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Creamy Queso Rice with Steak Strips

Creamy queso rice with steak strips is a Tex-Mex skillet dinner where fluffy long-grain rice gets coated in smooth Velveeta queso and topped with seared sirloin. It’s served as a queso rice bowl with pico de gallo, cilantro, and jalapeños for a cheesy, hearty finish.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Calories: 780
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Steak strips
  • 1 lb sirloin steak
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 0.25 salt to taste
  • 0.25 black pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
Queso
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 8 oz Velveeta or processed cheese cubed
  • 0.5 cup Rotel tomatoes with green chiles
To serve
  • pico de gallo
  • cilantro
  • jalapeños for serving
Rice base
  • 2 cup long-grain white rice cooked

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet
  • 1 saucepan

Method
 

Season and sear the steak
  1. Season the steak strips with cumin, chili powder, salt, and black pepper until evenly coated. This helps create browned steak strips with strong Tex-Mex flavor.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet over high heat and sear the steak strips for 2–3 minutes until browned and cooked to desired doneness, then set aside. Leave them aside so the queso stays creamy and the steak doesn’t steam.
Make the queso
  1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add the minced garlic, and cook for 1 minute. Cook just until fragrant so the garlic doesn’t turn sharp.
  2. Add the whole milk and bring it to a gentle simmer, then add the cubed Velveeta and Rotel while stirring constantly until fully melted and smooth. Keep it at a gentle simmer for a silky queso texture.
Coat the rice and assemble bowls
  1. Toss the cooked long-grain white rice with the queso sauce until evenly coated and creamy. Stir thoroughly so every grain is coated.
  2. Divide the queso rice into bowls, top with the seared steak strips, pico de gallo, cilantro, and jalapeños. Finish with the extra queso right from the saucepan so it drips over the edges.

Notes

For the creamiest queso, melt Velveeta over medium heat with a gentle simmer and keep stirring until smooth before mixing into the rice. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; reheat gently in a skillet with a splash of milk. Freezing isn’t recommended because processed-cheese queso can break when thawed. Dietary swap: use a dairy-free processed cheese alternative and milk substitute to make a dairy-free version while keeping the same melting method.