The first time I ordered Chili’s Skillet Queso, I was skeptical that a simple cheese dip could deserve so much menu real estate. Then that warm cast iron skillet arrived at our table, steam rising from the creamy, meaty dip, and I was instantly converted. One bite of that velvety cheese, paired with the spiced chili, had me scraping the bottom of the dish and flagging down our server for a second order.
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Table of Contents
Why This Copycat Chili’s Skillet Queso Recipe Is The One To Make
This isn’t just another cheese dip recipe—it’s the definitive replica of Chili’s famous queso that delivers authentic restaurant flavor with almost zero effort. What makes it special? Its genius simplicity. While you could certainly create a complex cheese sauce from scratch and simmer your chili for hours, this two-ingredient approach delivers identical results in just minutes.
The magic lies in the specific combination of processed cheese and canned chili. This pairing creates the perfect texture, consistency, and flavor profile, making Chili’s queso a menu staple for decades. The processed cheese melts into an impossibly smooth texture that never breaks or gets grainy, while the canned chili provides the ideal balance of meat, spice, and thickness.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Authentically Replicates Chili’s Version: Tastes exactly like the restaurant’s original
- Impossibly Easy: Just two ingredients and one pan
- Quick Preparation: Ready in 15 minutes from start to finish
- Budget-Friendly: Much more economical than restaurant dining
- Foolproof Success: Nearly impossible to mess up, even for cooking novices
- Versatile Usage: Works as a dip, topping, or ingredient in other dishes
- Crowd Pleaser: Universally appealing flavor that satisfies all ages
Ingredients
Simplicity is the best, and this chili con queso recipe is just as simple as possible. There are only two simple ingredients you can easily find at any grocery store. Yep, that is it. From these humble ingredients, greatness is achievable, so don’t screw things up by trying to get all fancy.
- Velveeta cheese – Provides the signature smooth, creamy texture that never breaks or becomes grainy when melted
- Canned chili without beans – Delivers savory, seasoned meat and the perfect thickness without bean texture interrupting the creaminess
Recipe Tips and Tricks
When the most complicated part of a recipe is melting cheese, you know that even your teens or kitchen-phobic spouse can handle it on their own. Yet, inept cooks have a history of messing up when it comes to boiling water, so here are a few tricks you may want to pass along.
- Cut the block of cheese into small cubes. This will let the cheese melt quicker and more evenly and help avoid scorching.
- Don’t melt the cheese alone. Combine the cubed cheese with the Hormel chili in a large enough saucepan so that the mixture only reaches halfway up the sides. Place the saucepan over low heat.
- Stir continuously. That means keep the mixture moving from the moment the pan goes on the heat until you take it off. Alternate between a circular and a figure-eight stirring pattern to ensure the ingredients in the center of the pot don’t burn.
- Once the cheese melts and the chili is hot, remove the saucepan from the heat. Do not let it come to a full rolling boil. Stir a few more times once you remove the heat.
How to Make Chili’s Skillet Queso Dip
Simply heat the ingredients in a skillet or saucepan over low heat on the stove top until the cheese has melted, stirring often.
Some people like the dip a little chunky, but those who don’t can blend it. The best way to get a smooth consistency is to use a stick blender directly in the pot. While using a regular blender to puree the dip in batches is possible, things will get a bit messy.
Would you instead make it in a slow cooker? Check out this Crock Pot Queso recipe.
Watch us make Chili’s Skillet Queso on YouTube!
Authentic Two-Ingredient Chili’s Skillet Queso (Copycat Recipe)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Velveeta cheese
- 30 ounces Hormel No-Bean Chili
Instructions
- Heat the ingredients together in a skillet or saucepan over low heat until melted, stirring often.
- For the most accurate texture, you should puree the cooked dip in a blender.
