Layered Taco Dip
This Layered Taco Dip is always the appetizer at the party that everyone crowds around. It’s meatless, and because none of the ingredients need to be cooked, it comes together in just a few minutes.
What is Layered Taco Dip?
Sometimes called 7 Layer Taco Dip or Cream Cheese Taco Dip, this Mexican flavored appetizer is a series of ingredients layered into a dish, and served cold.
The utensil to get this dip into your mouth is a salty, crunchy corn chip which makes this dip one best party recipes of all time!
My version doesn’t contain any meat, so that makes my vegetarian friends happy, but it also helps prevent this taco dip from getting watery or greasy.
What do you need?
- cream cheese, softened (I use this reduced fat one to save some calories)
- sour cream (I prefer this light one, again to save a few calories without sacrificing flavor)
- taco seasoning packet
- refried beans (I like fat free beans like these)
- salsa
- guacamole
- shredded cheddar cheese
- shredded lettuce
- diced tomatoes
- sliced black olives
How do you make Layered Taco Dip?
In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together the softened cream cheese, sour cream and taco seasoning with a hand mixer.
Use a spatula to spread the seasoned sour cream mix into a 9×13 baking dish in an even layer.
Open the can of refried beans and empty them into a bowl. There is no need to heat the beans. Simply use a fork to mash them a bit to soften them up, making them more spreadable. Layer the beans on top of the seasoned sour cream.
After you get those two layers as the base of the dish, there are really no rules to the layers. I prefer to alternate creamy and texture, so this is the order that I tend to make the layers,
Open the jar of salsa and spread that on top of the bean layer. I typically use a mild heat salsa so that my kiddos will eat it, but feel free to use a medium or hot salsa if you like a bit more kick.
Next, I add the guacamole layer. You can definitely use homemade guacamole here if you prefer. I don’t typically love store bought guacamole as I find that it doesn’t have as much flavor as homemade. But because there are so many other flavors going on around it in this dish, store bought works just as well.
If I can find it, I like to get one in a squeeze tube as it makes it easier to evenly disburse it on top of the wet salsa layer. If you can’t find a squeeze tube, spoon guacamole into a ziplock baggie and snip one of the corners. Squeeze the guac out of the baggie like you would squeeze frosting out a piping bag.
Next, add shredded cheddar cheese.
Top the cheese layer with shredded lettuce. Make sure that your lettuce is completely dry. Otherwise the moisture from the lettuce will make your dip watery.
Sprinkle diced tomatoes on top of lettuce.
Finish by adding sliced black olives over the top of the dish.
How do you serve Layered Taco Dip?
In my opinion there are only two chips that should be served with this dip.
- Fritos Scoops : they are thick and sturdy and shaped like a spoon so they are practically begging to be used to shovel a bite of taco dip into your mouth.
- Tostitos Bite Sized Rounds: these are a thinner chip so the flavors of the dip are more prevalent, but they are not too thin that they break under the weight of the dip. Plus each chip is the prefect bite size.
Looking for other quick and easy party dip ideas? Try my Pretzel Dip or Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip with a tray of fresh cut veggies.
Can you make this dip ahead of time?
You can make this dip a few hours ahead of time, just make sure to keep it refrigerated until its time to serve everything stays fresh and crisp. .
Layered Taco Dip
Equipment
- 1 medium mixing bowl
- 1 electric mixer
- 1 9 x 13 pan
Ingredients
- 8 oz reduced fat cream cheese softened
- 1 c light sour cream
- 1 pack taco seasoning
- 16 oz can fat free refried beans
- 15 oz jar salsa
- 1 c guacamole
- 2 c shredded lettuce
- 1 c tomatoes diced
- 2 oz can sliced black olives
Instructions
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together the softened cream cheese, sour cream and taco seasoning with a hand mixer. Use a spatula to spread the seasoned sour cream mix into a 9×13 baking dish in an even layer.
- Open the can of refried beans and empty them into a bowl. No need to heat the beans, simply use a fork to mash them a bit to soften them up and make them more spreadable. Layer the beans on top of the seasoned sour cream. After you get those two layers as the base of the dish, there are really no rules to the layers. I prefer to alternate creamy and texture, so this is the order that I tend to make the layers.
- Open the jar of salsa and spread that on top of the bean layer. I typically use a mild heat salsa so that my kiddos will eat it, but feel free to use a medium or hot salsa if you like a bit more kick.
- Next add the guacamole layer.
- Add shredded cheddar cheese.
- Top cheese layer with shredded lettuce. Make sure that your lettuce is completely dry. Otherwise the moisture from the lettuce will make your dip watery.
- Sprinkle diced tomatoes on top of lettuce.
- Finish by sprinkling sliced black olives over the top of the dish.
- Serve with Fritos Scoops or Tostitos Bite Sized Rounds.
