Chili’s White Spinach Queso (Copycat)

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

33 Comments

4.50 from 6 votes
12 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Jump to FAQsJump to Recipe
Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Chili’s White Spinach Queso is made with fresh spinach and three cheeses, served in a still-warm skillet, in just 10 minutes.

We love cheese dips around here, like my absolute favorite, Baked Fontina Cheese Dip or Artichoke Cheese Dip. However when we go to Chili’s (I am addicted to their chips and salsa) for appetizers, I am ALL about the cheese dips.

Sabrina’s Chili’s White Spinach Queso (Copycat)

White Spinach Queso Dip can be made in many different ways and with varying ingredients. I chose to stick to Chili’s mild spinach flavor for this recipe, but you could certainly add some fun ingredients. Try adding in chopped artichoke hearts or some jalapenos. A can of finely diced tomatoes drained well would also be a great addition. Spices! Adding heat to the dish would be great, too.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Chili’s White Spinach Queso (Copycat) Recipe

Chili's White Spinach Queso made with fresh spinach and three cheeses served in a still warm skillet in just 10 minutes!
Yield 12 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Dip
Cuisine American/Mexican
Author Sabrina Snyder
White Queso in pan with chips
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 cups baby spinach leaves
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 8 ounces white American cheese
  • 2 cups Jack cheese
  • pico de gallo salsa (optional)
  • queso fresco crumbles (optional)
  • guacamole (optional)

Instructions

  • Set the oven to broil.
  • In a cast iron skillet add the canola oil on medium high heat. Add the spinach and cook until just wilted, then remove from the pan.
  • Add the butter to the pan, then the flour, stir, and cook for 20 seconds before adding in the milk slowly.
  • Add in the garlic powder and whisk well before adding in the cheeses.
  • Stir the mixture for 1-2 minutes until thick and bubbly then add in the spinach and stir.
  • Broil for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown on top.
  • Top with salsa, queso and guacamole (optional).

Nutrition

Calories: 182kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 439mg | Potassium: 94mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 875IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 363mg | Iron: 0.5mg

Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes

Pin this recipe now to remember it later

Pin Recipe

Table of Contents

Back to Table of Contents

Kitchen Tools Used

Cast Iron Skillet: This is the most used pan in my kitchen, and it will keep your queso melty the longest. Just make sure you use one that is the right size, depending on how much dip you make.

Serving Ideas

Chips: Serve with tortilla chips as a classic appetizer, but you can also vary from this a little with seasoned tortilla chips, potato chips, keto chips, or any chips you enjoy.

Bread: Serve with sliced crostini, pieces of sliced or torn french bread, pita bread, or flat bread will be great dipped in the queso.

Veggies: Use sliced vegetables as dippers for a healthy alternative. Some to try are: carrots, peppers, celery, radish, snap peas, cucumber, or any other vegetable you’d like to try.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best chips for queso?

I find that the most important thing to remember when making cheese dips is the quality of the chips. I know this is going to sound counterproductive, but the best chips I would recommend are Chili’s. They have these paper-thin, super-crispy chips that are AMAZING. You can get the chips, pretty inexpensively, directly from Chili’s. You can also try try Tostito’s Thin and Crispy and Late July Thin and Crispy from the grocery store.

What is the best pico to use to top the dip?

When it comes to choosing a good pico de gallo, I PROMISE you’ll want to use my recipe for Guapo’s Pico de Gallo. I am a huge fan of chips and salsa everywhere I go, and when I tell you this is the best restaurant salsa you will ever eat, I am not kidding.
I know the ingredients are unique, but once you mix them all up, it is your delicious, traditional restaurant pico de gallo. TRY IT, then tell me what you think about it!

More Delicious Cheese Dips

Spinach Queso Collage for Pinterest

Images used in previous versions of this post:

White Spinach Cheese Dip

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

Categories

Leave a comment & rating

Have you checked the FAQ section above to see if your question has already been answered? View previous questions.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Maximum file size: 10 MB.
Allowed formats: JPG, JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF. Drop images here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. For anyone using this recipe, use your judgement! I used extra garlic powder, salt and papper. Extra extra milk when making the rue. It turned iut AMAZING. Again just use your appropriate judgement. If you use exact recipe it wont turn out how you want. I also only used one 6oz bag of spinach CHOPPED

    Reply

  2. Any advice for why it turned out blobby and not really like queso? I’m a beginner so I probably just did something wrong.

    Reply

  5. Chef Sabrina, did you taste this after you made it? It was goopy, and very very bland. Even a novice would know that 2 tbls flour to 2 tbls butter and 3/4 cup milk is way too much flour. The taste of this had no taste. A 1/2 tsp garlic powder to all that cheese did absolutely nothing. The fact that it stated Chili’s copy cate recipe caught my eye. I should have tried Cafe Delites queso dip recipe. Next time you should try it before you post it. I wasted a lot of time, money, energy, clean up, and

    Reply

    1. I’m so sorry this comment got stuck in the spam filter and I just came across it. I’m sorry this recipe did not turn out for you, it is one we make often. I apologize for your frustration with it.

      Reply

  7. I used Velveeta Queso Blanco as the white American cheese. I also used Monterey Jack. Should it be Pepperjack? I made it and it just wasn’t anywhere near Chili’s using these cheeses. Help! 🙂

    Reply

    1. I would stick with white American cheese and jack cheese if you want the Authentic Chili’s copycat flavor. If you still want to use velveeta, definitely a pepper jack would be the better option. Hope this helps!

      Reply

    1. No, I usually just transfer it to a crockpot once it’s done to keep it on warm for parties. Just make sure to stir it every once in a while.

      Reply

  10. I would like to try this recipe. You mention it has 3 cheeses but in the recipe list only 2, American and Jack. I assume the crumbles are not part of the 3 cheeses? Is the 3rd white cheddar?

    Reply

    1. Sorry, sometimes I make a description and then adjust the recipe later – it’s only 2 cheeses. But make sure your American Cheese is the White American Cheese, not the yellow.

      Reply

  11. This looks amazing! I’m going to make it for Easter. I was wondering if I have to use whole milk, or if I can use 2%. Is there a big difference?

    Reply

  13. Oooooh my goodness! This looks amazing and is really calling my name! I fear I’d eat the whole bowl! I should try it, though, just to see if I could restrain myself! ?

    Reply

    2. But it’s not queso dip.But is not queso dip . It only has it sprinkled on top. I made it with real queso. And spinach.

      Reply