Video
Notes
Expert Tips for Perfect Skillet Queso
- Cube the cheese properly: Smaller, uniform cubes melt faster and more evenly
- Low and slow is key: Never rush the melting process with high heat
- Stir constantly: The most crucial step for preventing scorching and ensuring smooth texture
- Pre-warm your serving dish: Running hot water over your serving dish before adding the queso helps maintain the perfect temperature
- Quality matters: While this is a simple recipe, using Hormel chili delivers explicitly the most authentic flavor
- Temperature control: Remove from heat just as everything is melted and combined, before it reaches a boil
- For entertaining: Make a double batch and keep warm in a slow cooker set to low
Nutrition
How to Serve Chili’s Skillet Queso
- Pour the queso dip into a warmed cast iron skillet or bowl.
- You can also pour it into a slow cooker set on low heat to keep it warm.
- Serve with tortilla chips and salsa.
This is much more than just a dip. Use this cheese dip the same way you would use any sauce. Here are some ideas:
- Top a plate of fries or a baked potato.
- Pour it over tortilla chips topped with ground beef and garnish it with lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, and sour cream for loaded nachos.
- Throw in pasta shells for a meaty mac and cheese.
- Pour it on top of a hamburger or hotdog.
- Spread it on toasted bread for an instant grilled cheese sandwich.
How to Store and Reheat Chili’s Queso Dip
Cool the queso to room temperature. Place it in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
Reheat by cutting the congealed dip into cubes and heating over low heat on the stovetop. Alternatively, you can warm it in the microwave.
Love Chilis? Try these copycat recipes!
Favorite Appetizer Recipes
- Air Fryer Jalapeno Poppers
- Asian Wings
- Bacon Wrapped Lil Smokies
- Fried Cheese Sticks
- Fried Mushrooms
- Garlic Wings
- Rotel Dip with Ground Beef
- White Queso Dip
Check out more of my easy appetizer recipes and the best copycat recipes for casual dining restaurants here on CopyKat!
Thanks to fellow viewer Steve for the inspiration for this recipe.
Classic dip which I have made over and over and brought to company pot lucks. I keep it warm in a crockpot and everyone loves it.
I worked for Chili’s for 7 years. Most of that in the late 70’s and early 80’s. We NEVER had Velveeta in a Chili’s kitchen nor did we have Hormel chili. Chili’s remarkable Chili used to be made in a in a commercial stainless pot that was big enough for a grown man to jump in. Back then we Blanched burger and fries, (look up blanched fries). Anyhoo, at the end of the night any blanched burgers went into the chili pot. Soooo, as the chili aged it got meatier. Just to rant, Chilis used to have the best fajitas on the planet. They were made on the Broiler,…Not the flat top. Back then everything was made with seasoning by the prep. Today everything is proprietary and Chili’s has a pizza oven to make most of their food. Brinker would be rolling in his grave. I guess money talks. My family enjoys they old style recipes because I made them.
Food from scratch always tastes the best.
I made with jalapeño with it and it is so amazing.
I hope sometime you could invest time to figure out how Jim’s restaurant chile recipe or Jim’s frontier chile recipe is here in San Antonio Tx cause it is so good. The link that goes with my last comment has nothing to do with me and i hope you can remove it due to copy right laws. but JIms is a awesome place to eat and their chile is amazing.
I hope sometime you could invest time to figure out how Jim’s restaurant chile recipe or Jim’s frontier chile recipe is here in San Antonio Tx cause it is so good.
Here in Oklahoma, it does have beans. It looks like Velveeta cheese mixed with Ranch Style Beans. That is also what it tastes like to me. I am sitting here with a bowl of it.
I just called the Chilli’s that I go to here in Coral Springs Florida and I was told that BOTH beans and ground beef are in the Skillet Queso. Hopefully that will settle the dispute 🙂
I always thought it was sausage in three cheese. Good to know. Thanks
Their is beans in the dip at Chili’s because when me and my husband ordered some it had beans in it. The one time went their before it had no beans only the meat.cheese,ect so I am not sure if someone is making it wrong at Chili’s by adding beans in it.
