Give Queso Dip An Unforgettable Texture By Adding This High-Protein Ingredient

If you love queso, ensuring each dipped chip or sliced veggie has enough cheese to satisfy your taste buds is crucial. As such, if you want queso to have a heartier texture, swap out the usual milk for cottage cheese. While this versatile cheese certainly makes queso higher in protein (one ½ cup serving of low-fat cottage cheese contains approximately 12 grams of protein), cottage cheese also has a thick consistency that gives classic queso a more satisfying texture.

If you want to thicken store-bought queso, you can use cottage cheese instead of cornstarch and milk. Just blend your cottage cheese into a smooth consistency, and adjust the seasonings of the combined mixture before serving. However, for the most consistent results, stick to making cottage cheese queso from scratch. The homemade version can be served hot or cold, and takes on a different consistency with each application.

For a hot dip, simply microwave your queso in 30-second increments after blending until the cheese melts and the dip is thoroughly heated. Hot cottage cheese dip tends to have a runnier texture from the melted cheese, plus you don't have to worry about ingredients separating when heated low and slow. If you want a thicker, chilled spread, all you need to do is blend up your recipe and serve.

Once you see how easy it is to make this simple dip, feel free to add a variety of extra ingredients for even more texture. Optional add-ins include cooked ground meat, cubed avocado, and fresh veggies, such as diced onion, diced green chiles, and sliced jalapeño peppers.

Better yet, you can still follow the secret to making restaurant-style queso and add American cheese. To make this upgraded variation, blend roughly 3 cups of cottage cheese with one packet of dried taco seasoning, 1 cup of shredded cheese (such as American and mozzarella), and a small amount of water. Once you produce this creamy, high-protein queso, you can further change its resulting consistency depending on your preferences. If you like a runnier queso, add some diced fire-roasted tomatoes, cold milk, bone broth, or additional water when blending the required ingredients. If you prefer a thicker queso, omit extra liquids altogether.