Chile Verde con Queso

This creamy and cheesy Chile Verde con Queso (green chile with cheese) has amazing flavor, is easy to make, comes together in 20 minutes, and can be served smothered on burritos, as a filling for gorditas, on top of eggs and so much more.

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Our first Christmas as a married couple my husband, Matt, and I decided to host a Christmas dinner party for our closest friends.

Nervous about cooking my parents' recipes for a crowd of people, on the night before the party, I enlisted my mom and dad's help to be my coaches and taste-testers. They willingly and happily tasted dishes, gave me feedback, and helped prepare the main dishes for the next night.

When the night was over, I had pans full of fluffy Mexican red rice, creamy refried beans, spicy chile colorado with shredded pork, and today's recipe for a delicious chile con queso.

If you like melted cheese and fiery-roasted chiles, you will be amazed at this recipe!

About this Recipe

Chile con queso translates to chili (or chile) with cheese. The dish is prepared with roasted green chiles that have been peeled and chopped. Those are then mixed with tomato, onion, garlic, milk and cheese resulting in a creamy, cheesy and spicy dish.

Chile con queso is similar to rajas con queso, but that recipe tends to use poblano chiles and cream. Similar to rajas con queso though, this dish is often served as an appetizer, side dish, or filling.

Why You'll Love This Green Chile with Cheese Recipe

• Great Flavor: This is a deliciously spicy, creamy and cheesy dish.

• Versatile: Serve it as a side dish, topping, filling, or a dip.

• Easy and Fast: Once the chiles are roasted (which is actually pretty easy), the rest of the recipe comes together in about 15 minutes.

• Meatless: This is a great meatless and vegetarian option.

• Make it Dairy-Free: It is easy to make a dairy-free and vegan version of this recipe, just check out my special tips at the end of post.

The Ingredients

• Roasted Green Chiles

• Tomato

• Onion

• Garlic

• Chicken Broth

• Milk: Use either unsweetened, original almond milk or regular milk.

• Shredded Cheese: Use a white Mexican cheese that melts well such as asadero, Chihuahua, Oaxaca, or Mexican muenster. If you cannot find these, use Monterey Jack or mozzarella.

• Oil: You'll only need a little bit of oil for sautéing. I prefer using a mild-tasting olive oil or refined avocado oil for frying and sautéing as they are healthier than other oils.

• Salt and Pepper

What Type of Chiles to Use

My favorite chiles to use for this recipe are chilaca, Anaheim, Hatch, or Pueblo. All four will add not only a delicious flavor, but a great spicy kick, especially Hatch, Pueblo and chilaca. Hatch, Pueblo and chilaca are in season in the late summer to early fall, but Anaheim peppers can usually be found year round.

You can also use poblano peppers. However, poblanos are mild with a different flavor profile than the others so they won't add any spiciness to the dish.

Another option is to use frozen roasted chiles. Those can be found in the freezer section of many grocery stores or order them online from places like The Hatch Chile Store.

How to Roast Green Chiles At Home

It is very easy to roast chiles at home. I like to stock up, roast them at one time, then freeze them to have available for recipes. Check out my post, Simple Ways to Roast Green Chiles at Home, to find out how.

Special Tip

Chile con queso is what my family uses to make green chile tamales. Just leave the milk out so the chile is not as soupy and you have the perfect filling for amazingly delicious tamales.

How to Make Chile con Queso

1. Prepare the Chiles

• Roast and peel 10 green chiles.
• Dice the chiles.

2. Sauté Vegetables

• Heat a tablespoon of oil in a medium saucepan.
• Sauté a ¼ of a diced onion, ½ a diced tomato, and one diced garlic clove.
• Add the diced green chiles and stir to combine. If you have very mild chile, you can add 1-2 diced jalapeños during this step for an extra kick.

3. Add Milk and Broth

• Add 2 cups of milk, ¼ cup of chicken broth, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Let everything boil for 3-5 minutes. Watch the pot carefully because if the milk boils too rapidly it will overflow.
• Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

4. Add Cheese

• Add in about 1 ½ cups of shredded white Mexican cheese.
• Once the cheese is melted, turn off the heat.
• Serve immediately.

How to Serve

There are so many different ways to serve this tasty green chile. It is great as a side dish, a filling, a topping or even as a dip. Here are some specific ways you can serve it:

• On top of Potato Patties (one of my favorite combinations)
• On refried beans or Simple Instant Pot Pinto Beans
• As a gravy on mashed potatoes
• With a side of arroz rojo
• With fried or scrambled eggs
• With huevos rancheros, Papas con Huevo or Huevos con Tortilla
• Smothered on burritos
• As a filling for burritos, gorditas or quesadillas
• On top of fries for green chile fries
• With tortilla chips as a green chile dip

Storing and Reheating

Store in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.

To reheat it, add the chile to a saucepan over medium heat and cook until warm. You can also microwave it in a microwaveable safe bowl until steaming and heated through.

Before reheating, you may want to add some extra grated cheese and milk as those ingredients tend to dry up the longer the chile is stored.

More Tips and Variations

• Chilaca, Hatch and Pueblo chiles will add the most spice. Anaheims can be spicy, but it all depends on the batch you get.
• If you have very mild chiles, add 1-2 diced jalapeños for an extra kick.
• I particularly like muenster cheese from the brand El Viajero from Sam's Club. It has a great flavor and it also melts really well.
• My sister actually discovered this next great tip. Substitute the milk with original, unsweetened almond milk, the chicken broth for vegetable broth, and a few sprinkles of nutritional yeast for the cheese for a great dairy-free and vegan alternative.

I hope you enjoy!

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW IF YOU MAKE THIS OR TAG ME ON INSTAGRAM @EVERYDAYLATINA.

More Roasted Green Chile Recipes

• Pork Green Chile Stew
• Roasted Green Chile Guacamole
• Mushroom and Green Chile Soup with Ground Turkey
• Grilled Rajas con Papas
• Roasted Green Chile Pastel de Papa (Shepherd’s Pie)

Recipe

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Originally published October 29, 2018. Updated post September 2022.