Corn and Double Cheese Dip

Corn is in season and I love a good dip.

You can see where I’m going with this.

I especially love a dip that takes 30 seconds to make and is cool when it’s hot outside.

You can also put this dip into ramekins, top with a little extra cheese and either bake it at 400F for about 20 minutes or broil it until it’s bubbly.

Or you can spoon it onto Ritz crackers, Trisuits, or your favorite cracker and bake them as if they’re the “crust” to a mini pizza and the dip is the cheesy topping.

But it’s hot and I didn’t want to turn on the oven.

So I just bellied up to the bowl.

You will need:

Corn – if you have fresh, slice it straight from the ear, no cooking required; or use frozen or canned corn

Ro-Tel (diced tomatoes and green chilis with a decent kick and is found near the canned and crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce in most grocery stores) or your use favorite salsa with as much kick as you enjoy

Cream cheese

Shredded cheese

Then you just stir and dig in.

The dip gets better as the flavors marry over time but if you’re impatient and need the fastest and easiest dip ever, this is a no-brainer.

You can also easily keep this dip vegan: use vegan cream cheese and vegan shredded cheese and you’re there.

You can also keep it very low-fat or no-fat, if that’s of importance to you, by using lower to no fat cream cheese and shredded cheese. The flavor may not be quite as good with those substitutions, but if you use spicy enough salsa, you may not miss the fat. Let’s face it, dip tends to be on the empty-calories side of the spectrum and sometimes lightening things up isn’t a bad thing.

And boy, this stuff is addicting.

The crunchiness and sweetness of the corn, the spiciness from the tomatoes and chilis, the cheese, and the creamy factor the cream cheese adds, all on top of crunchy crackers, it wasn’t too shabby.

It reminds me a bit of pimento cheese dip, which I adore, but it isn’t as heavy and thick. Plus, it has a few vegetables in it rather than just cheese. That is, if you can call corn a vegetable. Sure, I’ll go with that.

The next day, I took some of the leftover dip, stuffed it inside a few stray soft taco shells, and nuked them for 1 minute since I was still avoiding turning on the oven.

This was my microwaved version of a quesadilla and made final work of the dip, not that we were struggling to finish it or anything.

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Corn and Double Cheese Dip

Makes about 2 cups dip

1 cup corn (fresh, frozen, or canned – if using canned, about half of one 14.5 ounce can, drained)

1 10.5-ounce can Ro- Tel, drained or about 1 cup salsa (drain some of the liquid if your salsa is watery)

1/2 cup cream cheese, softened (sour cream, mayo, or plain Greek yogurt will work in a pinch)

1 to 1/2 cups shredded cheese (sharp cheddar, Monterrey Jack, Pepper-Jack, or similar)

Salt, pepper, garlic, onion, chili powder, cayenne pepper; optional and season to taste

Cooked black or pinto beans; other vegetables such as roasted or fresh red peppers, artichokes, carrots, tomatoes; optional and to taste

In a medium bowl, combine corn, salsa, cream cheese and stir to combine. Fold in shredded cheese and stir. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate dip, allowing  flavors to marry and dip is better as time passes. Over time, the corn and other vegetables may release water; stir to reincorporate the water or drain off. Dip will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Serving suggestions: Can be served Cold, Baked, or Broiled. Serve on crackers, bread, as a filling inside sandwiches, as a taco or fajita filling; serve cold or warm. If serving warm, bake in ramekins or in an oven-safe dish at either 400F for about 20 minutes or until bubbling; or under the broiler for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle on a top layer of cheese before broiling if extra cheesiness is preferred.

Gluten free; To keep vegan use vegan cream cheese and vegan shredded cheese; To keep no-fat or low-fat use fat-free or reduced fat cream cheese and shredded cheese

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Related Recipes:

Spinach Artichoke Dip (vegan, gluten-free, fat-free)

Sweet Corn Salsa with Mango, Lime, Red Pepper (raw, vegan, GF)

Spinach Artichoke and Roasted Red Pepper Cheesy Squares – like the dip in portable squares

Homemade Spicy Honey Mustard (GF, use agave to keep vegan)

What’s your favorite dip?

Feel free to link up any great dip recipes.

I love a good dip. Actually, I love most any dip.

  I can polish off a bowl of dip (or balsamic vinaigrette or peanut sauce) like nobody’s business and like to live in abundance with my dips and sauces; the more the merrier.

Thanks for the Zoku Single Quick Pop Maker and Chocolate Station Giveaway entries and have a great week!