Cowboy caviar is having an internet moment right now, and I wanted to show one of my favorite things to make with it—smoked queso con carne. Just throw cowboy or Texas caviar in a grill pan with extra lean taco meat or chorizo, reduced fat cream cheese, Colby-Monterey Jack cheese, fire roasted tomatoes, and diced green chiles or pickled jalapeño, and you’re ready to rock.
This recipe makes a “lightened up” or slightly lower calorie queso but if that’s not your thing, go with full fat everything. Or like we discovered in our smoked queso recipe showdown and ultimate smoked queso recipe, Velveeta and processed cheese products like Velveeta make the best cheese dip and queso.
Oh, and this Traeger queso isn’t pellet smoker exclusive. I made sure to include oven baking instructions in the notes section of the recipe card below.
Hey, I see you spying on that second tray of dip in the background. That’s our smoked cheese dip with chicken, and you should totally make it alongside this queso con carne.
What to Serve with Smoked Queso
If you’re in Texas, it’s hard to beat the convenience of H-E-B tortilla chips straight from the bakery. While any chip will work for consuming queso, a thin and crispy corn tortilla chip is the proper move.
Don’t have access to fresh tortilla chips? Make your own. Sticking with the lower calorie theme? Make baked tortilla chips with extra thin corn tortillas.
No chip discussion is complete without mentioning Trader Joe’s elote corn dippers we used for corn chip pies and migas breakfast tacos.
Yeah, yeah, chips and queso is the obvious choice. This recipe makes a beaucoup of smoked queso. So here’s a handful of creative ways to use leftover queso:
- Make Traeger smoked burgers and top them with refried beans and queso.
- This queso is on the thicker side. So once it’s chilled, you could definitely stuff it inside dough like our leftover brisket kolaches.
- Queso and migas breakfast tacos are also a no brainer.
- Work it into smoked chili cheese nachos.
- Serve alongside Traeger shotgun shells.
More Tex-Mex Recipes for Traeger Grills
- Stuffed and Smoked Poblano Peppers
- The Best Tex-Mex Beef Fajitas
- Mexican Grilled Chicken Breast
- Texas Cowboy Stew
- Traeger Frijoles Charros
- Tex-Mex Pulled Beef Tacos
- Texas-Style Smoked Hash Brown Casserole
Okie doke, you’re ready to smoke. Drop any recipe questions you may have in the comments below and don’t forget to come back and leave a recipe review if you love this smoked queso dip.
Traeger Smoked Queso
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds Extra Lean Ground Beef*
- 2 packets Taco Seasoning
- 1 cup Water
- 8 oz Colby-Monterey Jack Cheese, or 4 oz of each
- 8 oz Reduced Fat Cream Cheese
- 1 can (15oz) Fire Roasted Tomatoes
- 1 jar (13oz) Cowboy Caviar**
- 1 can (4oz) Diced Green Chiles***
- Optional: ½ to 1 cup Milk, for a thinner queso
- Guacamole, Pico de Gallo, Cotija Cheese or Queso Fresco, and Cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your Traeger to 250ºF with the lid closed.
- Brown and fully cook the ground beef with the taco seasoning and water.
- Add the cooked taco meat to a large disposable grill pan, cast iron skillet, or baking dish that's safe to go in your smoker. Cut the cheese into smaller pieces and add to the pan along with the remaining ingredients, keeping each ingredient separate.
- Add the pan to the smoker and cook for 30-40 minutes until the cheese begins to melt. Stir everything together and once evenly mixed, smoke for an additional 15-20 minutes until the queso begins to brown around the edges.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro, guacamole, pico de gallo, and cotija cheese, if desired. Serve immediately with tortilla chips.
