We Got Our Hands on Chipotle’s New Queso Dip—Here’s How It Tastes

It's finally happened—Chipotle has queso.

We're not just talking about the Spanish word for cheese. We're talking about ooey-gooey queso dip, a Tex-Mex staple made of melted cheese and chilis. But how does it hold up against traditional queso?

We grabbed ourselves a cup of the dip and a bag of chips from our local Chipotle to find out.

There are two main varieties of queso dip. The first is typically found in sit-down restaurants settings and consists of a dish of melted cheese and spicy mix-ins. Because it's made of real melty cheese, it's perfectly stretchy, and if you wait too long it solidifies into a chunk of soft cheese.

The second type is usually found at fast food joints or made at home by melting a block of queso cheese in the microwave and throwing in a jar of salsa. It's more liquid than solid, with a creamy texture. Though it can feel and taste a little processed, it's typically delicious. Chipotle's queso dip resembles the latter.

But there's also something about the dip that feels less processed and like the folks at Chipotle didn't just pop it in the microwave to transform it into a dippable snack. The restaurant is focusing a lot on promoting its all-natural ingredients list, which is pretty impressive when you compare it to a chemical-filled hunk of store-bought queso cheese.

(via Chipotle)

But how did it taste? In our opinion, pretty darn good. Obviously, it's deliciously cheesy, but it's also spicy and a bit smoky. The salt and heat of the queso also pairs particularly well with Chipotle's lime-drizzled tortilla chips. We offered a taste test around the office and everyone thought it was high above par for fast food queso.

The texture is interesting, too. While you might expect it to be totally smooth, like nacho cheese from a pump, it's creamier with a texture that's more like a thick soup than a microwaved cheese. The texture verges on being grainy or mealy, but only very slightly so. It's not chalky or unpleasant in the slightest. It does feel like the restaurant is trying its best to get as close as possible to gooey queso while still using natural ingredients.

However, we do recommend eating all of your queso as soon as you get your order because the texture gets a little grainier once it begins to cool down. But if you're not a stickler for mouthfeel, don't worry because it remains just as cheesy and delicious as it was when hot.

Chipotle's queso isn't available everywhere just yet, but you can click HERE to find out if it's in stores near you. If you love chips and cheese, we think you should give it a shot.

 

If you're craving even more cheesy goodness, click HERE to find out what we thought of Cookie Good's Cheetos cookie.