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    Home » Budget Recipes

    Queso Fundido Makes for Great Tacos

    Published: Mar 25, 2017 · Modified: May 3, 2023 by Jessica Fisher

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    Queso Fundido is a delicious dish of spicy sausage and melted cheese. It makes for a great, freezer-friendly taco filling that your whole crowd will love. 

    Queso Fundido Recipe | Life as Mom this …

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    I feel like I can say I’ve now achieved “mature woman” status. I’ve got recipes that I’ve been making for over 20 years. How is that possible? If memory serves me correctly, this recipe for Queso Fundido is one of those old standby recipes for me.

    According to Wikipedia, Queso Fundido is

    a dish of hot melted cheese and spicy chorizo that is often served flambé. Often compared to cheese fondue, it is a party dish; it is popular at cookouts and in restaurants as an appetizer.

    My rendition of it has a few tweaks to it. First, I don’t care for chorizo, so I use hot Italian sausage. Bonus: it’s more readily available. My version is also more sausage than cheese, and we serve it as a main dish around here. Party on, my friends!

    Queso Fundido is super easy to make. One of the things that I love about it is that it’s super freezer-friendly. You can cook up a vat of sausage, divide it among pie plates, sprinkle on your cheese, wrap, cool, and freeze. Voila! You’ve got one of the most amazing taco fillings all ready and waiting in your freezer!

    A plate of Queso Fundido with salad and tortillas

    How to make this good and cheap:

    Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:

    • Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. When I find regular kitchen staples on sale, I buy a lot. I’m currently using a price book to track prices and that’s saving me money. For this recipe, keeping an eye on the price of bulk Italian sausage is helpful. You can also use the kind in the casings, just bulk is easier. My target price is currently $3.99 or less per package.
    • Buying in bulk – I buy my pepper jack cheese in big ginormous hunks at Costco. It offers the best unit price in my neighborhood. If you don’t go through big blocks of cheese very fast, shred it all at one time and then freeze the shredded cheese in 2-cup portions or make a lot of Queso Fundido. Shredded cheese freezes and thaws beautifully.

    Money-Saving Tip

    Remember you can freeze cheese that you won’t use right away. Package shredded or crumbled cheeses in portion sizes so you can whip up recipes in a matter of minutes.

    How I make this recipe easy:

    This recipe really couldn’t be easier than it is, but having the right kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs.

    • food processor for shredding cheese
    • a great skillet – I have two of these
    • USA pie plates – no need to grease these pans – they are awesome!
    • heavy-duty aluminum foil – great for wrapping freezer meals when your dish doesn’t come with a lid.
    Dish of Queso Fundido with tortillas

    Queso Fundido

    Queso Fundido is a delicious dish of spicy sausage and melted cheese. It makes for a great, freezer-friendly taco filling that your whole crowd will love.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Mexican
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Servings: 8 servings
    Calories: 310kcal
    Author: Jessica Fisher

    Ingredients

    • 1 lb hot bulk Italian sausage
    • 1 onion (1 cup chopped)
    • 8 oz pepper jack cheese (shredded ) (2 cups)
    • ¼ cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
    • corn tortillas preferably homemade
    • taco toppings

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a pie plate with nonstick cooking spray.
    • In a large skillet, brown the sausage and onion, breaking up the meat with the back of a spoon. Drain and spoon the mixture into an 8-inch pie dish. Cover the mixture with cheese.
      1 lb hot bulk Italian sausage, 1 onion, 8 oz pepper jack cheese (shredded )
    • Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Top with fresh cilantro. Serve with corn tortillas, sour cream, and salsa.
      ¼ cup fresh cilantro (chopped), corn tortillas, taco toppings

    Notes

    To Make Ahead: Queso Fundido is a great make-ahead meal and also makes a great freezer meal! Prepare the dish as directed, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Bake and serve as directed.
    Freeze Extra for Later: Cool the meat mixture in the baking pan completely before topping with cheese. Wrap in foil and place inside a ziploc freezer bag. Label, chill, and freeze. Thaw before proceeding with the baking directions.
    Serving Suggestions: Serve Queso Fundido as you would other taco fillings in tortillas or atop a rice bowl.
    How to Make a Meal Prep: Prep the dish and divide it into single-serve containers for meal prep. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat before serving.
    Make a Plan for Leftovers: Leftover are great reheated the next day. Promptly refrigerate leftovers and use within 4 days.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 310kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 567mg | Potassium: 196mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 251IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 226mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Tell us what you think! Your reviews help us develop better recipes and give newcomers the confidence to try your favorites. Scroll down to leave a starred comment.
    Queso Fundido Recipe | Life as Mom
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Debbie

      December 10, 2024 at 6:00 am

      5 stars
      This looks so good and will be a great change-up to my regular taco night. Can’t wait to try it!

      Reply
    2. Carol

      May 10, 2017 at 4:20 pm

      This was easy and delicious and used some bulk sausage from the freezer! Win, win, win! Thank you. Served with l.o. herby rice, broccoli and salad.

      Reply
      • Jessica Fisher

        June 26, 2017 at 1:43 pm

        So glad you liked it!

        Reply
    3. Lori

      May 03, 2017 at 6:23 am

      My husband’s stamp of approval on a meal goes something like this, “Hon, you could make this once a week!” This recipe got that stamp!

      Reply
      • Jessica Fisher

        May 03, 2017 at 7:28 am

        Woohoo! Yay!

        Reply
    4. Sarah

      March 26, 2017 at 6:06 am

      This sounds delicious! If I do it as a freezer-meal, could I reheat in a slow cooker? We have a lot of evenings that we need to come home to “ready to go” dinner, and I’d love to try this one.
      Also, have you ever tried with homemade sausage? I rarely buy sausage, but use I cook ground beef or turkey with a sausage seasoning mix and use in place of purchased sausage.
      Thank you!

      Reply
      • Jessica Fisher

        April 03, 2017 at 3:43 pm

        I’ve never tried it in the slow cooker since it reheats in about 15-20 minutes. I think the cheese might get funny cooking for so long, but maybe you could heat the meat and add the cheese near the end?

        I’ve not tried it with homemade sausage because we like this dish really spicy and I’ve yet to master spicy homemade sausage.

        Reply
    5. Stephanie

      December 10, 2014 at 1:45 pm

      after scouring the web endlessly a million times looking for new dinner ideas each night, I decided to try weekly meal plans. The first one I tried included this recipe. I was skeptical, because I am not a big pork fan – I just don’t like the flavor. But I sucked it up and made this because I knew my husband would love it. And to my surprise- it was amazing!!!! He asked for it again and I am more than willing!

      Reply
      • Jessica Fisher

        December 10, 2014 at 2:54 pm

        YAY! So glad to hear it. This is one of my favorites, too.

        Reply
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    Hi, I'm Jessica! I'm a 4x cookbook author and 6x mom. I know what it is to be in a hurry and on a budget. I believe anyone can prepare delicious meals -- no matter what's on their plate. I've been featured on Good Morning America, PBS News Hour, and NBC.

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