Once you learn how to smoke queso, you’ll be whipping it up for BBQ parties and get-togethers all year long. My particular Traeger recipe is for smoked queso with chorizo and it’s one of my most popular smoker recipes ever. Try any variations you’d like! Let’s make it!
EVERYONE LOVES IT. The fresh veggies and chorizo give this easy queso smoker appetizer plenty to love!! You could also use smoked kielbasa.
HEY THERE — Follow SBG for new recipes on Instagram / TikTok
Why this Treager smoked queso recipe is so good
- Feeds a crowd! I make it for parties of 20-30 people.
- Simple ingredients. Substitute what you’d like.
- FAST. Ready in an hour.
- Easy recipe to double OR divide in half, if you want a smaller portion.
- New to smoked food recipes and Treager recipes? see my step by step video for beginners (scroll to bottom of page).
Smoking queso at 250 degrees F
You can smoke queso at the same time as other smoker recipes that cook at 250 degrees F like smoked sausage, smoked bratwurst, and smoked bone-in pork shoulder with pineapple.
See these tasty taco night smoker recipes…
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make the best smoked queso everrr.
- Velveeta cheese, or any melty cheese, cubed 2”
- Chorizo (cooked, casing peeled off, and crumbled/fine diced)
- cheddar cheese
- cream cheese
- Diced cherry tomatoes
- Onion
- Garlic
- Jalapeno
- black pepper
- (optional) Beer or milk can help make a thinner smoked queso which is a good consistency for drizzling on tacos or smoked nachos. Skip adding beer / milk to queso if you want a thicker cheese dip for dipping chips in.
These you’ll add to the smoked queso at different times…
- 45 minute mark add sour cream
- Serve with fresh chopped cilantro or green onions
How to smoke queso
Now I’ll walk you through it…
Quick look at this smoked queso with chorizo recipe
- Preheat the smoker and toss queso ingredients in a large pan.
- Smoke queso dip for 45 minutes at 250 degrees F.
- Add sour cream and smoke for 15 minutes.
- Garnish with chives or green onions and enjoy on tortilla chips or nachos or in smoked flank steak tacos.
Detailed recipe steps
- Preheat Traeger Grills or Pitt Boss or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 250 degrees F.
- Prepare a pan to smoke queso. PSA: Usually, I’m making a big batch of queso to bring to a pool party or when we’re hosting. So I like to use those large disposable aluminum pans. Either way, for cleaning purposes, you might want to put aluminum foil in a 9×13 pan, if that’s what you’re using instead.
- Mix all the main smoked queso ingredients into a large pan by layering them in this order (so they melt evenly): Velveeta cheese, chorizo, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, cherry tomatoes, onion, garlic, jalapeno, black pepper.
- Smoke queso with chorizo for about 45 minutes at 250 degrees F.
- Add sour cream to the partially smoked queso and stir it around. Usually, I like the consistency of the queso smoked to this point. (If you want thinner queso, add a little beer or milk at this time to reach your desired consistency… thinner in my opinion is better for drizzling on tacos vs. using as a dip.)
- Smoke queso with sour cream for about 15 minutes at 250 degrees F.
- Garnish. Sprinkle fresh chopped herbs on queso.
- Remove queso from the smoker and rest until cool enough to serve. Note – if I’m taking queso to a party or not eating it for another 30 minutes or so, I’ll wrap the top in foil and stick it in a cooler to stay very warm.
See how to get more smoke flavor from your favorite Traeger dishes and check out these game day smoker recipes including this smoked cream cheese appetizer. It’s so good!
This Traeger smoked queso dip recipe is always a hit on the BBQ menu.
Deciding what appetizer to smoke for a party…
Making this smoked queso appetizer for game day…
This is a HALF batch of this Traeger queso recipe for a very small football party…
Also smoking at the same time are these smoked 321 ribs.
FAQs
It will take you an hour to make this delicious smoked cheese dip!
Smoke your queso at 250 degrees F.
We used Traeger Mesquite Pellets for this particular Sip Bite Go recipe demonstration, and they were wonderful.
I like the large 9×13 foil pans when smoking queso for a pool party, or somewhere that I’ll leave the queso behind. That way I don’t have to worry about getting my pan, and there’s nothing to clean.
