Last Thursday night I sat at one of my favorite restaurants, enjoying the company of my friends, and indulging in chips with a luxurious Mexican cheese dip.
“You know it’s not real,” I said to my friends. “There’s no way to get a REAL nacho cheese dip this creamy and smooth without using a processed cheese like American or Velveeta.”
It got me thinking. Is there really no way to make a creamy smooth Mexican cheese dip using real cheese? Would my melted cheese forever be consigned to the realm of fondue?
So, I experimented. And this is the recipe that resulted. BOY is it fantastic!
The Players
- 1 egg yolk (from pastured hens!)
- 1 Tbsp. arrowroot powder
- 1 Tbsp. milk (from grass-fed cows!)
- 1 C. cream
- 1 C. milk
- 8 oz. grated cheddar cheese
- 4 oz. cream cheese (optional)
- 14oz. can diced tomatoes & green chiles, drained
- salt & chipotle chili powder to taste
The How-To
First, create the thickener that will bind the cheese together and keep it from turning into a nasty, oily mess when it melts. Mix egg yolk, arrowroot powder, and 1Tbsp. milk until smooth.
Next, pour cream and milk into a saucepan and warm over medium heat. Gently stir in the thickener and continue stirring until the cream starts to thicken.
Once your sauce begins to thicken, add in the grated cheddar cheese and small spoonfuls of the cream cheese (homemade from grass-fed cream is best). Lower heat to medium low, then continue stirring until the cheese melts and you have a deliciously creamy sauce.
Now for some flavor. Remove the sauce from heat, and stir in the tomatoes & diced green chiles. Then add salt and chipotle chili powder to taste, being sure to stir everything until evenly distributed.
My oh my, is this GOOD! Smooth. Creamy. Rich. This Mexican cheese dip will happily replace the Velveeta, fake-food recipe everybody brings to potlucks. We ate it served over meatballs (from healthy grass-fed beef). My kids enjoyed slopping it up with real sourdough bread and homemade corn tortilla chips. I even dipped sweet potato fries & celery into it and couldn’t stop!
This post is my contribution to Fight Back Fridays. For more inspiring recipes, anecdotes, and stories from lovers of Real Food, be sure to check it out!
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Wow – I also thought this wasn’t possible. I will definitely be trying this, as my hubby really loves this kind of dip. It’s a staple for our yearly Superbowl party, and I haven’t ever found a good replacement. This year I actually had someone at our party ask me “I thought you didn’t eat this kind of stuff?” I’m so happy to find this – thanks!
I’m so glad you found a way to make cheesy nacho dip without having to use velveeta! this is very helpful for future parties and bbq’s!
Jessie
Rebecca — I KNOW! Isn’t it so exciting to know you can eat a creamy cheese dip made with REAL CHEESE. I still can’t get over the shock that this WORKED.
Jessie — Thanks! Me too!
I grew up in Texas too so I am super excited about this! Thanks so much for sharing.
CHEESESLAVE
oooh, thanks for that! never have been able to bring myself to buy velveeta, so just ‘indulged’ once in awhile in a restaurant. yum
.
bethany
You are BRILLIANT for figuring this out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kelly the Kitchen Kop
Thank you, Ladies. I hope you try it and love it as much as we did!
P.S. I don’t even think the cream cheese is necessary. I just had some I needed to use up. So if you don’t have any on hand, don’t let that stop you!
that looks fabulous!!!
I always heat up salsa mixed with cheddar cheese and try to eat it quickly b/c it starts to get cold and separate – heh. this is a much better idea! (we don’t do velveeta *shiver*)
Henny
Henny — Ever since we made the switch to real food, we haven’t done Velveeta either. So it’s been YEARS since I’ve had a good cheese dip. I’m thrilled. Simply thrilled!
Yum! I’m so excited! I’ve missed queso, but then when I do invariably make it (buying the dreaded Velveeta or cheddar cheese soup) I always both feel guilty about it or it upsets my stomach (or both!) so I’ve just stopped making it!
This will definitely be a hit in my home! Thank you!
Best,
Sarah
Sarah
Excellent! I have a couple of tortilla soup recipes that include Velveeta. Without the Velveeta, they are Real Food, but not as creamy and tasty. We used to make chicken tortilla soup often because it is quick and easy and everyone eats it, but I gave them up when we switched to more traditional foods. I’m going to try making your cheese up to the addition of the seasonings and adding that to my soup recipe in place of Velveeta. Should be good.
