Homemade Loaded Queso
This gooey, melty Instant Pot Homemade Queso Dip is a hearty Tex-Mex-inspired cheese sauce made with ground pork sausage, beans, jalapeño, and diced tomatoes. It’s great with tortilla chips for a game day or any party.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This flavor-packed queso dip has everything going for it: it’s hearty and meaty, just a bit spicy, and has three kinds of cheese for the richest flavor and silkiest texture.
We love making Tex-Mex-inspired dinners, and this queso blanco is an absolute must at all of our parties.
This is one of our favorite Instant Pot appetizer recipes. You can serve it with tortilla chips, or any of your favorite toppings like Corn and Black Bean Salsa, fresh pico de gallo, guac, and lots of fresh cilantro.
This recipe is a mash-up of several different queso recipes we’ve seen on TikTok, adjusted for our family’s flavor preferences. We were also inspired by slow cooker and skillet recipes that we’ve been using for years.
INGREDIENTS YOU NEED
Grab these ingredients to make delicious Instant Pot queso blanco:
- Pork sausage. We recommend ground sausage, and we love Jimmy Dean’s Original.
- Vegetables. The flavor base of this queso blanco recipe comes from red onion, red bell pepper, and jalapeno.
- Cheese. Use Velveeta cheese, cream cheese, and Colby Jack for the perfect melty texture that’s just spicy enough.
- Diced tomatoes. Look for canned diced tomatoes made with green chiles, such as Rotel brand.
- Beans. We use canned black beans but another type of bean, such as pinto or kidney, would work in a pinch.
- Cilantro. Don’t skimp on the fresh herbs in this cheese dip!
- Chips or bread to dip, plus your favorite toppings for serving.
What are some good toppings for queso blanco?
The topping options are pretty endless with this savory cheese dip. Our favorites include fresh salsa and pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, cilantro, more beans, and sliced jalapenos for a kick.
How to Make Queso Dip in an Instant Pot
✅ This easy recipe will work in any brand of electric pressure cooker, including the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi, or Power Pressure Cooker XL.
You’ll start making this Instant Pot queso by sauting the pork sausage, onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno until the sausage is cooked through. Then remove the meat and vegetables from the pressure cooking pot and wipe the pot clean.
Next, combine the three types of cheese and cooked sausage mixture in a large mixing bowl. Don’t worry if there are a few lumps in the mixture. Add the canned diced tomatoes, beans, and fresh cilantro and combine everything.
Transfer the queso mixture into a small baking dish greased with cooking spray or oil. Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Fill the empty pressure cooking pot with two cups of water and place a trivet inside. Then use a sling to carefully lower the baking dish onto the trivet. Be sure to fold the sling into the pot so it doesn’t interfere with closing the lid.
Cook the queso on high pressure for 13 minutes, then manually release the pressure. When the valve drops, carefully remove the lid. Check that the dip is fully cooked. It should measure about 140°F and be melty and hot. Stir the dip well and use the sling to remove the dish from the Instant Pot.
If you’d like to crisp up the top of your queso, sprinkle the dish with additional cheese and place it under the broiler in the oven for a few minutes. You can also use an air fryer lid on your Instant Pot if you have one.
Serve the hot queso dip with your favorite toppings and tortilla chips for dipping.
Important Tips for Making Instant Pot Queso Sauce
- Because this recipe uses the pot-in-pot method, you can halve the recipe with no changes to the cooking time.
- This recipe makes a large amount of dip: at least 8 to 10 servings, but it could stretch to feed an even larger crowd if you serve it with more chips!
- We use mild Rotel canned diced tomatoes with chiles, but you can use regular or hot if you like extra spice.
- You can also add more spice to this queso blanco by using chorizo instead of regular ground pork sausage.
- If you’re making loaded nachos with this cheese dip, add the queso dip on top of your chips and toppings, then sprinkle additional grated cheese on top and broil until the chips just start to brown.
