3-Ingredient Taco Dip With Cream Cheese

This Taco Dip with cream cheese is a quick, meatless crowd-pleaser! It's ready in just 5 minutes with only 3 main ingredients and your favorite toppings. This kind of dip is perfect for parties, holidays, movie nights, or game-day get-togethers!

Love dips with cream cheese? Try these next: baked jalapeno dip, asparagus dip, and spicy pimento cheese dip.

🛒Ingredients

• Sour cream - for a substitute, consider using unsweetened Greek yogurt or a vegan sour cream or yogurt.
• Store-bought or homemade Taco seasoning - when it comes to seasoning, you can either create your own blend with ground cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, ground chili or cayenne pepper, herbs, salt, and black pepper, or use taco seasoning mix from the grocery store. Adjust the spice level to suit the whole family's taste.
• Cream cheese - while full-fat cream cheese offers a creamy and rich flavor, you can opt for low-fat versions if you're aiming for fewer calories.

Use your favorite taco Toppings:

• Cheese - Any shredded Mexican cheese, such as Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, or cheddar cheese, or dairy-free cheese, can be used.
• Black olives - they provide a meaty texture and savory flavor. While green olives can be too salty, you can use a mix of green and black.
• Green onions - or try finely chopped red onions for a stronger flavor, or regular yellow onions. Don't skip the onion, it adds that essential zing and crunch to the taco dip.
• Tomatoes - go for diced tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, or pico de gallo if you have the time.

📋Tips

• If you like some heat, a dash of hot sauce or chopped jalapeños can spice up your delicious taco dip. Remember to adjust the quantity to your preferred level of spiciness, as they can easily dominate the other flavors in the dip.
• Before serving, refrigerate the dip. I recommend at least 30 minutes for the flavors to meld, the dip to thicken, and to keep the toppings looking fresh - add them just before serving.
• Pro Tip: Use a hand mixer for cream cheese-based dips to incorporate air, making it fluffier and easier to scoop, preventing your chips from breaking when you dip.
• To make it vegan-friendly, replace the sour cream with plain unsweetened plant-based yogurt and opt for coconut cream cheese. While the flavor will have a different profile, if you're accustomed to plant-based products, it shouldn't be a significant adjustment. Personally, I'm a fan of coconut cream cheese and frequently choose it over dairy alternatives.
• Make up to 2 days ahead and chill. Top just before serving.

👪Serving Suggestions

There are so many ways we love to enjoy this creamy dip, it is a huge hit at Super Bowl parties, football games, and many other family gatherings.

• Pair it with veggies: celery sticks, baby carrots, cucumber slices, and sliced bell peppers – these are our top picks.
• Serve it with low-carb crackers, tortilla chips, corn chips, breadsticks, crusty bread, or pita bread.
• Use it as a tasty topping or dip for grilled chicken, chicken patties, baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, salads, and tacos.
• As a sandwich spread.
• Enhance Mexican rice bowls.
• Pair with Margaritas, agua frescas, and Mexican beers.

Variations

• Create a tiered taco dip by layering ingredients in your serving dish. Begin with leftover taco meat and refried black beans as the bottom layers, then add a cream cheese layer and finish it off with toppings.
• Add Guacamole - opt for my simple guacamole or avocado crema. Or simply cut the avocado into cubes and add it as a topping.
• Lettuce - for a fresh and crisp texture, add chopped romaine or iceberg lettuce.
• Protein mix-in - cooked ground turkey, beef, chicken, are great additions. Or use Chipotle style plant-based sofritas. When using cooked meat, opt for lean choices to minimize or eliminate the need to drain excess grease.
• Add some heat: Jalapeños - fresh or jarred jalapeños or green chilies work best. If using fresh, remove the seeds and membrane for milder heat. Or incorporate a bit of salsa or taco sauce into the base layer before topping it off.

More Party Dips & Appetizers

• Pimento cheese dip
• Pear Tarts
• Avocado dip
• Corn relish
• Spicy Deviled eggs
• 10 min roasted pepper hummus

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