Hot Taco Dip
Hot Taco Dip is warm, creamy, and loaded with taco seasoned beef, cream cheese, cheddar, salsa, and cilantro for an addictive party appetizer or tailgating snack!
If you're a fan of decadent gameday dips, you'll also love Buffalo Chicken Dip, Beef Enchilada Dip, and The BEST Corn Dip!
Football season is upon us (YAY), and with that, gameday grub is back (DOUBLE YAY)! In honor of this glorious time of year, I feel compelled to share a cheesy, decadent recipe for Hot Taco Dip.
Ingredients
I actually came up this recipe a couple of weeks ago as my family settled in to watch our first football game o' the season. They requested that I whip up some queso, but upon surveying the contents of my refrigerator, I had other ideas.
Ground beef, salsa, cheddar, cilantro...yep, this was going to be a step up from plain ol' cheese dip.
I decided to round things out with some taco seasoning plus the obligatory ingredient that makes any dip better: cream cheese!
And the final result was this absolutely amazing and positively addictive Hot Taco Dip!
It's hard to believe that basic ingredients can transform into something so melty and gooey and delicious.
In many ways, this is reminiscent of my All-Natural Chili Cheese Dip, but with a Tex-Mex twist.
Truth be told, despite having some ingredients in common, today's recipe is much quicker and easier to make.
How to Make It
- Simply brown and drain a pound of ground beef.
- Stir in taco seasoning.
- Add softened cream cheese, grated cheddar, salsa, and cilantro to the pot -- along with enough milk to make things smooth and creamy -- and stir until well combined and melty.
That's. It. Bust open a bag of tortilla chips and dig in!
Keeping It Warm
As its name implies, this recipe is intended to be a hot dip so I highly recommend keeping it warm while serving.
A small (3-ish quart) crock pot set on warm works beautifully.
Or serve it straight off the stove top!
This recipe is guaranteed to be the hit of your party...or tailgate...or get-together...or family TV-watching session. Truly, regardless of the occasion, you can't go wrong!
So who's ready for some football? And who just wants an excuse to eat dip for dinner?
Hot Taco Dip is the answer...either way.
More Football Friendly Grub
- Ultimate Bean Dip
- Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Soup
- 3-Ingredient Caramel Apple Cheesecake Dip
- Bacon Cheeseburger Monkey Bread
Hot Taco Dip
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 3 tablespoons Homemade Taco Seasoning, or 1 packet store-bought
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 1 cup salsa, mild, medium, or hot
- ¼ cup packed finely chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup milk, plus additional if desired
- Tortilla chips, for serving
Instructions
- Set a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink, breaking apart and stirring as the meat cooks. Once the meat is browned, drain the grease from the skillet and stir in the taco seasoning. Cut the cream cheese into cubes and add them to the pot, along with the cheddar, salsa, and cilantro. Stir until are ingredients are combined and melted. Stir in the milk until smooth and creamy, adding additional milk for desired consistency, if necessary. Serve immediately with tortilla chips.
Notes
- After making the dip on the stove, it may be transferred it to a small slow cooker set to warm to keep it hot while serving (be sure to stir occasionally).
- The heat of the salsa you use is going to determine how spicy this dip turns out.
- Feel free to jazz up this dip by incorporating additional ingredients, such as black beans, diced tomatoes, diced avocado, pico de gallo, whatever you like!
Nutrition
Great tasting recipe, thanks for sharing, super popular whenever I make it (except for my one daughter whose impossible). I highly recommend the "jazzing it up" notes. I personally use about 0.5-0.75lb ground beef and sub with a can of black beans before adding seasoning (then crush some of the beans while mixing in seasoning); use 1/2-3/4 of an 8oz brick of cream cheese and sub with extra grated cheddar; and, prior to serving, I go heavy with chopped red/yellow pepper, avocado and sometimes tomato.