Grilled Cheese Is 10x Cheesier Dunked In This Classic Mexican Dip

Grilled cheese is obviously no stranger to rich and melty cheese, but there's no reason to stop at just the shreds you use as the filling. Once you've dunked a crisp and buttery sandwich into warm queso, you'll never go back to thinking that tomato soup is the only option. For a good dippable queso, look for one that is smooth and loose enough to fully coat the sandwich. Whether you're making it yourself or using one of the better store-bought queso dips, you need it to be silky and warm before you dunk.

The appeal here goes beyond simply adding even more cheese to the meal because queso has a totally unique consistency. While the grilled sandwich is bringing crispy textures and stretchy melted cheese, queso is creamy and saucy. So when you dunk your sandwich into it and the dip gets into all those little craggy edges of the toast, it's going to make the whole experience way more indulgent.

With your queso dip at the ready, you now have the option to take this sandwich in way more playful directions. And why not borrow some of the flavors you'd normally associate with queso in the first place for a nacho-style grilled cheese? Add sliced jalapeños, crushed tortilla chips, and diced tomatoes or salsa to the inside of the grilled cheese, then serve it with the warm queso and some homemade or store-bought guacamole on the side. For a real restaurant-style experience, serve the queso warm in a small bowl, remembering that as it cools, it will naturally thicken.

Or you could turn a grilled cheese with queso into a way more substantial meal by filling the sandwich with leftovers from taco night. Use leftover taco-seasoned chicken, seasoned ground beef, or carne asada, all of which are rich enough to really complement the queso. Or, if you don't eat meat, try this with spicy black beans instead. Just be mindful not to cram every possible topping inside the bread, as too many fillings can lead to excess moisture, which will prevent the exterior from getting properly crisp — not to mention the fact that it may be difficult to dip without half of it falling out the side! Keep the fillings relatively restrained, and let the queso provide the excess instead.