Do you love cream cheese bean dip? This delicious dip is suitable for any occasion, and the great news is that it isn’t hard to make it yourself at home. This dip goes beautifully well with all kinds of foods, and it’s ideal for parties and buffets, no matter who is coming. Make sure you have a generous amount, because it’s bound to be popular!
How To Make Cream Cheese Bean Dip
You will need:
- Refried beans: this recipe depends on being stuffed with a filling, satisfying mix of refried beans.
- Sour cream: most of the flavor comes from the sour cream, which gives the dip a delicious tang and makes it rich and moist.
- Mexican cheese: you can use another kind of cheese if you prefer, but Mexican cheese will give you the classic flavor and texture, and it’s perfect with the sour cream.
- Cream cheese: to ensure that the recipe is creamy as well as tangy, you need a good scoop of soft cream cheese to mix in. You will find that full fat gives you the best flavor.
- Seasoning: taco seasoning is the best choice for this dip and should be easy enough to find.
- Salsa – this is an optional extra to give your dip that “pop” that will make it stand out.
Tips & Tricks
You can make some amazing variations of this recipe, so don’t feel you have to just stick to what’s written above! Let’s look at a few options:
- Mix in a spicy seasoning to give this a fiery boost. Sprinkle a bit of your seasoning on top of the cheese too; the color should help to indicate to your party-goers that the dip is on the hot side.
- Add a pinch of your favorite herbs to lift the flavor.
- Mince up some garlic and stir it into the dip.
- Shred some chicken or grind up some beef and add these to bump up the amount of protein in the dip.
- Consider adding other cheeses to the recipe. You can either swap out the Mexican cheese entirely, substitute some of it, or just add the other cheese too. Mozzarella and cheddar will both taste great and should lend the dip a delightful stringiness.
- Sprinkle some chopped fresh herbs over the top once the dip is cooked to make it look pretty.
- Don’t work with cold cream cheese. The cream cheese needs to be soft to pull everything together, so make sure you remove it from the fridge in advance, or lightly warm it before you make the dip. Cold cream cheese will not work well.
- Serve it with a variety of dipping options; it goes well with chips, fresh vegetables, pitta bread, fritos, etc. It’s also exellent with crackers and breadsticks.
FAQs
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Do I have to use sour cream?
You should use sour cream or something similar for this dip. If the dip is made with just cream cheese, it will taste greasy and heavy. If you haven’t got any sour cream, try some natural Greek yogurt instead.
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How should you store this dip?
You should put your dip in the fridge as soon as it is room temperature, especially if you have added any meat. Keeping it chilled will help it to last well.
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How do you reheat this dip?
You should place this dip in the microwave to reheat it. Reheat on low in short bursts so that the heat can spread through the dish. Insert a knife into the center to check that it is hot throughout before serving.
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Can you make refried dip early and keep it in the fridge?
Yes, you can make the dip in advance, but instead of baking it, place it in the fridge. When you are ready to eat it, get it back out of the fridge and bake it as above, but give it an extra 5 minutes or so in the oven. This will ensure that it is heated throughout.
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Can you make this dip in a slow cooker?
Yes, as long as you’ve got a few hours to spare. Stir all the ingredients except for the cheese together, and then add half your mix to the slow cooker. Top it with cheese, and then add the other half and top that with cheese. Cook on low until the cheese has melted, for up to 3 hours.
Other Dip Recipes
Conclusion
Cream cheese bean dip is a must-have recipe for anyone, and it’s great at parties in particular. It’s a satisfying, creamy dip that is also very filling. You can alter the recipe easily to suit your preferences, making it super versatile too.