I don’t know either on this. Sometimes I have had beans, other times I have not.
Beans or no beans is always an argument with chili. Use what you like!!!
Please change the recipe for this.
As written, this tastes NOTHING like Chili’s Chili Queso Dip. I even went so far as to add a package of chili seasoning, chili powder, cumin, salt/pepper etc and it still tasted nothing like it. Per the post below mine, using Wolf Brand Chili is the closest thing without adding any other ingredients.
I stumbled onto another Chili’s Queso copycat recipe that claims to be per another former Chili’s employee which uses Hormel, as follows:
16-ounce box Velveeta Cheese
1 c. milk
2 teaspoons paprika
½ tsp. ground cayenne pepper
15-ounce can Hormel Chili (No Beans)
4 tsp. chili powder
1 tablespoon lime juice
½ tsp. ground cumin
I have not tried that recipe, but I can vouch for the Wolf Brand chili version. Very similar.
Thanks for your comment. I will keep your suggestion in mind. I have often found that people who claim to work for a restaurant, haven’t. But I will give your suggestion a try.
Thanks for your input.
Stephanie
You need to use Wolf not Hormels!….I don’t use the cumin, it’s like using Cilantro, only cilantro is the fresh leaves of cumin…cumin is the ground seeds of flowered Cilantro..G/F is allergic to it and their family resturants do not use cilantro or cumin, comino, which is the same thing…comes from Cilantro Plant…but they much be doing something right as they have one Mexican Resturant that is 103 years old….Something else…You can use Sharp and Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese, w/ the Canned milk…but, you need to heat it on low and use a roux…to thicken it….
Cumin seeds are derived from a plant that is related to the parsley family like coriander aka cilantro but cilantro seeds are cylindrical where cumin are elongated seeds and the flavor is much different in both the leaves and seeds.
THIS is the recipe I was looking for!!! Thank you!!
why would you call it queso and then use velveeta is that even real cheese?
I used canned no bean chilli, I didn’t have velveta (I really don’t like the stuff) so I added 3 hand fulls of fancy shredded cheddar and 1/2 cup of milk stirred and let bubble a bit. It was very yummy!
Ok I improvised and made it at home. My boyfriend who loves the chilis quest tried it and said it was the best…. Here is my version:
1 large 32 oz velveta cheese brick
2 cans wolf’s brand no bean chili
1 hamburger patty (about a half lb.) (pre browned on the stove or precooked in the microwave)
2-3 tablespoons chili powde (to taste)
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup milk or Half-and-half (depending on how creamy u want it)
Melt all your ingredients in the crockpot for 2 hours. Stir nd add more chili powder or milk based on your taste preference. Enjoy!
i don’t like how you say “contreverseyal”
I agree. It’s controversial. not “controverseyal”. I couldn’t even understand what she was saying at first. Glad someone felt the same way.
I’M A FORMER CHILI’S EMPLOYEE
… and got the following recipe from the cooks before I left. I believe your amount of chili may be off and you’re missing an ingredient. Oh, and there are NO beans in the chili folks. 🙂 Try the following … and enjoy:
two (2) pound block Kraft Velveeta Cheese
one (1) small can Wolf Brand Chili (15oz +/-)
1/2 cup of milk (microwaved) … add a little more if queso is still too thick.
Austin, that is the correct recipe…Don’t ever use Hormel!…too much grease…
What brand of canned chili do you recommend?
Concerning Chili’s skillet queso……..tried all these recipes, and more……nothing really taste quite the same….but one night I inadvertantly (did I mispell?) stumbled upon one that’s very close….when I had nothing I needed in the pantry…of course.
I browned one pound of hamburger in a cast iron skillet, added 1 package of chili seasoning and one can of tomatoe soup(yep, that’s right) then I added a jar of the store bought cheese queso ….it was a little thick so I put a little water in the queso jar and shook it , then added it to the skillet…….it’s very close!
