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–+ servings
bowl of smoked queso with pico de gallo, cilantro, and cotija cheese
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Ultimate Smoked Queso

We tested the internet's most popular smoked queso recipes to come up with this ultimate version that combines the best ingredients and techniques from across the web.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours
Servings 20 Servings
Calories 171kcal
Author Mason Woodruff

Ingredients

  • 1 block (32 oz) Velveeta cut into 1" cubes
  • 1 pound Pepper Jack cut into 1" cubes
  • 4 Roma Tomatoes diced
  • 1 large White Onion diced
  • 2 large Poblano Peppers seeded and diced
  • 1 cup Beer or your choice of liquid
  • 1 pound Hot Breakfast Sausage
  • ¼ cup Traeger Coffee Rub or your choice of BBQ rub
  • 1-2 handfuls Cilantro freshly chopped

Instructions

  • Preheat your smoker to 250ºF with sweet wood or pellets like maple or cherry. (I used a Traeger Ironwood and Traeger Signature pellets.)
  • Add the Velveeta, pepper jack, diced vegetables, 2 tablespoons of rub, and beer to a 9x13 aluminum pan or smoker-safe baking dish.
  • Break the breakfast sausage into 6-8 smaller pieces and season with the remaining rub. Place the sausage pieces on a wire rack over the top of the dish.
  • Cook for 2 hours until the sausage reaches an internal temperature of 160ºF (or is held above 140ºF for at least 12 minutes) before crumbling into the queso. Fold everything together and cook for an additional 30 minutes before stirring in chopped cilantro and serving.
  • You can keep the queso warm on the grill to serve later, adding liquid as needed for your desired consistency.

Video

Notes

Optional: Serve your smoked queso with fresh pico de gallo, guacamole, and cotija cheese.
Modification Notes
You can use non-alcoholic beer or beef broth instead of beer.
If you're using a different rub, you may want to start with half the amount and season to taste at the end (to avoid over-seasoning).
You can use two cans of RO-TEL in place of the fresh veggies if you're in a hurry.
If you increase the grill temperature to speed up the cook, you may want to stir the cheese sauce occasionally to prevent sticking to the bottom of the grill pan.
You could try making a healthier smoked queso using my high protein cottage cheese queso recipe.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 171kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 325mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g