If you're like me, you love a good easy dip with cream cheese for the base, no matter what the other ingredients are. The other night a few girlfriends got together for some wine and chick-chat after the kids were in bed, so I pulled together a couple of these dips really quickly and they were a hit!
Here's the base:
Versatile and Easy Dip with Cream Cheese for any Craving
Ingredients
- Garlic, fresh minced is best (or garlic powder), about 4 cloves or however many you'd like
- About 1/4-1/2 an onion, chopped small (or about 4 green onions chopped, or you could just use onion powder or dried onion)
- Sea salt and possibly pepper too, depending on your tastes and which dip you're making — if it tastes blah, that almost always means it needs more salt
- 8 ounces cream cheese , softened. Organic is best, or this homemade yogurt cheese if you have it on-hand--it tastes similar and has probiotics too!
- About 2 cups sour cream , more or less is fine – the less you use, the thicker the dip; the more you use, the creamier the dip
- Optional: Various herbs like parsley, oregano, more garlic powder, etc., depending on which dip you're making
- Real cream (whipping cream) if you want it a little lighter if you're dipping potato chips or something that breaks easily.
Instructions
- Mix the above together and add in the following options below, depending on which variation sounds good to you. You can use a hand mixer to get it extra smooth if you'd like. If you add extra cream to make it lighter, just add more herbs, salt and pepper to make sure it's tasty!
Now take that easy dip with cream cheese and use any of these variations to make the following dips…
Keep in mind everything is optional and up to you or your family's personal tastes!
Jalapeno Dip:
- The base recipe above, plus…
- 2 Tomatoes, chopped small
- 4-6 Jalapenos, chopped small – I like to leave some of the insides intact as I'm cleaning them out so the dip will have more of a bite
- To really throw off your taste-buds, add some chopped pineapple!
Salsa Dip:
- The base recipe above, plus…
- Just add a few dollops of your favorite salsa and stir
Ham & Cheese Dip:
- The base recipe above, plus…
- Sliced ham, however much you want in there
- 4-6 Green onions, chopped small
- Shredded cheddar cheese
Cucumber Dip:
- The base recipe above, plus…
- Grated or chopped cucumbers
- (Homemade potato chips are especially good with this dip!)
BLT Dip:
- The base recipe above, plus…
- 1/2 cup mayo (try my easy 5-minute homemade mayo!)
- A pint or so of cherry tomatoes, sliced into halves or quarters — stirred in or on top
- About 8 slices crumbled bacon — stirred in or on top
- About 3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese — stirred in or on top
- Shredded lettuce on top
Greek Dip:
- The base recipe above, plus…
- Chopped tomatoes
- Feta cheese
- Black olives
- Green onion, chopped
- Here's a similar recipe I posted: Easy Pita Dip w/ Feta Cheese
Crab Dip:
- The base recipe above, plus… (You'll may want to omit the garlic and onion from this one)
- Shredded fresh crab meat if at all possible (Canned has nasty preservatives)
- A few squirts of organic ketchup (to avoid the high fructose corn syrup), to your taste
Reader suggestions from the comments:
- Just add sundried tomatoes, yum!
- Stir in some pesto, another yum!
- Fresh dill also adds a delicious flavor
Ideas for dippers if you want to avoid store-bought crackers/chips:
- Homemade pita chips –> Scroll down at this recipe: Easy Pita Dip w/ Feta Cheese
- Pita bread
- Homemade ‘Snackers' just like at Olga's Kitchen
- Homemade potato chips
- Einkorn crackers
- Homemade sourdough crackers
- Organic tortilla chips
Low-carb/grain-free dippers:
- Celery sticks
- Pepper slices
- Cucumber slices
- These are store-bought but worth it and only ONE low-carb ingredient: parmesan cheese whisps! Get them for a good price at Costco!
Can you think of more ideas or variations? If so, comment below and I may add some of them to this post!
***Also, if you make any of these dips, would you send me a picture to post by each recipe? I've only been blogging for a few years, so apparently that's not long enough to have a BRAIN in my head and remember to snap some pictures before pigging out.
More related posts:
Nancy Harmon says
Yummy!
Olga says
Have you ever tried Greek yogurt instead of the sour cream? Of course homemake with raw milk would be best.
KitchenKop says
Nope, but I’m sure it would be good, and better for us, too!
