My Favorite Venezuelan Tequeños Recipe
Today, I am introducing these fabulous, irresistible bites of heaven—Tequeños, or Venezuelan Cheese Sticks. Some Venezuelans might want to kill me if they see I’m calling Tequeños cheese sticks (LOL), but in my opinion, that’s the best way to describe them.
What is Tequeños?
Tequeños are a popular meal or snack in Venezuela. They are white cheese sticks wrapped in a crunchy, slightly sweet dough. Like most delicious things, Tequeños are fried. Back home, they are a very popular snack, party, or even breakfast food. No gathering or party is complete without a platter of Tequeños. Everyone loves them – and what’s not to love? Fried dough with cheese inside? They are typically served with a dipping sauce, like Guasacaca sauce, Pink sauce, or garlic sauce. The Spicy Pink Sauce recipe that I’ve included with the recipe will 100% knock your socks off! It’s creamy and wonderful. I made the pink sauce with my eggless mayo to keep things egg-free. Most Venezuelan Tequeños recipes have eggs, but not this! I promise you won’t notice any difference. What I love more about this dough is that it’s very easy to make and great for making ahead and freezing. When needing a quick fix or when friends unexpectedly show up, you just have to fry them. Unwrap dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead with your hands until the dough is very smooth and elastic, about 2 -3 minutes. Add more flour over the surface, if necessary, and roll out into a 12 x 15-inch rectangle 1/8-inch thick. Using a knife, or a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 1-inch wide strips lengthwise to end up with 12 strips.
Flour: Standard all-purpose flour works best here. Salt: I prefer kosher or sea salt. If you only have table salt handy, I recommend reducing the amount to half. Baking powder: Make sure it’s not expired or too old Water Oil: Vegetable or canola oil – or any light-tasting oil you prefer. Milk: I like to use whole milk for cooking and baking, but you can use any milk you have handy. Sugar: Brown sugar — either light or dark brown sugar works. Fresh white cheese for frying — You can find fresh white cheese for frying at Walmart in the refrigerated section. It’s called Tropical queso de freir. Vegetable oil for frying
For the Spicy Pink Sauce, you’ll need:
Mayonnaise ( I used eggless mayo ), ketchup, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, brandy or rum, and cayenne pepper.
Step 1 – Prepare The Dough
Place the flour, salt, and baking powder into the bowl of a stand mixer with the hook attachment. Mix to combine. Add water, vegetable oil, milk, and brown sugar and mix the dough for 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Press dough into a disc, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Step 2 – Form the Tequeños
Cut the cheese block into 6 equal pieces, and then cut each piece in half lengthwise; you end up with 12 cheese sticks. Take one strip of dough and cover one of the ends of one cheese stick with dough. Continue to wrap dough around the stick in a spiral fashion, overlapping the edges until you reach the other end. Cover the other end with dough and pinch edges close to seal fully. The cheese has to be completely covered with dough. Repeat with remaining cheese sticks.
Step 3 – Fry
Add 2-inches of oil to a skillet. Heat oil to 350°F over medium heat. When the oil is hot, cook the tequeños in batches, 2 -3 at a time, turning them until all sides are golden brown. Remove tequeños to a plate lined with paper towels. Let cool for 1 minute, and serve immediately with guasacasa, garlic sauce, and/or spicy pink sauce.
Step 4 – Make the Pink Sauce (Salsa Rosada)
Mix with a fork, or wire whisk, all the sauce ingredients until smooth and creamy. If you like a sauce with more bite, add more cayenne pepper. This sauce will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.
Storing
These little finger snacks are almost always finished immediately, but here’s what to do if you have extra or want to prep them ahead of time: If you do not have a stand mixer, you can do the process by hand kneading. If you’d prefer your dough to be sweeter, you can add an extra tablespoon of sugar. Make sure you fully cover your cheese with the dough so the cheese doesn’t leak out. No one wants a cheese explosion. It is important to maintain the temperature of the cooking oil at a steady 350 ºF throughout the frying process. If the oil gets too hot at any point, remove it from heat until the temperature has lowered. Otherwise, the Tequeños won’t cook properly. I highly recommend using a frying thermometer. If you’re making a large batch of Tequeños, you can keep them warm until ready to serve. Turn your oven to 250°F and place the Tequeños covered in foil to keep warm.
Leftovers
These are best served immediately, and we rarely have leftovers. Still, if you do, you can refrigerate any leftover Venezuelan Tequeños for a couple of days and then reheat them in a 350°F oven until warmed through. You don’t want to microwave these, as the exterior will be less crispy. You can also reheat them in a toaster oven or air fryer.
Freeze
You can make these ahead of time and freeze them before frying. Simply freeze them in a single layer on a sheet pan before transferring them to a freezer bag or container. When ready to eat, you can fry them from frozen.
More Venezuelan Recipes You’ll Love!
Easy Venezuelan Roasted Chicken Venezuelan Asado Negro Venezuelan Pabellon Bowl [Video] Easy Venezuelan Cocada Venezuelan Flan Quesillo Venezuelan Polvorosas Cookies more recipes…
Recipe Card
The recipe was originally posted in August 2015, the post content was edited to add more helpful information, no change to the recipe in November 2024.