Yes, this is a pretty easily adaptable recipe, so you can get creative with fillings and toppings. I recommend you keep the cheese base layer the same, and build up from there. You can also try adding smoked bratwurst, experimenting with flavor by adding variation of peppers, beans, BBQ seasonings. Or add another protein, like smoked chicken breast, smoked brisket flat or smoked pulled pork shoulder. It’s definitely a dish you can make “your own”.
More Tasty Grill + Smoker Recipes
- Smoked mac and cheese
- Smoked cream cheese
- Smoked brisket flat
- 321 ribs
- Beer can chicken on the smoker
- Smoked wings
- Smoked tomahawk steak
- Traeger tri tip
- Smoked turkey breast
- Smoked turkey legs
- Whole smoked turkey
- Smoked Traeger pizza
- Smoked onion rings
- Traeger smoked ham
- Smoked whole chicken
- Smoked jalapeno poppers
- Smoked corn on the cob
- Traeger beef ribs
- Smoked leg of lamb
- Smoked shrimp
- Grilled chicken wings
- Grilled skirt steak
- Flank steak marinade
- Grilled potato wedges
- Smoked pulled pork
- Want more? See my lineup of easy smoker recipes
See this Traeger Flatrock grill review.
See my favorite smoker tools and seasonings in my Amazon Storefront.
Meat thermometer recommendations
Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly.
On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:
- Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
- ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill.
It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature.
How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever… Then put the food in the oven, on the smoker, or grill.
While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!
Are you a foodie, too?
Hey home chefs, hope that answers all your questions about smoking queso for your next bbq menu, party, or game day smoker appetizer with smoked cream cheese.
In the future, I’ll share tips for making queso on a charcoal grill, and a slow cooker recipe variation with a bit of liquid smoke for a delicious smoky flavor.
Next up, try this smoked flank steak and smoked mac and cheese recipe.
Connect…
- Follow for new recipes on Instagram / TikTok
- Subscribe on YouTube to the Sip Bite Go channel.
- Browse the Sip Bite Go recipe collection.
- Say “hi” to my husband @handmodelpatrick.
Best Smoked Queso Recipe | Sip Bite Go
Ingredients
Main Traeger smoked queso ingredients
- 32 oz Velveeta cheese or any melty cheese, cubed 2”
- 1 lb chorizo pork or chicken, cooked, casing removed, crumbled/ finely chopped
- ½ cup cheddar cheese shredded (substitute monterey jack, pepper jack, gouda)
- 8 oz cream cheese plain, full fat
- 5 medium cherry tomatoes diced small
- ½ medium onion white, diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium jalapeno pith removed, minced
- ⅛ tsp black pepper fresh cracked
To mix in smoked queso at the 45 minute mark
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 tbsp beer or milk, optional to make it thinner (I usually don’t bother thinning out smoked queso unless I'm using it for a taco or nacho cheese)
For topping smoked queso with chorizo
- 1 tbsp cilantro fresh chopped (and/or diced chives, green onion)
Instructions
- Preheat Traeger Grills or Pitt Boss or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 250 degrees F. (We used Mesquite Pellets for this particular Sip Bite Go recipe demonstration, and they were wonderful.)
- Prepare a pan to smoke queso. PSA: Usually, I’m making a big batch of queso to bring to a pool party or when we’re hosting. So I like to use those large pans made out of aluminum. Either way, for cleaning purposes, you might want to put aluminum foil in a 9×13 pan, if that’s what you’re using instead.
- Mix all the main smoked queso ingredients into a large pan by layering them in this order (so they melt evenly): Velveeta cheese, chorizo, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, cherry tomatoes, onion, garlic, jalapeno, black pepper.
- Smoke queso with chorizo for about 45 minutes at 250 degrees F.
- Add sour cream to the partially smoked queso and stir it around. Usually, I like the consistency of the queso smoked to this point, but if you want thinner queso, add a little beer or milk at this time. FYI… in my opinion, thinner smoked queso with beer in it is better for drizzling on smoked nachos for example, whereas thicker queso is better for dipping thick chips into. It’s a personal preference!
- Smoke queso with sour cream for about 15 minutes at 250 degrees F.
- Garnish. Sprinkle fresh chopped chives or whatever herbs you're using on queso.
- Remove queso from the smoker and rest until cool enough to serve. Note – if I’m taking queso to a party, I’ll wrap the top in foil and stick it in a cooler to stay very warm.
Leave a Reply