Chili's replaced its skillet beef queso with a new southwestern queso.
A Chili's Grill & Bar in Peoria, Illinois is seen on Nov. 3, 2025.

After two months of absence and an outpouring of disappointment on social media, Chili's is bringing back a beloved appetizer: the skillet queso.

The restaurant chain traded out its longtime cheese appetizer for a new recipe in October, to the dismay of some customers and fans.

But starting next week, Chili's has confirmed to USA TODAY that the original queso is coming back. Chili's first teased the move on social media in late October, only a few weeks after introducing its new southwestern queso, which replaced the skillet beef and white queso options on the menu.

For those who have missed the skillet queso and are eagerly awaiting its return, here's what you need to know about its arrival.

When will Chili's skillet queso be back?

Two social media posts by Chili's designate Tuesday, Dec. 9 as the first day that skillet queso will be back on menus, which the chain confirmed to USA TODAY.

The first post from Oct. 27 hinted at the cheesy dish's potential return, with the words "We tried to killet, but you love the skillet" over a picture of the beloved skillet beef queso.

A second post with the words, "You know what they say. If you love something, let it go. And then bring it back 63 days later" alerted fans that the queso is officially set to return next week.

What did Chili's replace the skillet queso with?

The restaurant debuted its southwestern queso in October, which the chain said features a blend of American and cheddar cheeses, green chiles, sweet onions and a hint of lime.

"The new queso delivers a smooth texture and Southwestern flavors that are the perfect pairing for Chili's iconic tortilla chips," Chili's said.

The chain confirmed that the southwestern queso will remain on the menu even after the skillet beef queso returns, but the white skillet queso will not be brought back to restaurants.

Social media reacts to skillet queso coming back

People initially took to social media to express their disappointment in the removal of the skillet queso from the menu, including remarks like "I just found out @Chilis got rid of it's Skillet Queso and I'm fully outraged. What happened to this country I love," from user @jga41agher on X.

Chili's comment section has since become much happier following the announcement. Many of the comments thank Chili's for bringing the dish back, including ones like "MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED," "dreams do come true," and "I just cried tears of joy."

This story has been updated to add new information.

Contributing: Melina Khan, USA TODAY

Kate Perez covers national trends and breaking news for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kperez@usatodayco.com or on Twitter @katecperez_.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: It's back! Chili's skillet queso to return 2 months after menu removal

Reporting by Kate Perez, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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