12 Store-Bought Quesos, Ranked Worst To Best

There are few things in life more pleasurable than a bowl of salty tortilla chips and a bowl of piping hot queso to dip them into. It's been the ideal pairing for icy frozen margaritas and starter for sizzling fajitas alike for centuries (okay, that may be an overstatement, but you get the point). That being said, you don't have to make a trip to your local Chili's or order Chipotle (or even try your hand at making homemade queso) to get your hands on a decent spicy cheese sauce; you can just take a stroll down your local grocery store aisle and find a jar that speaks to you. 

But the number of different queso options in the grocery store is incredibly formidable. There are seemingly endless options to choose from, from queso blanco to salsa con queso. In order to help you pick the tastiest one, I sampled several different jars from my local Walmart, both solo and with plain, salted tortilla chips. I examined the aroma, flavor, and consistency of each one before ranking them from worst to best. 

I will admit not all of these store-bought quesos were great. But there were some brands that are actually worth stocking up on for your next girls' night in or for when the craving for something spicy, creamy, and decadent arises. 

Can I tell you a secret? I've never been to Taco Bell. In terms of this ranking, I suppose it's both a blessing and a curse. How would I know if Taco Bell's jarred salsa con queso is reflective of the actual restaurant's standard of food? But on the flip side, I also am not holding this queso, nor any in this particular race, to any sort of preconceived standard. And for this, I am glad — because I can confidently and without bias call this salsa con queso downright awful.

When I opened this container, I wholeheartedly thought the cheese sauce had fused and hardened to the inside of the jar. It didn't do so much as jiggle when I scooped into it. This queso's consistency was like a block of cream cheese, and it retained very similar properties after I microwaved it. The flavor was also like biting into a cross between a cheap, sharp cheddar cheese and a block of Philadelphia cream cheese. There was some heat there (and more than I could say was offered by some other brands), but it came off as stale and far from the medium heat that was promised on the jar's label. 

Maybe if it was sandwiched into a Crunchwrap or a burrito, you wouldn't notice it. But it's not a product I'd eat straight out of the jar anytime soon. 

Tostitos is not a brand I often associate with being particularly good. I've had its tortilla chips before, and I can say that it's not a purveyor I have ever been impressed with. Sure, it can satisfy a bunch of hungry 10-year-olds at a birthday party, but how would its salsa con queso hold up to my big cheese standards?

As I expected, this medium-spiced product should only really be considered to be a medium if it's being rated as such by the aforementioned 10-year-olds. This queso has absolutely no warmth or bite to it, so much so that it wouldn't entertain an adult palate at all. Moreover, this queso's orange hue is, frankly, scary. Salsa con queso is, of course, supposed to have that orange hue to it, but the color of this product was almost like a "danger" sign. I didn't find this queso to be super gelatinous or overly thick, which I can appreciate. But it tastes fake — moreso than many of the other brands that I sampled. Its lackluster flavor and underwhelming spice were the last nail in its Tex-Mex coffin. 

No person (or product) wants to be labeled as "forgettable," but that's the word that I kept coming back to when I ate the Herdez medium queso blanco dip. First off, who ranked this queso blanco as a medium? An ant? There is not a single ounce of spice in this entire jar. Queso blanco, though it's primarily made of cheese, is supposed to have some sort of complexity and depth to it. Unfortunately, this queso blanco's flavor is just about as bland and colorless as it looks. 

Although there are tiny green pieces of peppers floating around in this queso blanco, don't be fooled. There is no warmth nor heat to accompany it. As I expected, I found that the texture was the same across both of the Herdez products that I sampled. Moreover, I didn't think I would be able to describe queso blanco as "buttery," but that sure fits the bill for this one. 

Overall, I didn't find the Herdez queso blanco as putrid as the Taco Bell or Tostitos ones, and I supposed you could just use it as a passable replacement for shredded cheese on your leftover Chipotle bowl. But ultimately, why would you even bother buying it, when there are so many more flavorful options out there? 

I was initially quite confused by On The Border's salsa con queso. I noticed two things right off the bat. The first was that the sauce had a color that was in between that of the ultra-orange salsa con quesos I had sampled from other brands and white queso blanco. I also didn't see a heat rating on the jar — so I guess On The Border was smart about not setting itself up for failure on that front. 

