If you have some roasted green chile, this delicious little appetizer takes only 20 minutes to make. Your guests will love it.
*See Kitchen Notes for substitutions and further information.
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 cup sharp or aged cheddar cheese, grated
- 4 ounces mild/medium roasted red or green chile*, minced
- 1 roasted hot chile pod*, minced
- 1 Tbsp. minced green olives
- 2 Tbsp. minced cilantro
- 1 Tbsp. minced onion
- ¼ tsp. red chile spice blend*
- juice from 1 lime
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Add the three cheeses to a large bowl. Using a fork toss together to evenly distribute and combine.
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Add the remaining ingredients. Toss together to distribute and combine.
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With a spatula, continue to stir the mixture until the cheese starts to break up and all of the ingredients come together evenly distributed.
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Transfer to a serving bowl. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
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If refrigerated, remove about 30 minutes before serving. Best at room temperature or just a little cool.
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Served with crackers, baked flour tortilla chips, or any unsalted chips.
Roasted Chile – The batch of roasted chile cheese in the pictures was made with roasted red New Mexico chile (mild and hot). Roasted red provides a sweetness like that of pimentos or red bell pepper, but a different flavor and more spice. However, roasted pimento or sweet bell pepper could be used as a substitute. You could also used roasted green chile instead of red or a little of both. Just use a little medium or hot in order to give a spicy kick.
Hot chile pod – For the spiciness, add a little hot chile (e.g. jalapeno, poblano, serrano), red or green.
Red Chile Spice Blend – If you don’t have the blend, substitute with 1/4 tsp. red chile powder, a dash each of garlic powder, onion powder, chipotle powder or smoked paprika.