Roasted Broccoli and Cheddar Queso

There is a very fine line between some soups and some dips. Sometimes I like to walk that line and sometimes I like to dance back and forth across it, creating dishes that you’ll want to dip bread in or chips in or eat with a freakin’ spoon. This Roasted Broccoli Queso takes what is normally a soup into dip territory.

The only reason this Broccoli and Cheddar Queso isn’t a soup is that it’s just too thick. You couldn’t eat a bowl of it by yourself or at least you shouldn’t eat a bowl of it by yourself. So we’ll call it a dip and proceed.

How to roast the broccoli

There are a bunch of ways to prepare broccoli and I prep the stuff differently depending on the dish. Sometimes I’ll steam it or blanch it, keeping it bright green and slightly crunchy. But for this Broccoli and Cheddar Queso, I wanted to intensify the broccoli flavor and also pull out as much moisture as possible. So I decided to roast it.

I just chopped my broccoli into florets and then drizzled them with olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Roast the florets for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Stir them a few times as they bake to make sure they don’t just burn on one side.

When the broccoli is done roasting, let it cool so you can handle it and then chop it into smaller pieces. I like to use the natural breaks in the broccoli to chop it into tinier florets.

This is ready to mix into the queso now! Luckily, while the broccoli is roasting you should be able to complete the queso.

Making the Queso

I have many queso recipes on Crunch Time Kitchen. Sometimes I like a really standard one, but for this version I took some pages out of my microwaved queso dip which ends up being close to a Velveeta situation. This goes well with the broccoli and also won’t harden up super fast so no rush to eat it.

I used a mix of cheddar cheese and American cheese for this version.

Add the butter to a medium pot over medium heat and once it’s melted, add in the granulated onions and green peppers. If you are using fresh onions, grating the onions helps them melt into the dip a bit so you don’t have any huge onion chunks. Not an essential step, but it’s a nice touch.

Personally, I just use dried onion flakes which works well in a dip like this.

Cook this until the onions soften, about five minutes. Then add the flour and whisk it into the onions and peppers, forming a roux.

Continue to cook this for another minute or two until the flour is a very light tan color. It will help cook some of the flour taste out of the roux.

Then slowly whisk in the evaporated milk and whole milk and it should thicken immediately.

Once all your milk is whisked in, add in that cheese!

Once the cheese is melted your queso is basically done. Don’t forget to season it with salt and pepper.

Gently stir your broccoli into the queso and you’re ready to rock.

You could serve this with almost any bite-sized snack. It would be good with raw veggies like carrots, pita chips, tortilla chips, or little toasts.

I used chips for my version but almost anything is good with this broccoli queso!

Whether you call it a dip or a soup, it’s messy. And delicious.

I think I could even get a few broccoli haters I know to give this a shot.

Here are a few other great broccoli recipes!

• Charred Broccoli Grilled Cheese
• One Pot Broccoli Cheddar Mac
• Broccoli Cheddar Casserole
• Parmesan Ranch Roasted Broccoli from The Salty Marshmallow