If I was being generous, I would say that this is a mild salsa con queso. But even mild is a stretch for something that lacks the heat and flavor I was expecting from this product. There was nothing there in terms of warmth or brightness — it just tasted like I was biting into a gelatinous cheese sauce that could be just as easily repurposed for mac and cheese. Its flavor isn't as poor as the Taco Bell and Tostitos, and the consistency is much more agreeable than both, but its blandness ultimately led to it placing towards the bottom of my ranking. 

I sampled the Herdez salsa con queso immediately after the Chi-Chi's brand, and I have to admit that as soon as I opened the container, I was immediately impressed. The texture was far more liquidy and scoopable than the Chi-Chi's (and several notches above the goopy Taco Bell and Tostitos varieties), which earned it some brownie points in my book. I also noticed that it had a fresher, brighter aroma than some of the other jarred salsa con quesos that I had sampled.

However, when I tasted the Herdez product, some immediate red flags shot up for me. The first was that the flavor of the sauce was absent. Although this queso was listed as being a medium, I had to ask, who's version of medium were we talking about? Because there wasn't any immediate piquantness or warmth that hit my tongue, nor was there an aftertaste that confirmed that this was indeed a medium-spiced queso. While I can certainly appreciate the small chunks of pepper floating around inside of this product, I really wish there would have been more going on here than just melted cheese in a jar with a slight hint of stale cumin.

Great Value is a brand known for its budget-friendly buys, and its queso blanco is no different. This jar was slightly less pale in color compared to the other queso blanco brands that I sampled. I am happy to report that this odd color didn't have any impact on the flavor of the queso, though.

The flavor in question was not something that I perceived as being "bad," but it's also not a product that I would rank as being especially "good" either. Like the On The Border product, there was no clear label as to what the spice level of this queso should be. Although I anticipated something slightly spicier, all I got was a blank canvas of mild, cheesy flavor. It's a great option for someone who is heat-averse, but its flavor is, as a whole, lackluster. I was really craving something with a unique complexity, but I guess I can't expect much from a cheap, store-bought brand like this one. 

Ultimately, when it came to this queso blanco, what I was really craving was some sort of novelty. I wanted something bright, punchy, and something that made me think and take pause. Like the other queso blancos on this list, it would be passing if you used it as a layer or as a topping for something, but not if you ate it solo out of the container. But it did have a more pleasing texture than many of the other brands. 

Chi-Chi's salsa con queso was the first product I tried out of the batch. I'll admit that its flavor is rather moderate and subdued, and it didn't give off any astounding aromas or flavors right off the bat. What I did notice, as I cracked open the lid, was that this queso was remarkably gelatinous. This subsided once I heated it up in the microwave, per the packaging's directions, but it still made me think, "Yep, this is processed cheese in a jar alright." 

The flavor of this queso was mild, as its label noted it would be. However, one of the bigger turn-offs I got from the Chi-Chi's product was that the taste was rather stale. It wasn't super bright and piquant, nor did it awaken my senses. It just left a subtle burn, just like a store-bought taco sauce or cheap jarred salsa would. I wasn't wowed nor enthused by this particular product, and I don't think I would purchase it again.

While many of the quesos on this list had an issue with being too thick and goopy, Pace's queso blanco had the opposite issue: It was far too thin for what I would have wanted from a dip. This queso easily stuck to the chips and clung on for dear life, which was a good thing, but I really was craving a cheese sauce with a thicker and more unctuous mouthfeel. 

I will give Pace some credit for its heat. This queso blanco is listed as being a medium, and it delivers on far more heat than other medium quesos in this ranking could dream of. Do I think it was hot enough to be considered a medium though? Not really. The flavor was a slight tinge on the back of my throat and tongue, but it wasn't convincing enough to make me earmark it as a solid medium. 

I could imagine drizzling this Pace queso blanco on a burrito bowl, but its thinness makes it one spread that I would not recommend reserving solely for dipping. I would have also liked to see a little more freshness in terms of heat, pepperiness, and brightness — even if nothing changes the fact that it's still cheese sauce in a jar. 

What an upset would it be if Great Value, one of the most inexpensive brands in this ranking, pulled through as the best queso brand out there? Well friend, I won't get your hopes up there. But I have to admit, this queso puts some of the other selections on this list to shame. 

