Looking for easy finger food recipes for a crowd? This Mexican cheese dip recipe is perfect for entertaining, baked in a skillet covered in gooey Tillamook cheese.
This post was created in partnership with Tillamook. All opinions are our own.
With the turn to cooler weather and comfort food cravings, we’ve got you covered with this skillet Mexican cheese dip recipe! Check out that gooey, melty cheese, right? We created this Mexican cheese dip recipe especially for entertaining. It’s perfect for parties: tailgating, a game day gathering, or a party table full of easy finger food recipes for a crowd. It’s a play on white chili, using white beans, mild green chiles, corn, and a gooey mess of Mexican cheeses (sans the typical chicken so it’s vegetarian!).
For this recipe, we’re showcasing a cheese that’s truly best in class: Tillamook Farmstyle Cut Shredded Cheese. These shreds are giant and designed to make the ideal melt, stretch, texture and flavor for baked dishes. Keep reading for the Mexican cheese dip recipe, and more about that melty cheese.
Related: Homemade Tortilla Chips | Homemade Vegan Nacho Cheese
About the cheese
As food bloggers and cookbook authors, Alex and I have tried a lot of different products over the years. We both agreed that this Tillamook Farmstyle Cut Shredded Cheese is truly something special. The shreds are huge, triple the size of standard shreds, which makes for an even, gooey melt. And the flavor is incredible. We used the Mexican 4 Cheese flavor in this chili cheese dip recipe, a blend of Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Queso Quesadilla, and Asadero. We also like to snack on the shreds while cooking, since they’re so tasty and easy to grab! Here’s a little more info on Tillamook Farmstyle Cut Shredded Cheese:
- It has a hand-grated texture and is crafted to deliver ideal melt, stretch, texture and flavor. It’s grated straight off of 40 lb. blocks of award-winning, naturally aged Tillamook Cheddar.
- The cheese is made with the highest-quality milk from cows that are not treated with artificial growth hormones. It’s also:
- Bigger – The New Farmstyle Cut is bigger than other shreds
- Meltier – Has a smoother, more even melt and fuller body
- Tastier – More flavorful because they are made with real, high-quality Tillamook Cheese
Wondering where to buy Tillamook? Find Tillamook Farmstyle Cut Shredded Cheese in a grocery near you by entering your zip code here.
How to make Mexican cheese dip
This Mexican cheese dip recipe is very simple to make. The base is made creamy using blended pinto beans, creamy Greek yogurt, garlic, and some Mexican spices. Blend it up and stir it together in the skillet with Mexican cheese, white beans, and green chiles, which are part of the play on white chili. Top with extra Mexican cheese, red peppers, green onions and corn, and pop it in the oven until the cheese is gooey. It makes the kitchen smell divine and is a total hit at parties. (Ours already has been downed multiple times!)
If you’re into a little spice, add the hot sauce to this Mexican cheese dip recipe: the amount we’ve called for only adds a subtle kick. And of course, it’s over the top good with those Tillamook Farmstyle Cut Shredded Cheese. Note that if you’re serving it at a party, we recommend making in advance then reheating in the host’s oven (or assembling it all prior to the baking step).
Looking for game day recipes?
This Mexican cheese dip recipe is perfect for game day, or a party table full of easy finger food recipes for a crowd. A few of our top game day finger food recipes:
- Healthy Loaded Sweet Potato Rounds
- Mexican Pinwheels
- Vegetable Hummus Tortilla Rollups
- Best Gouda Mac and Cheese
- BBQ Soy Curls
- Pesto Grilled Cheese Dippers with Marinara
- Very Verde Cilantro Dip
- Famous Tomato Dip with Grilled Bread
- Healthy Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip
- Easy Mango Salsa or Black Bean Pico de Gallo & Homemade Tortilla Chips
- Super Bowl Recipes & Party Food Ideas | Food & Wine
More cast iron skillet recipes
This Mexican cheese dip recipe is made in a cast iron skillet–which of course, you don’t have to use, but it’s fun if you do! Here are a few other cast iron skillet recipes from A Couple Cooks:
- Perfect Pan Pizza
- Cast Iron Potatoes
- Breakfast Vegetable Scramble
- Easy Shakshuka with Feta
- Blackened Shrimp
- Skillet Apple Cobbler
- Skillet Eggplant Marinara
- Loaded Grilled Nachos
- Sweet Potato Feta Dinner Skillet
This recipe is…
This Mexican cheese dip recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free.
Mexican Cheese Dip Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
Looking for easy finger food recipes for a crowd? This Mexican cheese dip recipe is perfect for entertaining, baked in a skillet covered in gooey cheese.
Ingredients
- 2 medium garlic cloves
- 15-ounce can pinto beans
- ¾ cup whole milk Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 15-ounce can white beans
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups Tillamook Farmstyle Mexican 4 Cheese Shredded Cheese, divided
- 1 4 ounce can diced mild green chiles
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional)
- 1/2 red pepper
- 2 green onions
- ¾ cup frozen corn
- Tortilla chips, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Peel the garlic cloves, then add them to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until chopped. Drain the pinto beans. Add the pinto beans, Greek yogurt, cumin, oregano, chili powder, onion powder, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Process until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Brush a cast iron skillet or 9 x 9″ pan with olive oil and pour bean mixture into the skillet. Drain the white beans. To the bean mixture, stir in the white beans, ½ cup Mexican cheese, green chiles, hot sauce (optional), and ¾ teaspoon kosher salt.
- Mince the red pepper and thinly slice the green onions. Top the white chili cheese dip with 1 to 1 ½ cups Mexican cheese (depending on your cheese preference!), red pepper, green onions, and frozen corn.
- Bake for 20 minutes until cheese is melted*. Serve warm with tortilla chips.
Notes
*If you’re serving this chili cheese dip at a party, we recommend making in advance then completing Step 5 baking in the host’s oven. (You can also bake it in advance and reheat, but the just melted cheese from the oven is the best part!)
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Mexican
Keywords: Chili Cheese Dip, White Chili Cheese Dip, Finger Food, Finger Food for Parties, Party Recipe, Entertaining, Vegetarian, Gluten Free
Distinctively appetizing. I wanna try this at home.