Products
To use the pot-in-pot method, you’ll need a baking dish that fits inside your pressure cooking pot. This 7-inch Nordic Ware Leakproof Springform Pan is a great option for 6-quart pressure cookers. You can use it for Instant Pot cheesecake, too.
You’ll also need a sling to add and remove the baking dish from the pressure cooker. You can make your own with foil or buy a reusable sling for future pot-in-pot recipes.
Finally, you can use the trivet that came with your Instant Pot, or we love this one for pot-in-pot cooking.
Frequently Asked Questions about Homemade Queso Blanco
This is quite a large recipe, and it won’t fit in the baking dish if it’s doubled, so we don’t recommend that. You can, however, halve the recipe with no other changes.
Store leftover dip in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. Reheat the cheese dip using the pot-in-pot method in your Instant Pot or on the stove. If necessary, add a splash of water or broth if your queso is too thick.
You can freeze leftover queso for up to six months, but note that the texture may be less smooth and a bit more crumbly when you defrost it. To defrost, thaw the cheese sauce in the fridge overnight, then reheat in your Instant Pot or on the stove.
Certainly, you can omit the sausage for a meat-free version of this recipe with no other changes.
MORE Mexican-Inspired Instant Pot Recipes
We have plenty of hearty and flavor-packed Mexican recipes for the Instant Pot, including these favorites:
- Mexican Pinto Bean Soup has a subtle amount of heat, lots of beans, and a rich, meaty broth.
- Mexican Green Rice is loaded with fresh herbs, avocado, and green peppers and makes a perfect base for meat and beans.
- Pork Carnitas is made in a pressure cooker with orange juice, onion, garlic, and jalapenos for a fiesta-ready topping for burrito bowls, tacos, and more.
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Homemade Queso with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Beans
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork sausage we used Jimmy Dean’s Original
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper
- 1 jalapeno pepper seeded and finely minced
- 8 ounces Velveeta cheese cubed
- 1 package 8 oz cream cheese, softened and cubed
- 1 cup shredded cheese we used Colby Jack, plus more for topping if desired
- 1 can 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
- 3/4 cup canned black beans rinsed and drained, plus more for garnish
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro plus more for garnish
- Tortilla chips for serving
- Favorite nacho toppings including fresh tomatoes, diced avocado, sour cream, and sliced jalapeno
Instructions
- Select Saute and preheat the pressure cooking pot. When hot, add vegetable oil and spread across the bottom of the pan. Add the pork sausage, onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno pepper, and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
- Drain into a bowl lined with paper towels. Wipe out the pressure cooking pot.
- In a large bowl, combine velveeta cheese, cream cheese, shredded cheese, and cooked sausage and mix until combined. (The mixture will still be fairly lumpy.) Add the diced tomatoes with green chiles, black beans, and cilantro and gently stir until evenly mixed.
- Spoon the mixture into a lightly greased small baking dish (1-quart) or 7-inch cake pan that will fit in your pressure cooking pot. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil.
- Pour 2 cups of water into the cooking pot and place a trivet in the bottom. Carefully center the filled baking dish on a sling and lower it onto the trivet. Fold the sling down so it does not interfere with closing the lid.
- Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and set the cook time for 13 minutes.
- When the cook time ends, finish with a quick pressure release. When the valve drops, carefully remove the lid.
- Check the dip to make sure the cheese is melted and the dip is hot, about 140F. When the desired temperature is reached, give the dip a thorough stir to make sure everything the cheeses are well combined.
- If desired, sprinkle additional cheese on top and transfer the dish to a broiler oven or use the Air Fry setting on your Duo Crisp, CrispLid, or Ninja Foodi to brown the top.
- Serve hot with tortilla chips and your favorite nacho toppings, including diced tomatoes, chopped cilantro, and sliced fresh jalapeño, to top.
Notes
Nutrition
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I appreciate the nutritional information provided, but is that for 1/8 or 1/12 of the recipe? It says the serving size is 1 g, but I believe that must be a mistake.
Thanks Mary – it’s computer generated, so we’ll have to tweak it.