Creamy, cheesy and with a nice kick of heat from jalapeños, this Jalapeño Popper Dip is the stuff that snack monsters dream of!
While most recipes are made using fresh jalapeños, I make mine with canned because I find that the slight tang of pickled jalapeños is perfect to cut through the richness of the creamy dip. Serving it in a bread bowl is optional. Skip it if you want to avoid a brawl when everyone fights over who gets the dip soaked crust – arguably the BEST part!!
Jalapeno Popper Dip
My very favourite recipes are those with Food Memories, and this one is my latest and greatest one, concocted after my last trip to the States last month.
Food blogging as a job is somewhat unique. You can roll out of bed and work all day in your PJ’s. You can work from anywhere. It’s thoroughly unglamorous and my kitchen starts every day nice and clean but my 11 am looks like a war zone.
And your colleagues, your friends you work with, learn from and network with, they are everywhere, all around this big wide world. Isn’t the internet a wonderful thing? 🙂
But on the flip side, no matter how advanced technology gets, it will never replace meeting people in real life. I firmly believe that, and that’s why I’ve come out from behind my keyboard and made the effort to meet other food bloggers in person.
My first foray into this was when I organised a food bloggers conference in LA in November 2015. And then I went back to LA last month to spend time with friends and also for a small gathering of professional bloggers from Canada and across America.
Say HI to my friends, Meggan from Culinary Hill, Jen from Carlsbad Cravings, Holly from Spend With Pennies, Rachael from Eazy Peazy Meals and Chelsea from Chelsea’s Messy Kitchen!
Our gathering was hosted by a wonderful resort in LA called Terranea Resort. There are not enough words to tell you how amazing our experience was. Luxury accomodation yet a “home away from home” feel. Impeccable, friendly service. Set right on the coast and feels like a private tropical escape, and yet it’s just 15 miles from LAX.
And the FOOD!!! The food, the food, the food! Everything from fine dining to the casual coffee shop, we couldn’t get enough of it! (We certainly tried though 🙂 )
If a picture can say a thousand words, then videos can say a million. And rather than littering this post with gazillions of photos, I’ve put together a little video!
So. Much. GREAT. FOOD!!! I can honestly say that it is rare to spend 4 days at a resort and say that there was not a single bite that I didn’t love (and there were many bites of many things!).
But when it came to recreating one thing when I got home that would remind me always of my time at Terranea, there was no contention: this Jalapeño Popper Dip.
For this cheese loving, snack obsessed Carb Monster, it was a winner from the first bite. It’s warm and cheesy with a little kick of heat from chopped up pieces of Jalapeño. It’s basically a dip form of Jalapeño Poppers (jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese, coated with breadcrumbs then deep fried. SO GOOD!!!).
As you can see from the photo above, the Terranea version is a bit orange which I suspect is from American Cheddar Cheese which is more orange than yellow (which is what we have here in Australia). Also, I wanted to make mine with a cream cheese base which bakes up beautifully because I wanted to bake mine in the bread bowl WITH a panko breadcrumb topping. For the full Jalapeño Popper experience, I feel a breadcrumb topping is essential!
Have you got a version of Jalapeño Popper Dip? I would love to hear about yours, if you do!! I must say, I really enjoyed hearing about everyone’s take on Chili / Chilli Con Carne and the different ways you serve it. Thank you to everyone who joined in the conversation. 🙂
Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Oh – and for those in the States, HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! – Nagi x
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Jalapeno Popper Dip
Ingredients
Dip
- 6 oz / 180g Philadelphia cream cheese , at room temperature
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp each onion powder and garlic powder (or 1 tsp of one of these)
- 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese (or tasty, Monterey Jack or other flavoured cheese)
- 3/4 cup grated Mozzarella Cheese
- 3/4 - 1 cup canned jalapeños , drained and finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Pepper
Bread & Topping
- 1 Cob Bread (round loaf 25cm / 10" diameter) (optional)
- 1 tbsp butter , melted
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Cut the top off the bread, use a small knife to cut a ring and pull out the bread to form a bowl (leaving a 1cm / 1/2" border/crust). Place bread on foil.
- Mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream. Add remaining Dip ingredients, mix combine. Pour into bread bowl.
- Mix together butter and panko. Sprinkle over top of dip.
- Wrap bread in foil. Bake for 30 minutes, then roll foil edges down and bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes until the panko is golden, the dip is bubbling and the bread is golden (insert knife into centre to ensure it is hot). (Note 1)
- Serve with corn chips and the bread pulled out of the bread bowl (cut into chunks. Toasting is optional)
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer: I spy with my little eye…..
PS When I go on holidays, Dozer gets a holiday too. He stays with a Golden Retriever boarder. He lives like a king, has the run of the house, “his” spot under the dining table (clever boy), and sleeps in front of the fireplace. I receive daily reports that there are no signs of depression or any evidence that he misses me at all. 🙂 This is his clan!
I was not compensated for this post, however, Terranea Resort provided us with complimentary accommodation and some meals to experience their resort. I am under no contractual or other obligation to provide a favourable opinion about my experience at Terranea Resort. As you can see in the video, I had an incredible time and I wanted to share my experience with you!!
This dip was so delicious and easy to make! Tasted exactly like a jalapeño popper. I didn’t have block cream cheese, so I used whipped cream cheese instead and it still turned out great.
This recipe is so good!!! I made it in a large ramekin and it turned out so delicious. I also used 4 fresh jalapenos after falling in love with the jalapeno popper stuffed chicken breast. Thank you Nagi, this was definitely the absolute winning recipe with the family today we just devoured it.
