Crock Pot Queso Cheese Dip
on Apr 17, 2024, Updated Mar 07, 2025
You don’t need any velveeta to make this crock pot queso cheese dip recipe. This delicious cheese dip is made with just 7 ingredients!
You will love this crock pot queso!
This crock pot queso dip is one of my go to slow cooker recipes. I have made it for family mexican style dinners and as an appetizer for football games, parties, or holidays. This queso dip is made with simple ingredients and no velveeta. Just delicious cheese dip made with easy to recognize ingredients!
I have made it countless times over the last 8 years and it’s always a family favorite. I made it this year for the big game and New Year’s Eve too. If you need a good cheese dip recipe to feed a crowd, give this one a try!
Find the full recipe at the bottom of this post, but here is what you will need to make this dip.
Ingredients needed
- cream cheese
- sharp cheddar cheese: freshly grated
- colby jack cheese: freshly grated
- salsa: use a spicier salsa if you want more heat
- jarred jalapenos
- milk
- paprika
How to make crock pot queso without velveeta
- First, prepare your ingredients. Freshly grating your cheese makes a big difference in this recipe. It not only melts better but tastes better also.
- Once you have everything ready, add the cream cheese, sharp cheddar cheese, colby jack cheese, salsa, jalapenos, milk, and paprika to a small slow cooker
- Cook the queso dip over low heat for 1-2 hours, checking to stir every 20-30 minutes, until melted and creamy.
Most queso recipes on the internet call for one common ingredient: processed cheese block also known as velveeta but not this one! I’m all about real food recipes that taste amazing and this cheese sauce is absolutely delicious.
Freshly grating your cheese makes this next level amazing! Jarred jalapenos add a nice little bit of spice without it being overwhelmingly spicy and I love them in this recipe.
This crock pot queso is no fuss, tons of flavor, and guaranteed delicious. It doesn’t get any better than that!
No Velveeta Queso Cheese Dip
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese, cubed
- 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, freshly grated
- 1 1/2 cups colby jack cheese, freshly grated
- 1 cup salsa, we used medium, you can use spicy for more of a kick
- 14 jarred tamed jalapeno peppers (be sure to buy tamed, as these are milder than normal jalapenos), diced into small pieces (1/4 cup when diced)
- 1/2 cup 2% milk
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, optional – we added for more of a kick since we used medium salsa
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a 1 1/2 quart slow cooker
- Cook the queso dip on low for 1-2 hours, or until melted and hot, checking to stir every 20-30 minutes.
- Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
I made this receipe for a party I hosted, I doubled the receipe and used an 8 quart slow cooker which filled up about half way. I was in a bit of rush and didn’t have time to dice jalapenos so I used a 4oz can of diced green chiles and it still turned out great. I’ll definitely use this receipe going forward. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Can you make this without the salsa
?
Is it possible to make this without the milk ingredient? I don’t have milk!
How long will this keep. Can it be frozen.
I would not suggest freezing it. It will keep in the fridge for around 3 days.
Found this recipe now in 2020 looking for a queso recipe with no velveeta. This was fantastic!! We gave it an extra level of flavor by cooking it in the smoker. So so good! Its a keeper
so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
@Melissa, what temp and how long did you smoke it for?
Do you think you could make this on the stovetop? Mi don’t have a crockpot – maybe I should invest?
You could make it on the stovetop, but I don’t know how long it would take as it has not been tested this way. I personally love my crockpot and think it’s a great investment!
@Anikka,
You can get pretty cheap ones. Like $30, $40. Standard ones, you know. I have one and it works just fine.
HI
Do you know how many servings this is? Do you think you can double it with no problems?
Thanks!
Natalie
It’s easily 6 – 8 servings as a side I believe. You could definitely double it, just plan to use a bigger slow cooker!
could you add ground beef to this to make it a beef queso dip?
I don’t eat beef, but I don’t see why it couldn’t be added to this queso. Just cook your beef first before adding it.
Omg I am so going to make this is have tried finding a good queso dip without velveeta that stuff is so processed salty and doesn’t even taste like cheese. Thank you as always for yet another awesome recipe to try 🙂
Yep I feel the same about velveeta! We made this for the Super Bowl and loved it!