Trader Joe's Spicy Queso Dip

I'm not gonna lie. This is some of the best queso dip I've ever had. From the white cheddar cheese to the jalapeño, chipotle, and bell peppers to the spices and seasonings in the background, Trader Joe's Spicy Queso gets a solid thumbs up from both Sonia and me.

The spice level is just about right for us. I think we might have wanted something spicier during our Los Angeles years, but time on the East Coast and Midwest have tamed our tongues just a tad. We still like spicy foods, but our tolerance has waned considerably. I have a theory that the relatively arid climate in SoCal dulls one's taste buds and requires spicy foods to wake them up. Anyway, this product has a nice moderate kick but doesn't come close to making us uncomfortable.

It's nice and smoky thanks to the chipotle flavors. It's creamy, thick, and it coats quite well. There are actually little pieces of pepper floating all throughout the sauce. Sonia and I made some loaded nachos with this, black beans, lettuce, chicken, and sour cream. You can see the product in its purest form by itself, though, so that's the pic we left you with above. Plus, it's plenty tasty enough on its own with nothing but tortilla chips. That's one of Trader Joe's Unsalted Organic White Corn Tortilla Chips up there...in case you were wondering.

There are heating instructions given on the little tub. It says to remove the lid and place a damp paper towel on top but they want you to keep the queso in the plastic and microwave for 30 second intervals. Since we didn't eat the whole tub in one sitting (though we probably could have) we just put our portion in another small bowl and nuked it for about 20-25 seconds. Also, we don't like microwaving stuff in plastic if we can avoid it, even if the container is microwave safe in theory.

And there's probably a lot more you could do with this stuff besides the obvious chips and cheese routine. I could see using it as a sauce for tacos, burritos, or enchiladas, drizzling it over a baked potato, or spooning some onto a burger or grilled chicken sandwich. It would also make a pretty killer dipping sauce for fries, taquitos, or just about anything else that benefits from being dunked into a vat of warm, cheesy goodness. We only scratched the surface with our nachos, but the tub didn't last long enough to do anything much more fancy.

$3.99 for 10 oz, comes refrigerated. Would buy again. Eight and a half stars from this guy for Trader Joe's Spicy Queso Dip with Jalapeños and Smoky Chipotle. Sonia will go with nine out of ten.

Bottom line: 8.75 out of 10.