This Mexican Appetizer Gets A Flavorful Upgrade Thanks To Sweet Potatoes

Queso is already pretty perfect, but then you add some mashed sweet potatoes and realize even perfect can be perfected. It might sound random and a bit out there, but sweet potatoes bring a gentle sweetness to the queso that also thickens it without making it heavy. Sometimes random things like this just work — in the same way that tequila can be an incredible addition to queso. The trick relies on first understanding the right way to cook sweet potato (because texture is everything here), so know that roasting will make it sweeter while steaming will keep the flavor more mild. Either will work, just as long as the potato is soft enough to mash or blend.

The rest of the queso is built out the same way as it always is: Cook your onions until soft, throw in some garlic and all the essential spices, and then in goes the sweet potato before cheese turns it into a perfectly dippable and pourable sauce. With the added thickness, this queso will be better at holding onto your tortilla chips or bulking up your burrito.

There is a method to achieving the perfect queso. Traditionally, it involves slowly pouring warm thickened milk into the pot to help everything combine smoothly before the cheese is then slowly sprinkled and melted in. That smoothness is key, so if you're worried about little lumps of potato appearing in your final dish, try blending the sweet potato with a splash of milk or broth instead of trying to whisk it mashed straight into the sauce. This will make it much creamier and smoother. Then, for an even silkier texture, adding avocados is a trick that can make your queso even creamier without changing the core flavors.

Once your queso is starting to come together, keep it on a low heat to keep the cheese all glossy and prevent it from going hard. Then it's time to customize it to your palate — add some roasted chiles for depth, some chipotle paste for smokiness, or jalapeño slices to bring a bit of a brighter heat. For a dairy-free version, the method stays similar, just use a mild plant-based milk for the liquid base and shreddable vegan cheeses that will melt over heat. In these versions, you can also add more sweet potato to create the texture and give it some body. A good amount of nutritional yeast will go a long way, too. This sweet potato version of queso fits really well into the ongoing theme of experimentation with this dip — not to mention it adds a little nutritional boost to the dip as well.