The Chili’s Skillet Queso doesn’t have beans in it. A friend of mine used to work there, and Chili’s Skillet Queso actually comes to the restaurants frozen!
That’s why I recommend the no bean chili 😉 Now, here in Texas, that is a very serious topic of discussion, beans or no beans in the chili.
Contrary to popular belief Texan cowboys did actually put beans in their chili. When it was made and packaged back home it did not contain beans. It was a compact, high-calorie food meant to fuel you on the range (like pemmican) where every pound you carried counted. Once they made camp, chili con carne was reconstituted on a fire with water and any other food stuffs you had on you at the time. Most of the time this included beans because they were available at every trading post and general store, were relatively light when dried and kept for a long time. Most Texans that get worked up about beans in their chili are just food snobs who have never worked a day on the range or in the mountains away from modern conveniences.
Amen to your comment.
I don’t understand why some folks in Texas get very excited about beans in chili. Many years of my childhood were in the Midwest and we always put beans in our chili. It wasn’t until I came down to Texas that I realized some folks get up in arms about their chili. I am totally going to use your argument for beans in chili next time someone says that Texas chili has no beans it it. Thank you!!
I’m from the South but not from Texas. Now I live in New England. I’m neither region is chili ever made without beans! However, the Joy of Cooking recipe says they’re optional, which I thought was weird because I’d never seen or had a no-bean chili before!
just had it 1 hour ago. it has beans in it. for sure.
just had it 1 hour ago. it has beans in it. for sure.
Y’all got me stumped on the beans/no beans. I don’t recall their being any beans, but they may have changed the recipe since I last tried it.
it has no beans in it i had it yesterday!
it has no beans in it i had it yesterday!
I just had it yesterday too and there were definitely beans in there. I know because I purposely looked for them to scoop them and savor them because I LOVE the beans. Maybe it varies from restaurant to restaurant, or maybe they’ve changed the recipe since you had it.
I am a former Chii’s employee (not the one from above) and I guarantee there are no beans in the queso, just like there are no beans in the chili.
Some people seem to feel there are beans in that queso.
it has no beans in it i had it yesterday!
Hmmm, some people find beans, while I have never found any beans in there, some people do.
No beans just small bits of meat in it just the right size to get it on a chip. If it had beans I would know as would my spouse.
We just had Chili’s queso dip last night and it definitely has beans in it, didn’t see any beef. So the canned chili without beans isn’t correct. I think this may be made with the Velveeta cheese and a can of refried beans and maybe some spices.
I’m going to go in the direction of refried beans the next time I make this… Great suggestion!
The Skillet Queso is one of our favorite dishes at Chili’s. For the last 10 plus years we have been eating it, it has never had beans. I always suspected the use a picadillo type beef that breaks into chunks into the cheese sauce. There use to be a brand of chili called Gephardt Chili ( discontinued) and that type of chili is what it taste like that is combined with the Velveeta. Fascinating that you had beans in yours. It could be a regional thing. I ate once in Tennessee at Texas Road House and ordered Chili, it came with beans, in Florida and Texas they don’t serve chili with beans at that chain.
Just had this dip at Chili’s and it was so good I came home and searched for the recipe- this looks like the closest, except the dip at the restaurant had some beans in it…
it does not have beans in it a chilis we asked.. it’s so dang good i thought it did but they corrected me and told me it did not.
I made this dip for a party my fiance and I threw. I made a double batch and not even an hour into the party it was gone. I ended up making a run to the store mid party to make another double batch. This stuff is for sure a party hit.
Is it good the way it says or do you need to double the ingredients?
Try changing the ratio of ingredients to 1 lb Velveeta & 2 cans chili. I think you will find this a closer match to Chili’s Skillet Queso.
We went to Chili’s about a month ago and we loved this cheese dip!! We wondered how we could make it. I was soooo glad that on Thanksgiving Day I was looking for cheese dip recipes and came across your site. We made this and it was a hit!!! We will definatley be using this site more as I have added it to my favorites!!!! Thanks a bunch!!