Queso fundido is amazing and perfect when served at the best Mexican restaurants. Chorizo, peppers and melty cheese served with tortillas.
You notice the waiter bringing food to someone else’s table. Everyone’s eyes are locked on a cast iron pan of cheese is what it seems like. It’s a pizza, your son yells!
Actually no, but I’d argue it’s far better.
Queso fundido is a popular appetizer found in a few Mexican restaurants. It’s know for the cheeses used to create the perfect cheese pull. Then spiced to perfection with peppers and chorizo.
Most people think it’s a dip for chips but that would be wrong.
It’s served with tortillas, usually flour. The pairing of the queso fundido wrapped in a warm tortilla is nothing short of heaven.
Now, you’re about to experience it. Keep reading!
How To Make Queso Fundido
Must have ingredients to make the recipe
- Cast Iron Skillet
- Oaxaca cheese
- Monterey jack cheese (or any creamy white cheese)
- Pork chorizo
- Onion
- Garlic
- Poblano pepper
- Roma tomato & cilantro for garnishing
- Tortillas
A few helpful tips before starting
- You want to allow this to cool down little before serving because cheese gets very hot when melting.
- Traditionally, this recipe is served with tortillas. Scoop a helping of the chorizo with the queso fundido wrapped in a tortilla and serve it that way.
- Shred your own cheeses, I can’t stress that enough.
- Pay attention to the chorizo you choose. Some brands are hotter than others and some people have their favorite brands. My advice, choose a chorizo that is in a casing then remove the casing. There are a few brands that are without the casing that are a sloppy watery mess when trying to prepare.
Making queso fundido with chorizo
- To start, prepare all of the ingredients. Dice the onion, remove the stem and seeds from the poblano pepper and dice it. Mince the garlic cloves and shred both the cheeses. You need to shred your own cheese in this recipe for the best results.
- In a small pan, remove the chorizo from the casing and place it in the pan. You won’t need oil due to the fat in the chorizo. Cook until completely browned and done.
- Now, remove the chorizo from the pan leaving the fat leftover. Add in the onion and poblano peppers. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Then, cook until both are soft and onions are translucent. Before removing from the pan add in the minced garlic and cook until garlic is browning a little. Remove from heat.
- If you are using a cast iron pan like me you can place it straight in the oven. If not, you will want to use a oven safe casserole dish.
- Layer the ingredients in the pan. Cheese then onion, garlic and peppers, half the chorizo then the remaining chorizo across the top. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
- While queso fundido is baking chop cilantro and dice Roma tomatoes for a fresh garnish like pico de gallo.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool about 5 minutes. Garnish with tomatoes and cilantro then serve.
This is how to store the recipe
Storing the recipe is easy because you are baking it in an oven safe casserole dish or a cast iron pan. Simple cover the dish or pan with aluminum foil. When ready to reheat, pop it in the oven at the same temperature and heat until the cheese is melted again. However, this is not a recipe to be frozen.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I use different cheeses?
Yes but you will want to be wise about your choices. For example, the cheese pull you see is because of the oaxaca cheese. Mozzarella will be a good replacement. Slightly less flavorful but the profile is similar. The monterey Jack cheese can be replace with any jack cheese or a creamier cheese. You’ll notice the creamier cheese when you are eating.
How to reheat queso fundido?
Place it back in the oven. Use the same temp and slowly reheat all the ingredients and melt the cheeses again. It’ll be just like it was the first day.
How do you eat queso fundido?
As mentioned, queso fundido is served with flour tortillas. However, it’s your recipe and I won’t tell if you don’t. Try it as a dip if you’d like. Due to the cheese and the way it pulls that can be a little difficult. You’d need a creamier dip like my buffalo chicken dip for chips.
What to serve with queso fundido?
This is a appetizer so a great main dish and side dishes can be:
Queso fundido
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounce Oaxaca cheese, grated
- 4 ounce Monterey Jack cheese, grated
- 6 ounce pork chorizo
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 2 clove garlic, minced
- 1 medium poblano pepper, diced
Garnish
- 1 roma tomato
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Prep all of the ingredient first
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- In the cast iron skillet on medium high heat remove the chorizo from the casing then plan in the skillet. No need to add oil there is enough fat in the chorizo
- Cook the chorizo all the way. Remove from pan and leaving the oil and lower the heat to medium.
- Add onions and poblano pepper in the pan. Cook until peppers have softened and onions are translucent. When that happens toss in the minced garlic and cook until slightly browned and fragrant. Remove from heat.
- Remove the content from the pan. Layer the ingredients. Cheese, onions, garlic and pepper, half chorizo, the rest of the cheese then sprinkle the rest of the chorizo on top.
- Place in preheated oven for 20 minutes
- While quedo fundido is baking dice the tomato and chop the garlic. You don't have to use this but the fresh ingredients are a nice touch.
- Remove from oven then allow to cool 5 minutes and top with garnish. Serve with tortillas.