{"id":17970,"date":"2026-10-08T22:06:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T22:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yum.familyfreshrecipes.com\/wp\/?p=17970"},"modified":"2026-10-08T22:06:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T22:06:22","slug":"voodoo-ranch-smash-burger-queso","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yum.familyfreshrecipes.com\/wp\/2026\/10\/08\/voodoo-ranch-smash-burger-queso\/","title":{"rendered":"Voodoo Ranch Smash Burger Queso"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Prep Time:<\/strong>&nbsp;10 minutes<br><strong>Cook Time:<\/strong>&nbsp;20 minutes<br><strong>Servings:<\/strong>&nbsp;8\u201310<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ingredients<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>1 lb (450 g) ground beef<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>8 oz (225 g) cream cheese, softened and cubed<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2 cups shredded cheddar cheese<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1 can (12 oz \/ 354 ml) evaporated milk, or about 1\u00bd cups whole milk<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00bd cup sour cream<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1 packet (1 oz \/ 28 g) ranch seasoning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1\u20132 jalape\u00f1os, sliced, optional<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2 green onions, sliced<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00bd teaspoon garlic powder<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00bc teaspoon black pepper<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Salt to taste<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tortilla chips or crackers, for serving<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Instructions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Brown the beef:<\/strong>\u00a0Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook for about 6\u20138 minutes, breaking it into small crumbles, until browned and fully cooked. Drain excess grease.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Season:<\/strong>\u00a0Reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir the ranch seasoning, garlic powder, black pepper, and a small pinch of salt into the beef.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Add the creamy base:<\/strong>\u00a0Pour in the evaporated milk and add the cream cheese. Stir slowly until the cream cheese is completely melted and the mixture becomes smooth.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Add the cheese:<\/strong>\u00a0Add the cheddar and pepper jack a handful at a time, stirring after each addition. Keep the heat low so the cheese melts smoothly without separating.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Finish the queso:<\/strong>\u00a0Stir in the sour cream. Cook for another 2\u20133 minutes until the queso is hot, rich, and creamy. If it becomes too thick, add a splash of milk.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Add some heat:<\/strong>\u00a0Stir in half of the sliced jalape\u00f1os and green onions if desired.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Serve:<\/strong>\u00a0Transfer the hot queso to a serving bowl or small slow cooker. Top with a little extra cooked beef, shredded cheese, jalape\u00f1o slices, and green onions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Serve immediately with&nbsp;<strong>tortilla chips, toasted bread, crackers, fries, or fresh vegetables<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Slow Cooker Option<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brown the beef first, then place it in a slow cooker with the cream cheese, cheddar, pepper jack, evaporated milk, and ranch seasoning. Cook on&nbsp;<strong>LOW for 1\u00bd\u20132 hours<\/strong>, stirring occasionally. Stir in the sour cream during the final 10 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Tip:<\/strong>&nbsp;Keep the queso warm on the slow cooker&#8217;s&nbsp;<strong>WARM<\/strong>&nbsp;setting for parties. If it thickens, stir in a little warm milk until creamy again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prep Time:&nbsp;10 minutesCook Time:&nbsp;20 minutesServings:&nbsp;8\u201310 Ingredients Instructions Serve immediately with&nbsp;tortilla chips, toasted bread, crackers, fries, or fresh vegetables. Slow Cooker Option Brown the beef first, then place it in a slow cooker with the cream cheese, cheddar, pepper jack, evaporated milk, and ranch seasoning. Cook on&nbsp;LOW for 1\u00bd\u20132 hours, stirring occasionally. Stir in the sour &#8230; <a title=\"Voodoo Ranch Smash Burger Queso\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/yum.familyfreshrecipes.com\/wp\/2026\/10\/08\/voodoo-ranch-smash-burger-queso\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Voodoo Ranch Smash Burger Queso\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yum.familyfreshrecipes.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yum.familyfreshrecipes.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yum.familyfreshrecipes.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yum.familyfreshrecipes.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yum.familyfreshrecipes.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17970"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/yum.familyfreshrecipes.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17972,"href":"https:\/\/yum.familyfreshrecipes.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17970\/revisions\/17972"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yum.familyfreshrecipes.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yum.familyfreshrecipes.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yum.familyfreshrecipes.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yum.familyfreshrecipes.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}