Many taco dip recipes require sour cream, an ingredient that I do not always have around. The recipe below is my version, and can easily be doubled, tripled, etc. In addition to being a delicious dip for chips or vegetables, it can be thinned with an extra half cup of sauce and served over pasta. When using it that way, I prefer to refrain from baking it, and instead add it to a large saucepan with cooked macaroni and a half cup or so of the pasta water, then top with the cheddar just before serving. A good dip is a great multitasker as well as a thrifty, quick way to feed unexpected guests.
Cream Cheese Taco Dip
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon taco seasoning (see recipe below)
- 1/8 – 1 teaspoon hot sauce (I like Frank’s)
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, whip the cream cheese until smooth. Add the tomato sauce, taco seasoning and hot sauce and beat for two minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. (Of course, this can also be done by hand.)
Spread the mixture into a 9×5 loaf pan (or whichever dish you prefer) and spread the cheddar cheese evenly on top. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheddar is completely melted and bubbly.
Remove from the oven and let cool until warm. Serve with desired dipping vessels, such as pita chips, sliced vegetables, or crostini.
Taco Seasoning (Or you can use this recipe for Taco Seasoning)
- ½ cup chili powder
- ¼ cup ground cumin
- 3 tablespoons onion powder
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Store in an airtight container.
Find all our other DIY recipes that we’ve posted. Love cream cheese? Next you might want to try this awesome Cream Cheese Danish recipe!
Have you ever made Cream Cheese Taco Dip? What is your favorite food item to “dip”?
I like this idea because I usually have cream cheese on hand. We like to dip corn tortilla chips.
Stopping by from Mop It Up Monday. Thanks for sharing! http://queenofsavings.com
We make something similar but I put cream cheese into a cake pan and smoosh it all down so the whole bottom is covered. Pour salsa on top to make an even layer to cover the cream cheese. Then you sprinkle with the cheese of your choice and bake in the oven until the cheese is all melted. We then use corn tortilla chips so it makes it a gluten free item as well.
Oh yes, this is my kinda food! Yum. Thanks for linking it up to Monday Funday!
I’m drooling! This looks SO good! Pinning to make later! I found you at Lil’ Luna–thanks for sharing!
~Abby =)
This looks wonderful! I’ll be pinning so I can refer back to it next time I need a quick dip idea. Thanks so much!
This looks great! Stopping by from Lil Luna 🙂
RamblingReed.blogspot.com
This is a great dip, Amanda. We will really enjoy this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing this awesome recipe with Full Plate Thursday and have a great weekend!
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Hope you are having a great week and thank you so much for sharing your awesome recipe with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
I was just going to let you know that I clicked on the chicken nugget dip recipe and it redirected me to this page.
Fixing that now…here is the correct recipe: https://www.littlehouseliving.com/real-food-road-trip-snacks-chicken-nuggets-dip.html
My daughter makes a warm dip using the cream cheese & rotel tomatoes and she will add cooked jimmy dean sausage…it is yummy!
This was a good dip – didn’t follow the exact recipe because I wanted to use what I had on hand, lol. Substituted 1/2 cup salsa for the tomato sauce and taco seasoning (I couldn’t justify opening a pint of sauce to use 1/2 cup, but I knew we would consume the leftover salsa fast enough), and used pepper jack because I didn’t have any cheddar on hand. It was great! and fast and easy. Thank you for the recipe!
thank you
Hi Amanda! The recipe looks so yummy! Great for serving at holiday parties or anytime! Thanks for sharing the recipes! Blessings from Bama!