This queso is clearly mild, if anything. It's thick enough to stand on its own as a dip, but doesn't cross into the gelatinous territory as some of the other selections on this list did. The flavor is salty, rather than spicy, but it's not as overwhelmingly salty as brands like Tostitos. While there are some chunks of veggies floating around in this cheesy concoction, I doubt that they're contributing to much flavor in the dip in general — which is unfortunate. 

It makes me sad to say that this Great Value salsa con queso ranks so high in this ranking not because it's good — but because it's not as awful as some of the other selections on this list. You could probably serve it in a dish at a party and no one would complain about it, or schmear it on a plate of midnight nachos to satisfy your hankering for something cheesy. But "premium" is not a word that could describe the price nor the flavor of this queso. 

The smell of a product can hint at its flavor — and maybe that's why I was so drawn in to this offering from Desert Pepper Trading Company. The smell of this queso was like taking a big whiff of freshly shredded orange cheddar. It was wholesome, inviting, and unique.

This chile con queso had one element that every single other product on this list failed to bring: flavor. And no, I'm not talking about heat. Rather, this chile con queso has the bright boost and acidity of tomatoes thrown into it. This adds a subtle, but not distracting, upgrade to this queso. The flavors seem to mesh really well with one another, and I found that the acidity from the fruits really helps lighten this dip and makes you want to go in and take another bite of it. 

On aroma and uniqueness alone, I would have placed this dip at the top of the list — it seemed like a no-brainer! However, I will admit that the primary issue with this product was that the promise of heat missed the mark entirely. After trying Desert Pepper Trading Company's queso blanco, I expected to be running to the kitchen to grab a glass of water to drown out the heat after trying the chile con queso. But instead, I was met with nothingness — no warmth, no heat, nothing piquant. And honestly, I would have expected more from this premium brand. 

Okay, heat lovers — listen up. You've waited this long to hear about a queso that actually brings the heat. And oh, do I have the product for you.

I am not someone who can appreciate a lot of heat, but I acknowledge that this ghost pepper queso from Mrs. Renfro's can really singe all of your taste buds in a single bite. Despite following through with the spicy label, I think that the heat blackened out all of the other possible flavors in the jar. All I could feel was the tongue-tingling spice of the ghost pepper. I didn't get to find the flaws with the queso because my bite was overwhelmed by that heat — it's a blessing and a curse, if you will. 

The smell of this queso is rather fresh and inviting, and the flavor is far from mild. While I can appreciate the spice that is packed into every jar of Mrs. Renfro's ghost pepper dip (and that it was the company that actually went bold with it), I can't help but wish that this queso had a better balance of flavors — or at least something to complement and bolster the spiciness, like some sort of sweetness of acidity. It's a must-try for spice lovers, but it's one that I will not be eating again. 

I was initially quite impressed by the marketing and design of Desert Pepper Trading Company's jars. It genuinely gives off the impression of artisan craftsmanship — which is a testament to the power that labeling has on consumer perception. However, this wasn't a competition for coolest jar — so, how did its queso blanco stand up to the rest? 

The truth is that this was one of the few jars that I could say, as I was tasting it, "Oh yeah, this has a little kick to it." This queso blanco is clearly a medium-spiced sauce. There are large chunks of green floating around in this sauce, which I presumed were peppers, and which contributed to its flavor. The heat was still workable and dissipated quickly, which makes this a perfect dip for someone craving heat on the palate, but not an annoying or persistent aftertaste. 

My only reservation about this queso blanco was that it didn't look very attractive when I opened the jar. The consistency was quite goopy and gelatinous, and it was honestly a bit of a turn-off. But I'm happy that I kept going, because the flavor of this queso was certainly worth it.

I purchased nationally available queso products from my local Walmart for this review. In order to try and remain as impartial as possible, I stuck to purchasing queso blanco and salsa con quesos — which were the two most widely available varieties at my store. I excluded any products from the fresh section and only stuck to jarred quesos for this review. I tasted each one cold, warmed up in the microwave according to its package directions, as well as with some salted tortilla chips to assess how well the queso could stick to the chip. 

There are several factors that I looked for in each of these products. I ranked products higher if they had a consistency that was conducive to both dipping as well as spooning over dishes, like nachos or a burrito. I also sought out products that had a spice level that matched what the label advertised. Above all, a good queso should be flavorful, rather than tasting solely of cheese, and have some unique spice that elevates it from just being shelf-stable melted cheese in a jar.