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!
I just wanted to give you HUGE praise for this corn and cheese dip! My boyfriend is lactose intolerant and I’m always struggling to find new recipes to keep his taste buds happy. You always have a vegan variation and it’s always so good!
Thank you for sharing all your amazing recipes :)
I am obsessed with dips so I don’t have a favourite, I have about 100 favourite :-) I am really liking the Jalapeno Greek yogurt dip that Costco recently started selling.
This is similar! But with corn added! And homemade and EASY!
I just made this dip for a party tonight!!!! Can’t wait to try it, it looks so good!
LMK how you like it – and thanks for making it!
This seriously sounds so good right now. I am making a dip to take to a get together tomorrow night, and I’m still trying to form it in my mind, but I’ve already bought corn for it. Maybe I’ll just use this because it sounds amazing!!
the funny thing is, when i went to make this dip, i swore i had a can of salmon and was going to make a salmon spread, but I didnt have it…but i had corn, and everything else. LMK what you end up making!
Looks delish!! Great for summer.
Who doesn’t love a 30 second seasonal dip!? This sounds awesome. I don’t think I have ever had a corn dip – but I am toootally making this soon.
Mmm, so good – and you can pretend you’re eating veggies that way, you know, corn – a vegetable :)
Mmmm Averie this dip looks SO good. And very refreshing! I feel like I would prefer it cold on top of crackers or tortilla chips. Cream cheese + tomatoes or salsa is SUCH a killer combination too. My mom has this spicy red pepper/tomato jam that she mixes with CC in the summertime and it is probably the BEST dip I’ve ever had. But I think this would top that b/c I am a sucker for corn dips!
PS I love that bowl in the 3rd picture! I wish I could go shopping in your dishware collection. ;)
Bowl is Anthro. I went there a few weeks back and bought 1 or 2 things. Ahem :)
The cold dip is perfect this time of year and come fall, it would be a great tailgating type of dip warm. Ive heard of recipes that involve a slow cooker for this style of dip. Your mom’s dip sounds amazing. I’d love to just try the spicy red pepper/tomato jam in and of itself – that is so me!
What a yummy dip! I wish so many of us weren’t allergic to corn, but even without it I can tell it would still taste awesome. I mean, it could be a nacho topping or a toasted bagel topping, too!
I didnt know you had a corn allergy? Or I guess I forgot. Corn is in *Everything* in our food supply. Bless your heart; I have known people with corn allergies (or really gnarly soy allergies) and they are really really really hard to deal with because everything is cross contaminated!
This dip looks amazing Averie! Hope you had a FAB weekend :)
Pretty busy, but good :) Hope you are savoring!! your time in T.R.!
What a fun and easy dip recipe!!! I love how you used the ritz as a mini pizza…such a fun idea!!! And corn is something you can never eat enough of in the summer:-)
anything mini or ‘pizza’ = automatic kiddie hit :)
Ummm, yum!! This looks amazing! I love dips of all kinds and I know I would sooooooo love your dip!! My favorite dip? Hmm, no clue,? I just love dipping!
This dip looks very yummy–if I had read your post earlier, I would have made it today! I did do the Caribbean citrus stir fry and ginger beets. Both were excellent and I have plenty of leftovers for a couple of days. The corn dip sounds like a great filling for soft tacos!
Glad you made 2 recipes – in one day! And that there were a success & you have leftovers, even better :)