A recipe for Tequeños con Salsa Guasacaca (Venezuelan Cheese Sticks with Green Sauce)! Strips of dough are wrapped around Queso Blanco sticks and fried until golden.
If you are still looking for party food to snack on during the New Year, these Tequeños from Venezuela are a great option! Sticks of Queso Blanco are wrapped in a thin dough and fried until golden. I paired them with Guasacaca, a smooth green sauce with avocado, onion, parsley, cilantro, pepper, vinegar, and oil. You can also serve them with tomato-based sauces. There are a few variations that include other ingredients like guava, ham, and plantain.
According to Venezuelan Cooking, the Tequeños were developed by Josefina Baez in the 1920s when she was only 15 years old. She had a catering business in Los Teques and made them as a way to use up leftover dough. Their popularity spread through Venezuela and now to neighboring countries.
Guasacaca actually keeps better in the refrigerator compared to other avocado-based sauces like guacamole. No need to push the plastic down to the top layer before storing. This sauce will stay vibrant for at least a couple of days. It is also a great sauce to pair with grilled meat.
I deep-fried the tequeños, but you can also bake them in a 350˚F oven until golden brown. If frying, be careful to only fry until they are golden. Much longer and the cheese will start to burst through the dough. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes before serving so you don’t burn yourself with hot, molten cheese.
Queso Blanco is a white melting cheese. It is available in markets featuring Latin American food and some larger grocery stores. If possible, try to find Venezuelan-style Queso Blanco.
If you only want to fry a few and store the rest for later, arrange the wrapped pieces of cheese on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer and freeze until thoroughly chilled. Transfer to a freezer-safe bag until ready to use. They can be fried straight from the freezer. I fried all the sticks at once and stored the extras in the refrigerator. Not as good as straight out of the oil, but the leftovers reheated in a 350˚F oven were still a tasty treat.
Looking for more cheese-based recipes?
Try my
- Peynirli Poğaça (Turkish Cheese Buns)
- Baked Mozzarella Sticks
- Mozzarella in Carrozza (Neapolitan Fried Mozzarella Sandwiches)
Tequeños con Salsa Guasacaca (Venezuelan Cheese Sticks with Green Sauce) Recipe
Tequeños adapted from América Latina, Guasacaca adapted from George Duran
Tequeños con Salsa Guasacaca (Venezuelan Cheese Sticks with Green Sauce)
Ingredients
Guasacaca:
- 2 avocados diced
- 1 small onion roughly chopped
- 1 green bell pepper stem removed, de-seeded, and roughly chopped
- 1 jalapeño or serrano pepper stem removed, de-seeded, and roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves peeled
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/3 cup white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup olive oil or corn oil
Tequeños:
- 500 grams (4 cups) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 250 grams (18 tablespoons) unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- 2 large eggs
- Warm water
- 24 ounces (680 grams) Queso Blanco
- Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Instructions
To make the Guasacaca:
- In a large food processor, add the avocados, onion, green pepper, jalapeño, garlic, parsley, cilantro, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Blend until combined and mostly smooth.
- Continue to run the processor while slowly pouring in the oil.
- Once smooth, transfer to an airtight container and allow to rest at room temperature for an hour before serving. If making in advance, store in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
To make the Tequeños:
- In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt.
- Make a well in the center and mix in the butter and eggs until well combined. Slowly add warm water just until dough comes together.
- Knead on a lightly floured surface until soft and smooth. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
- Slice one 12 ounce block of cheese into 6 sticks. Lay each stick on its side and cut in half lengthwise to make 12 equal sized rods. They should be about 3 inches long and 1/2 inch thick. If you have a larger block of cheese, the sticks can be halved to reach the desired size. Repeat with second block of cheese. Store in the refrigerator until ready to wrap.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Place on on a lightly floured surface and cover the other until ready to use. Roll the dough into a thin rectangle (about 1/8 inch thick) about 10 inches long. Cut into strips lengthwise about 3/4 inch wide.
- Pour about 2 inches of oil into a pan and place over medium heat to 350˚F.
- Start with one end of a cheese stick and roll a strip of dough around the cheese, slightly overlapping the layers, to cover the other end. Make sure the cheese is completely covered. Roll lightly to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and cheese.
- Fry the covered cheese, in batches, in the heated oil until just golden on all sides. Transfer to a towel-lined plate and serve after a couple of minutes with the guasacaca.
Linda Romer
These sound delicious, looking forward to trying this recipe. Thank you
Christina | Christina's Cucina
OMG, I LOVE these!! SO unique and I know they’d be so tasty took, especially with that salsa! Thanks for the great recipe.
Meg | Meg is Well
Biting into hot gooey cheesy goodness sounds amazing! I would totally probably jump the gun though and burn myself-but it would be incredibly hard to wait to bite into these!
Stephanie@ApplesforCJ
These sound like the perfect appetizer and the Guasacaca sounds like the perfect dipping sauce for a lot of things. Loving the fact that it keeps well in the fridge unlike guacamole.
Annemarie @ justalittlebitofbacon
How can you go wrong with deep fried cheese? These look awesome. I can see why they spread throughout the region. And I love the sauce!
Lauren @ Sew You Think You Can Cook
They’re like a fancy mozzarella stick and I want them all!!
Andrea Aguirre
Im Venezuelan and you punched right on face with this recipe! WE love our tequeños! you have to try arepas, quesillo and pan de jamon!
Tara
Thanks Andrea! Will definitely give those a try.
Cora
I’m sure that deep fried is better, but just how much better? I’m trying to cut down on the fat [ha ha — why have cheese-sticks, I know.]
Tara
Hi Cora! Deep-fried is definitely a lot better with the texture, but I wouldn’t say no to the baked version 🙂