drain grease and add the white onion, red pepper & white part of green onions to the ground beef. Cook until the onion is translucent.
- Heat Velveeta cheese. Heat a pan on medium low heat & add cubed Velveeta cheese and diced green chiles. Heat until cheese is melted.
- Stir in milk. Add milk to melted Velveeta cheese and whisk vigorously until milk and cheese are combined. Add ground beef mixture and pico de gallo to the cheese.
- Garnish the Queso. Top the dip with chopped green onions and serve with tortilla chips. Serve queso dip immediately or put it in a Crock Pot on the warm setting.
Tips for Making Chile con Queso
Drain Tomatoes. Dice roma tomatoes into uniform pieces, then allow the tomatoes to drain in a colander.
Watery pico de gallo is a no for me, so don’t skip this step.
I don’t know about you, but when I’m looking for the perfect batch of pico de gallo in the store, I look for one that has almost zero liquid in the jar.
Make Ahead: Make beef queso dip ahead of time and keep the dip warm in a crock pot. Serve with tortilla chips.
Customize Beef Queso: Make queso dip your own and add some of your favorite toppings. Try this queso dip with ground chicken, sausage, or plant based ground meat.
Make it Spicer: To make beef queso dip spicier, try adding hot peppers, like serrano, habanero, ghost pepper, or carolina reaper.
Dice and Chop: Dice and chop all produce into uniform pieces. Make pico de gallo with ingredients listed in the recipe card by measurements.
Add half diced onion and red pepper to ground beef and cook.
For Thinner Cheese Dip: Add milk to melted Velveeta cheese. See recipe notes on exact tips and tricks.
Perfect Super Bowl Dips
- Mango Salsa is delicious and great for chip dipping.
- For a healthy dip, Cream Cheese Yogurt Fruit Dip is delicious and kids love this recipe.
- Dill pickle dip is for pickle lovers and can be made in 10 minutes.
Ground Beef Queso Dip
Easy ground beef queso dip made with Velveeta cheese and fresh produce. This beef queso is just like the classic Rotel dip, but homemade pico de gallo is used in place of canned tomatoes. This warm queso appetizer is always a crowd-pleasing favorite!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 32 ounces Velveeta cheese
- 4 ounces green chiles, canned
- 1/3 cup milk
- 2 roma tomatoes, diced
- 1 white onion, diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 red pepper, diced
- green onions, chopped
- 1 lime, juiced
Instructions
- Dice roma tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and let tomatoes drain in a colander. Meanwhile, chop green onions, red pepper, white onion, jalapeno, and cilantro.
- In a skillet, brown the ground beef until no longer pink and cooked through, then drain the grease. To the beef, add half the white onion, the white parts of green onion, and all the red pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Put in a small bowl and set aside.
- To the warm skillet, add cubed Velveeta cheese and green chiles. Cook on medium-low heat until cheese is melted.
- Stir milk into melted cheese. Whisk vigorously until blended.
- Make the pico de gallo by combining the tomatoes, jalapeno, half the diced white onion, and 1/4 cup chopped cilantro in a small bowl. Squeeze fresh lime juice over it and stir to combine.
- Add pico de gallo and ground meat to the melted cheese mixture. Top dip with remaining green onions and serve with tortilla chips. Serve the beef queso dip immediately or put it in a crock pot on the warm setting.
Notes
To make queso dip thinner stir in 1/3 cup milk at a time. Depending how thin you like your queso dip.
Make sure to heat milk and cheese on medium-low heat. Too much heat could sour cheese dip.
Switch up beef queso and try adding ground sausage, or ground chicken.
You can use 2 cans of Rotel for this beef queso dip. If using Rotel drain cans.
