With a menu that veers toward Southwest flavors, queso is a must-have for Chili’s Grill & Bar. But its previous queso iterations—Skillet Beef and White Skillet Queso—each accounted for just 1% of total sales.
It was time for a queso upgrade, said Brian Paquette, director of culinary for the Dallas-based casual-dining chain. “We wanted our queso to match the quality of our salsa and chips and reflect the quality we’re after with the entire menu,” he said.
Indeed, Chili’s has been on a mission to improve its core menu, with signatures like baby back ribs and frozen margaritas both getting a quality makeover recently. Those upgrades, along with more attention to ambience, operations and service, have contributed to Chili’s skyrocketing sales and traffic. The restaurant brand has posted five straight quarters of double-digit growth, with same-store sales increasing 24% in the fourth quarter.
But creating a worthy queso took two years of R&D and numerous iterations.
Make it fresh and appealing
Paquette's ultimate objective was to create the best queso to enjoy alongside the chain’s popular chips and salsa. “Our goal was to develop a more widely appealing queso with good, cheesy flavor,” said Paquette. Color and freshness cues were also priorities.
Working with supplier partners, Paquette and his team tested 30 to 40 samples to land on the one with the best base flavor, texture and color. Not only did they want to serve the queso as a dip for chips, it was designed to do double duty as a nacho topping and a dippable side for fajitas. After eight or nine revisions, they hit on a winner.
The final Southwestern Queso delivers on all fronts. It’s a smooth blend of American and cheddar cheeses with flavor and color enhancements from fire-roasted green chilies, sweet onions, red bell pepper and a hint of lime to convey freshness. “It’s more widely appealing than the previous two quesos and the leadership team loved it,” said Paquette.
So did guests and Chili’s restaurant teams. In a taste test, nearly 70% of respondents said they preferred the new flavor profile of Southwestern Queso compared to the former Skillet Beef Queso. “The cheesy flavor and mellow orange color resonate really well with Chili’s menu,” said Paquette.
Compatible line extensions
The new queso is available as a standalone hot appetizer with chips and house-made salsa, with prices starting at $10.99. It can also be ordered as part of the menu’s Dip Trio with other choices including guacamole, salsa and house-made ranch; the three dips come with chips, priced at about $13.99. And a side of Southwestern Queso comes along with a Sizzlin’ Fajitas entree.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Nachos get a topping of queso.
The Southwestern flavors pair particularly well with a new nachos combo the culinary team developed. Chicken Bacon Ranch Nachos feature chicken and bacon bits, topped with Southwestern Queso, pico de gallo, sour cream and a drizzle of house-made ranch. Prices start at $14.79.
While some fans are lamenting the demise of Skillet Beef Queso on social media, others are singing the praises of Chili’s new queso. To convince the disappointed, the chain is offering My Chili’s rewards members free Southwestern Queso and chips through Oct. 21.