Melted Cheese Dip with Chorizo (Queso Fundido)
Queso fundido con chorizo Say it: KEH-soh foon-DEE-doh kohn choh-REE-soh
Queso fundido is Mexico's molten cheese appetizer: a shallow skillet or cazuela of cheese broiled until bubbly, then scooped up with warm corn tortillas. In its best-known form, crumbled Mexican chorizo and sweet poblano chile are scattered over the top, so every spoonful is smoky, faintly spicy and stretchy. It shows up in taquerias and at family gatherings, usually as a shared starter before the main plates arrive. Eat it fast, while the cheese still pulls into long strands.
Melted Cheese Dip with Chorizo (Queso Fundido)
Queso fundido con chorizo
Pronounced KEH-soh foon-DEE-doh kohn choh-REE-soh
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 25 min
- Level
- Easy
Also nut-free and egg-free.
Allergens: contains milk. Check labels on packaged ingredients.
Ingredients
Amounts are scaled. Cooking times and pan sizes stay the same.
For the queso fundido
Method
Set an oven rack about 6 in (15 cm) below the broiler and heat the broiler to high. Shred the cheese, chop the onion and chile, and keep the tortillas wrapped in a clean cloth so they stay warm.
Cook the chorizo in a 10 in (25 cm) cast-iron skillet over medium heat, breaking it up with a spoon, for 6 to 8 minutes, until it is browned, cooked through and slightly crisp at the edges. Lift it out with a slotted spoon into a bowl, leaving a thin film of fat behind.
Add the onion and poblano to the same skillet and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until softened and lightly charred in spots. Scrape them into the bowl with the chorizo and wipe the skillet clean with paper towels.
Spread the shredded cheese in an even layer in the skillet. Broil for 3 to 5 minutes, watching closely, until the cheese is fully melted, bubbling all over and golden at the edges.
Pull the skillet out, spoon the hot chorizo mixture over the cheese, scatter with cilantro and take it straight to the table with the warm corn tortillas for scooping.
Regional variant: Queso Fundido con Rajas y Champiñones (Poblano and Mushroom Queso Fundido)
Leave out the chorizo. Slice 2 poblano chiles into thin strips and 8 oz (225 g) mushrooms; sauté them in 1 tbsp (15 ml) vegetable oil over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes, until softened and browned at the edges, then season with a pinch of salt. Spoon the hot mixture over the broiled cheese and finish with cilantro and warm corn tortillas.
Cook's notes
- Choose Oaxaca cheese or low-moisture mozzarella; fresh water-packed mozzarella releases liquid and turns the dip soupy.
- Read the chorizo label: many brands include wheat fillers, so pick a gluten-free sausage and 100% corn tortillas if you need the dish to be gluten-free.
- Have the chorizo mixture hot before the cheese goes under the broiler, and serve in the hot skillet, because the cheese firms quickly as it cools.
Serve with
Warm corn tortillas, salsa verde or pico de gallo, and a cold beer or agua fresca.
Make ahead and storage
Best eaten immediately, as the cheese firms as it cools. The chorizo and chile mixture can be cooked up to 1 day ahead and reheated before broiling the cheese.
