Tex-Mex is a popular thing in the United States, and not just in the American Southwest. From Taco Bell to mom-and-pop local restaurants, you’re liable to find tacos, burritos, and nachos even in small Midwest towns. Most grocers carry a range of Mexican-inspired products, be it taco shells, salsa, Mexican cheeses, refried beans, and so on.
Aldi carries a pretty decent selection of Tex-Mex, both in its Regular Buy section and, occasionally, in its ALDI Find (Special Buy) area. Most of it is under the Casa Mamita private label.
Not too long ago, I noticed that one of Aldi’s Regular Buy Tex-Mex offerings, Casa Mamita Salsa Con Queso, came in second in a grocery store taste test over at Serious Eats. Intrigued, we decided to put the queso to our own test on the weekend of the Big Game.
Aldi’s queso is a Regular Buy, meaning you can find it in stores all the time. At the time of this post, the queso runs $1.95 for a 15-ounce jar, which is a lot less than the name-brand queso we see at our regional big-inventory grocery stores. It comes in the typical vacuum-sealed glass jar, meaning you can store it at room temperature until you open it, after which you should refrigerate it. The jar, incidentally, is recyclable.
The jar doesn’t come with any preparation instructions, although making it isn’t hard. This queso is best served warm, and you can get it there in a number of ways. By far the easiest is the microwave, but you could also heat it in a saucepan or Crock Pot if you really wanted to. If you microwave it, I would strongly suggest putting however much you need in a separate microwave safe-dish, and then heating it until it reaches the desired temperature, stirring it every so often to make sure it’s heated consistently.
I was pretty impressed with this queso. It heats up easily, and it keeps a pretty good consistency even after it has cooled a little. The taste really is fabulous: it’s a rich flavor with a modest amount of kick. I don’t know if I’d call it a full medium, but it’s a step above mild … and even as someone who doesn’t really like spicy foods I thought it had a nice kick.
I wasn’t alone. The people we had over for company devoured this cheese.
Nutritionally, there are a couple of considerations. One, it is — like most jarred quesos — heavily processed, with a long list of ingredients. (You could make a homemade queso with a lot fewer.) Two, it is fairly high in sodium and also has some fat.
Nutrition and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
The Verdict:
As con queso dips go, this is a pretty legitimate one. The texture and taste are both very good, and it’s easy to make. Recommended.
Really enjoy this dip, about half the cost of the name brand competitor at most grocery stores. It’s also marked down to $1.59 or $1.79 fairly regularly. It works perfectly when making my own version of a nacho cheese chalupa.
I have been using this queso for a year or more and lately have noticed the color and flavor are different! It looks more orange and yet has a bland taste. What is going on with production? Also back in December-January the shelves were empty and this item was not restocked until February 2020. The taste and appearance have changed in such a way that I might have to go elsewhere for this.
Yes! I used to go to aldi FOR this stuff. Now I stopped buying it all together. They changed something and its gross
Omg it has changed 😭😢it’s awful now
Went to 4 different Aldi’s and could not find ANY on the shelves. What gives?????
It has not been in stock consistently in my local stores for the last month or two. I think it’s yet another item suffering from hiccups in the supply chain during the pandemic.
I have been buying this for many years at Aldi. When I didn’t live near one, I would buy multiple jars of it at a time so I could have it for a while. Supply did seem to be short for a while during 2020-21, but it’s readily available now. The quality has always been consistent for me, if not the supply. Good stuff.