I’m wondering about the sourdough bread – is this bread made from sprouted grains and soaked? We don’t eat much bread in our house because most breads are processed. When we do eat bread, we eat Ezekiel. We do make our own corn chips from scratch occasionally (with sprouted corn tortillas and grapeseed oil), but again, I avoid corn chips in general since corn is not digestible and deep-frying is definitely not healthy. What are your thoughts about this?
Raine Saunders
Raine — Sourdough, by definition is a fermented bread. That’s what makes it sour. By allowing the dough to ferment for days (or even weeks), you produce that magnificently sour taste. This fermentation process serves the same purpose (nutritionally speaking) as sprouting or soaking the grain in that it breaks down the phytic acid and anti-nutrients in the grain and increases the vitamin, mineral, and enzyme content of the dough through the process of lacto-fermentation. It also “bends” the gluten proteins in such a way as to make them far easier to digest.
As to deep frying not being healthy, I think that has to do with the kinds of fats used. Deep frying in vegetable oil or shortening is unhealthy because of the trans-fats and heat-unstable oil. But deep frying in beef tallow is actually quite good for you!
And corn *is* digestible if you prepare it the way the ancient Aztecs or Mayans did (and most modern Mexicans do). You’ve got to soak the corn in lime (the mineral, not the fruit!) and nixtamalize it. When you buy corn products, look for ones that are 1) organic (so you can avoid GMO corn), and 2) soaked in lime (like masa harina).
We use beef and bacon fat (from grass-fed animals, of course) to fry foods, yes! I know about beef tallow but haven’t used it yet. We never use shortening or vegetable oil, but do use grapeseed and coconut oils a great deal in our house. I’m looking for some good varieties of beef tallow around where I live but haven’t found any yet. Where I live I’m the local “food-crazy” woman who makes her own yogurt and eats sprouted, raw foods.
I haven’t begun to make bread yet, as I’m still experimenting with my yogurt-making process. Last week I took a large amount of raw milk from my refrigerator, mixed in some local flash-pasteurized cream and yogurt starter, and made three large containers. The first one turned out creamy and semi-solid, but soon went flat. The second jar I left in the refrigerator longer and it seemed to hold much better. Haven’t yet tried the third jar, but my son actually prefers plain, homemade yogurt from raw milk to the garbage sold in the store (not a small victory).
I am familiar with fermenting process of grains as I’ve been researching it for years, and I’m including a segment in the book I’m working on about nutrition and whole living. It’s great to find sites like this to augment my research and knowledge; we can all learn so much from each other. Just when I think I’ve seen all that’s available on the web, I come across more. I’m so glad you are spreading the word about good food…people like us have to stick together!
Please read my latest post on Agriculture Society about supporting preventative health care for all citizens. The time to act is now!
-Raine
http://www.agriculturesociety.com
Raine Saunders
Mmm… I’m definitely going to soften up my husband with this dip next time I need a favor! Thanks for taking the time to figure it out!
Meg
I’m in love! Thank you, I’ll try this one with one small adaption, chopped canned chipotles. Cheers!
Heidi from Savory Tv
Thank you so much for this recipe!! I have been trying and trying to find something very smooth and “cheesy” and satisfying to fill my cravings for that taste/texture without resorting to processed foods… I made this tonight and I must say it’s a winner!! I can’t wait to get some tasty sourdough to try it over
Kristen
This looks marvelous!
Meagan
WOW, Kristen!!! I made this tonight, and it is awesome! Of course, you knew that.
Thanks so much for the recipe. I had grass fed meatballs in the freezer, so I served it over them as you suggested. YUM!! My husband loved it as well. I made the Buttery Patty Pan Squash as a side. It was a great dinner. Thanks again.
O.K. we will try this. If it’s as good as it looks and sounds you will have some new friends.
Robert and team dippers.
I’m a bit a cheese snob, (so sorry if this sounds rude) but I find it sad that you used cheddar cheese in a Mexican cheese dip, and by cheddar I assume you are using that nasty stuff Americans call cheddar NOT real cheddar, the only real stuff is made in three farms in England, Somerset Artisan Cheddar.
For an authentic Mexican cheese dip start with shredded Queso Oaxaca, cream, chopped fresh jalapenos, fine diced onions, cumin, and diced red bell pepper. Instead of chili/chipotle powder try fine dicing a real chipolte pepper, rehydrate a dried one or wet from a can, and you can always kick up the spice with a small amount of fine dice Habanero (wear gloves when handling the really hot peppers) melt it all on the stove and serve for dipping warm and gooey. Yumm!