Tostitos – Hot Spicy Queso

Bitter: 🟡○○○○

Salty: 🟡🟡🟡○○

Sour/Tangy:🟡🟡○○○

Sweet: 🟡○○○○

Umami: 🟡🟡🟡○○

Heat: 🟡○○○○○○○○○

Quick Flavor Notes: Cheese, garlic, spice

Recommended: Yes

Texture: Creamy with some red bell bits

Ingredients: WATER, MONTEREY JACK CHEESE (MILK, CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES), RED BELL PEPPERS VEGETABLE OIL (CORN, CANOLA, AND/OR SUNFLOWER OIL), MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, MALTODEXTRIN (MADE FROM CORN) AND LESS THAN 2% OF: PARMESAN CHEESE (MILK, CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES), MILK PROTEIN CONCENIRATE, SALT SUGAR, NATURAL FLAVORS, ONION POWDER, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, GARLIC, SPICES, DATEM, MONO- & DIGLYCERIDES, SODIUM HEXAMETAPHOSPHATE, ARTIFICIAL COLOR, XANTHAN GUM, DRIED ONION, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, MALTODEXTRIN (MADE FROM POTATO), AND YEAST.

Perhaps it’s my local grocery stores, but it’s rare to find anything beyond a “medium” heat level on the shelves. That’s why when I saw they were actually carrying on the full-on “Hot” Tostitos queso I knew I had to pick it up. Tostitos was born out of the Frito-Lay empire in 1981 after several years of market testing as a means of producing a more authentic Mexican style chip. The brand’s salsas and queso dips came later as have other less-authentic chip shapes and designs, but it remains one of the most popular brands of tortilla chips on the market.

Any shelf-stable queso is going to have some questionable ingredients and Tostitos Hot Spicy Queso is no exception. One thing I do like however is that after water, the first ingredient, the next one by volume is actual Monterey Jack cheese and this queso also contains Parmesan cheese (though I’m sure it’s the domestically produced type). The only actual pepper listed is red bell peppers so whatever is creating the heat is buried under the “spices” and “natural flavors”. This does contain several emulsifiers including one listed as DATEM, short for diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides as well as xanthan gum, modified food starch, sodium hexametaphosphate, and two types of maltodextrin (one from corn one from potato). It also has two umami boosters in the form of MSG and yeast (in addition to the Parmesan) and onion and garlic powders for additional flavors. Some artificial preservatives and artificial colors round things out.

I’m normally not a big fan of so many emulsifiers and thickening agents but after having Mrs. Renfro’s Ghost Pepper Queso in the past which despite having a few emulsifiers also had the texture of vomit, I’ll give Tostitos a partial pass here since the texture they came up with is legitimately great – smooth, creamy, and stable without any curdling. Shelf-stable creamy products can be hard to get right so I will commend them for not only managing to get the texture great but also not have this taste of fishy soybean oil (which is thankfully absent). In terms of flavor the “Hot” and “Spicy” on the label along with all of the red are overstating things by leaps and bounds. While this does have a (minimal) kick that the mild and medium versions completely lack this is still mild by any reasonable measure. There is, however, good cheese flavor and despite the bevy of artificial chemical ingredients it doesn’t taste any more artificial than any other bottled or jarred cheese sauce. I like the addition of the garlic, onion, MSG and yeast as it does give this an addictive umami flavor. There are also attractive bits of the red bell pepper inside which, while not really adding anything to the taste, do give it nice visual contrast next to the yellow cheese sauce.

I did, of course, have to start using this with some Tostitos corn chips and of course chips and queso are always a natural wonderful pairing. When room temperature this has the perfect consistency for chips (also works well heated) but when cold, while still delicious, it can be thick enough to break them. I also tried this heated up and spooned over a microwave burrito (have to keep the trashy food together) and again it works extremely well as would be expected.

Tostitos Hot Spicy Queso is far from an artisanal gourmet product but it’s clear the Frito-Lay company has some excellent food scientists as they’ve nailed the texture, flavor, and appearance of what you expect from a queso sauce. For a jarred product this is hands-down better than Mrs. Renfro’s (although really, that’s more of an indictment of Mrs. Renfro’s than anything else) though I do certainly wish this had more heat. If you’re looking for something all-natural and don’t mind that there’s no actual cheese in it then Good Heat’s team-up with La Pimenterie Queso sin Queso is an absolutely stellar alternative.