This Breakfast Staple Will Take Store-Bought Queso To The Next Level

Store-bought queso is a no-brainer of a dip that lets you avoid common mistakes when melting cheese for nachos: just open the lid, and there's your cheesy, melty goodness. However, it's absolutely possible to improve on store-bought queso's distinctive brand of perfection, especially when you incorporate another ingredient that already has cult-like status in the world of taste buds: bacon.

You may hear the words "bacon queso" and understand right away why these two foods must be combined. If not, here's why: This delightful breakfast staple's combination of saltiness, umami, smokiness, richness, and textural contrast makes it a perfect complement to the taste of queso. The saltiness enhances the dip's overall flavor profile, while the smokiness introduces a contrasting element that makes the dish more complex and interesting. Not only this, the bacon's rendered fat adds more richness and a silky texture that further enhances the queso's mouthfeel. Bacon is also rich in umami, the savory "fifth taste." Umami intensifies the flavors of protein and salt, creating a more satisfying taste experience. 

Finally, there's the textural interplay. The crispy bits of bacon provide a delightful counterpoint to the smooth, creamy queso. This, combined with all the magic happening flavor-wise, make bacon queso just shy of a sensory overload in the best way possible. Among the wide range of cheese recipes out there, this one is fated to make a repeat visit to your table.

To baconize your jar of queso, fry up the bacon in a skillet, following the directions on the package. Let it cool, and then chop it or crumble it into bacon-bit-sized pieces. You can also try a different tack, cooking your bacon in the oven. The oven, with its potential for high-volume bacon bakin', is especially nice if you're making the dip for a crowd. Regarding quantities, a typical jar of store-bought queso is 15 ounces and contains 13 2-tablespoon servings. How much cooked crumbled bacon to grace those ounces with is up to you. You could start with a ½ cup — about 8 slices — and increase from there.

Once your bacon is crumbled and ready, there's really no wrong way to get it into the queso. If you're serving the queso cold and aren't fussy about presentation, just pour it into the jar and give it a stir — you could even consider adding a splash of jalapeño juice for extra kick. However, heating up the dip is a great way to elevate the experience. Store-bought queso can simmer on the stove for five minutes or can be nuked in a microwave-safe bowl. You could include the bacon crumbles in this process, or you can sprinkle them on top of the hot cheese afterward to keep the crunch going for longer; the bacon will lose a little of its crispness the longer it luxuriates in the cheese. Then again, a dip so divine may get eaten up long before the bacon has a chance to go soft.