Nikki says
How about some cinnamon, or maybe a tablespoon or two of pumpkin to dip fruit pieces into? Or what if you added peanut butter or almond butter….creamy peanut butter dip (I’m not sure if PB is GAPS-friendly, I’m sorry if it isnt….almond butter instead! 🙂 )
Tiffani Beckman says
I’ve had it in the fridge for about 2 months and the original is still good. Although I would assume it is good for years if you keep using the newer stuff to culture your next batch. I love that the sour cream and cream cheese dont go bad in the fridge too – they just get a little more “bite” as the cultures keep going : )
Btw – love your blog : ) I share your link often on Facebook and my WAPF groups!
Tiffani Beckman says
I didn’t use to make my own sour cream and cream cheese – until I discovered Fil Mojk culture from Cultures for Health. They are so SO easy to make, I have several jars at once 🙂
Sour cream – coat an empty jar with a little FM culture, pour in pasteurized half and half, cover with a towel and sit on your counter for 2 days. Then it is done.
Cream cheese – do the same thing with raw cream. In 2 days, done. Strain off the whey overnight and you have dense creamy cream cheese.
So easy and delicious – and the culture is self perpetuating so you only need it once!! I’ve shared this with friends and they are amazed how easy it is!
KitchenKop says
I am SO doing this! How long does the culture keep in your frig?
Rivki Locker (Ordinary Blogger) says
What a great formula. I especially like the greek variety. I can just taste that Feta!
Melissa @ Dyno-mom says
I make a seasoned salt with equal parts salt, cracked pepper, garlic and cumin. Use this to salt the basic cheese and sour cream mixture and add some freshly grated parma. You can add some red pepper flakes for punch!
Judy says
I have been making this dip for years. It’s a must at all family outings. 8 oz. cream cheese, 1/2 tsp. chopped onion, dissolve 2 cubes or 1 tbls. beef bouillon in 1/4 cup water. Blend everything together. We eat it with potato chips.
Emily @ButterBeliever says
Ahh… the BLT and the crab variations are calling me…that sounds amazing. And, um, fried cheese? I need that right this instant. Just slice and fry?? In coconut oil maybe?
KitchenKop says
No need for extra oil, just slice and fry, so simple and yummy. I sometimes flip it once. Others bake it into cheese “chips”. 🙂
Emily @ButterBeliever says
Ooh, that’s simple enough! Kinda forgot that cheese is pretty oily all on its own. I’ll have to give this a try! Thanks, Kelly! 🙂
KitchenKop says
I just added a few of all of your suggestions to the post, keep ’em coming! 🙂
Sigrid Rogowski says
That is a mighty good recipe,thanks a bunch.Have a great weekend.
Jen says
Thanks for all these options! My baby is on the raw milk formula, and I have tons of homemade cream cheese from making whey. Ususally I season it up with sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and a dried herb (tarragon, oregano, basil, etc.) to eat on crackers. We love it like this, but appreciate more ideas. 🙂
ValerieH says
@CatJB Absolutely right! Just sundried tomatoes are enough to make an awesome dip.
Another easy idea is pesto/cream cheese/sour cream. When I can, I make pesto and freeze it but it is available in jars at the store. I like fresh dill/green onion combination. Cucumbers would be awesome in that too. It screams for potato chips, though. It would be fabulous on a baked potato or in fauxtatoes. (low carb mashed cauliflower)
I’m getting together tonight with my girlfriends. We call it the Progressive Parenting Group. 😀 The appetizer I’m bringing is meatballs with a piece of pickle inside. I’m thinking of also bringing kale chips. I garden AND I joined a CSA this year. I’m drowning in too many greens and green onions. I’m trying to get the kids to eat cooked greens but it is a very new food (even to me). We’re having it more often than I care for. I ran out of bacon and ham to flavor them. This time I used chicken fat, chicken drippings, and dried mushrooms. Of course I used lots of green onions too. It was pretty good.
KitchenKop says
Meatballs with a pickle inside really? That’s a new one for me!!
Kelly
GinnyV says
I love all the variations you’ve come up with! I’ve made something similar using Wild Salmon in those little pouches, but never thought to add anything else.
CatJB says
Yummm!! I made a tasty dip the other day, just cream cheese and sun dried tomatoes blended together. Soooo good!
Karen Ferguson says
wow…it’s almost 1 a.m. and you made my mouth water, although I had plenty to eat at dinner!!! Without question, you are a master in the kitchen…and a healthy one at that!!!!!
Bravo.
Hugs.
Karen in CA
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
Now there’s something I’ve never been called before, mostly I just stumble through in the kitchen!! 🙂