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Guys, we have holiday parties coming up, and there are always church potlucks or family get-togethers…so what on earth does the healthy person of the group take that will be enjoyed by all (without people turning their snoots up)? Pizza dip, of course.
This was not originally my idea. I saw this recipe somewhere, probably on Foodgawker, my favorite hangout, and thought it sounded great. I purposely did not consult the recipe when making my dip (I just knew the basic ingredients), but looking back I see that we came up with a lot of the same ratios. Trust me when I say that that was not on purpose, and there are still quite a few differences in our recipes.
I took this dip to a church potluck and took home an empty pan and a lot of good reviews! Serve the dip with tortilla chips or French bread toasts for the average person and/or veggies or low-carb pita chips made with Joseph’s Low-carb Lavash Bread for low-carbers.
(Here I give you yum on a paper plate. Under fluorescent lights. At a potluck, where I felt incredibly weird for jumping in line as soon as the prayer was said and scooping up a spoonful of this dip to photograph. I didn’t have a lot of time for finesse and pretty pictures.)
Feel free to change up this recipe according to how you like your pizza. I kept things simple (because I was in a hurry, as always) and just used mushrooms and onions for my veggies, but I’m sure that green peppers, black olives, sausage, and different cheeses would make this dip even better.
You can snag my official pin for this recipe here.
You can find this recipe (and some other great party dip recipes, like a hot crab dip and a spinach artichoke dip) in my cookbook, Necessary Food.
- 2 8 oz. packages cream cheese (either ⅓ less fat or full fat), preferably at room temperature (see note above)
- 1 cup sour cream, preferably at room temperature
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 2 cups no-sugar pizza sauce
- Quarter-sized bunch chopped fresh cilantro
- 4-8 oz. fresh mushrooms, chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- Chopped green peppers, sliced black olives, or other non-starchy vegetables of choice, optional
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese
- Pepperoni (turkey or regular) for topping (I quarter mine to make them stretch further)
- With an electric hand mixer, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning together until smooth and creamy. Spread in the bottom of a greased 9x13 inch pan.
- Top with the NSA pizza sauce.
- Sprinkle with the chopped fresh cilantro, mushrooms, and onions (and other vegetables, if desired).
- Spread the cheese over the top and top with pepperoni as desired.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Serve immediately (or keep warm in an insulated carry bag and reheat a little in the oven an hour or two later for a party, like I did. It's probably not as good, but it works.). To keep this dip low-carb, serve with veggies or low-carb pita chips.
Super delicious, got many compliments! Actually tastes like pizza without the crust! Made a good amount for a group of 20 people (before making it i was worried it wouldn’t make enough but it fills the pan). My only modifications were to precook the veggies (onion and pepper) and omit the mushrooms. The fresh cilantro really put it over the top! And all that cheesy goodness…yum!
I’m so glad to hear that, Stephanie! Thanks for sharing how you did it!
This is delicious! I took it to a fellowship meal at our church and it was a big hit. Two people asked for the recipe. I didn’t have the Italian seasoning, so I used some herbs and spices. I also subbed canned mushrooms and precooked onions and peppers for the raw veggies. Definitely a keeper!
This is making my mouth water! I can’t wait to try it! 🙂
I wonder if this would work in the crock pot? It looks yummy!
Since your hamburger is already cooked, I don’t see why not. Everything basically just needs heated and the cheese melted. The veggies do need to soften a little, but they could do that in the crockpot no problem. 🙂