Jalapeño Corn Queso Dip

5 from 3 votes. Tap stars to vote

Enjoy this creamy, cheesy Jalapeño Corn Queso Dip at your next New England cookout or when friends are over to watch the game. I add grilled corn and spicy jalapeños to a rich two-cheese queso sauce. This dip is just begging for salty tortilla chips or vegetable sticks!

Prep Time30

Cook Time35

Total Time1 5

Course: Appetizer, Dip, Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 256kcal

Author: Nancy Mock

Ingredients

4 ears sweet corn, husks and silk removed
1 large jalapeño
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (or an olive oil cooking spray)
¼ cup butter, unsalted
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups 2% milk
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
8 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
¼ cup sour cream
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Grill the corn and pepper:

Turn on a gas grill with the heat set at medium.
To get the 4 ears sweet corn, husks and silk removed and 1 large jalapeño ready, brush them on all sides with the 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (or spray them if you're using an olive oil spray.) Use tongs to place the ears of corn and the pepper directly on the grill grates.
Turn the corn and the pepper every few minutes to help them cook and char on all sides: the jalapeño will be done in 10 minutes or less, and the corn will be cooked through in about 15-20 minutes. Remove the corn and pepper from the heat and let them cool enough to handle.

Make the cheese sauce:

Melt the ¼ cup butter, unsalted in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once it is melted and bubbling, stir in the ¼ cup all-purpose flour. Stir the roux constantly for about 1 minute until it is thick and all of the flour is absorbed. Pour in the 2 cups 2% milk and stir to combine it with the roux. Increase the heat just a little and heat the milk, stirring it often to be sure it isn't coating the bottom, until it comes to a steady simmer. It should be thickening as well—remove the pan from the heat at this point.
Add the 8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded and 8 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded. Stir the cheeses into the milk until they have completely melted into a smooth cheese sauce—or queso! Once the queso is smooth, stir in the ¼ cup sour cream, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper. Hold the pan aside.

Slice and add the grilled vegetables:

Slice open the grilled jalapeño and scoop out the seeds. Dice the pepper and add it to the queso.
Hold an ear of the grilled corn up on the flat end on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to slice off the kernels, slicing from the tip down to the bottom. Slice down all sides of the cob until all of the corn is removed. Repeat these steps with the other cobs.
Add the kernels to the queso and stir to evenly distribute the corn and jalapeño.

Serve:

Transfer the queso to a serving bowl and serve it while it's warm, with tortilla chips or fresh veggies on the side.
Makes about 4 cups of queso.

Notes

Fresh ears of corn, especially New England sweet corn, are so delicious grilled and sliced into this queso. But of course, it's only available for a limited window of time. If your store or farmstand has no fresh ears of corn for this recipe, no worries: substitute canned or frozen fire-roasted corn. The fire roasting gives the kernels a hint of that smoky flavor that's so good in this corn queso.

Nutrition