Hi Shalini, did you use the 4 fresh jalapenos in place or the canned ones or in addition to them?
Hi Nagi!
Just wondering if jarred jalapeños would work? I can’t find tinned at Woolworths.
Thanks!
Yes Amy that would work! N x
Hi Nagi, can this be made ahead?
Yes you can assemble the dip ahead but I wouldn’t put it into the bread until just before you pop it in the oven as it will get soggy. Get the dip out of the fridge about 15 minutes before putting it into the bread so it’s not fridge hard. N x
Hey Nagi how long will the dip keep? I made it without the bread and am wanting to put on top of nachos this week
Gosh – days! 5 days? To be honest I’d probably be eating it even 7 days later! It’s fully cooked so it’s got a longer shelf life than uncooked dips 🙂
Hi Nagi
I’m just after a jalapeño dip without putting it in the bread.
I just want the dip on the side to use as a corn chip dip.
I’m guessing I would just use the jalapeños cream cheese and mayo and cumin etc to make just a dip aye? Not the mozzarella.
Xx
Hi Kylie, you can just make this dip and put it in a baking dish to cook – directions are in the recipe notes. N x
Do you think this would work in a small crockpot to stay warm?
Amazing! I have eaten myself sick on this dish! My 6 year old son devours it also!!!!
I know the feeling all too well Sydney 😂
Hi Nagi,
I thought this would be great as a ‘mac and cheese’
Added chorizo sausage and macaroni in my rice cooker…then put all the other ingredients in and set on warm
Absolutely delicious
Thank you
Woah that’s a great idea!!!
It was very good, next time I will double jalapenos tho!
Hi Melissa, yes you can definitely add more spice if you like it hot! 🔥
We loved your pickle dip so we thought we’d give this one a try. It was the hit of the party. No one could stop eating it! Crazy tasty. Thank you!!!
That’s so great to hear Jeanie! Thanks for sharing your feedback – N x
Love this dip!
Also, can’t find the recipe for the Pickle Dip.
Nagi – point me in the right direction? Thanks so much.
Me too. Where is this pickle dip?? It sounds so good
I just made this on the weekend for my family and they all loved it – cleared the dish out completely! I baked it in an 8×8 glass dish. I also broiled it for a couple of minutes to get the top extra crispy. Thank you for sharing your delicious recipe 🙂
I love hearing that Karen, thank you so much for letting me know you enjoyed it! N x
I made this over the weekend and it is CRIMINAL. Oh my goodness, it’s so goooooooooooooooood.
G’day Nagi. Any drama preparing the dip in advance and refrigerating? Would mean I don’t have to cart as many ingredients to an upcoming party. Just pour into Cobb, top with crumbs and bake.
Cheers.
Paul
Hi Paul! Sorry for the delay responding. Yup, all good – prep in advance then bake at the party. Or even better, just pop it under the grill to brown the topping, then MICROWAVE the whole thing at the party to melt the cheese and heat all the way through. Seriously. It will bubble over but it looks great! Stick a knife in to check when it’s hot in the middle – shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes tops on high. 🙂
You said u can use a microwave after baking, for how long. Could i bake it at home. and take to work, and use m.w. there for a few min.
hi Cecilia! yes that’s perfect 🙂 Bake t home to get the top golden, then microwave until it starts bubbling on the surface, indicating it is hot! I microwave from cold for about 3 minutes on high.
Well im gonna make ur jallapeno dip in 2 weeks for a potluck, am taking ur advice and mw it when i arrive there, let u know how it turned out. thank-u
Oooh, hope you love it Cecilia!
Repeated request to bring this dip to potlucks and gathering
Hi Nagi, Do you think this would freeze OK? I want to surprise my brother in Boston, and figure the flight time would just about defrost it so it would be ready to pop in the oven as soon as we got to his house. Thanks for so many amazingly yummy recipes!
Hi K-ray, sorry but I don’t recommend freezing it. Not sure what that would do to cream cheese – suspect not nice!
Ive got a question for you, I bought a round loaf of bread, but its is huge, thats all they had. Like 9 or 10in accross, should i double the ing. Or for the recipe thats out there, will it fill my bread? plz respond.
Im asking this , dont know if i already asked the question, so plz respond again. Taking to a potluck. after i bake it at home. How long can i let it sit out, it will be in a cool place in shade, ok to serve at room temperature. My potluck is this comming sun. so if u can plz respond i would appreciate it. Serving this with bread cubes from bread and homemade tortilla chips. thank-you
Hi Cecilia! It will be fine for a few hours and yes it is yum and room temperature 🙂 But even more delicious if you can microwave it to warm up! Just a few minutes on high!
Hi Cecilia – that’s about the size I normally use so it’s perfect! Definitely don’t need to double the recipe, even if the bread is a little bit too big then it’s still fine, it just means the dip won’t come quite to the top of the bread, that’s all.
This dip was the hit of my party on the weekend! People would have been happy to just have this for dinner I think…and there was a bit of a bun fight over all that crusty bread at the end. Perfect mix of heat and creaminess and so easy to make, this is a ripper. One of the best dips I’ve ever eaten!
WOO HOO!!!!! You are just lucky I wasn’t there to fight over that crusty bread….I might be short but never get between me and my FOOD!!!! 😉 N x
I’ve been craving this dip since we left! 🙂 It was so fun to spend time with you in LA and get to know you! The video is so fun, I can’t stop watching it 🙂
ME TOO!!! I watched it so many times!!
Looks amazingly delicious Nagi, and those dogs are toooooooo cute!
Aren’t they just? 🙂 N x