Description
This Pizza Dip is a creamy, cheesy appetizer perfect for pizza lovers, featuring a layered blend of cream cheese, sour cream, marinara sauce, and melted cheeses topped with pepperoni and baked to bubbly perfection. Serve warm with crusty bread or chips for a delicious party dip.
Ingredients
Scale
Base
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup sour cream (can substitute mayo)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more for topping
Toppings
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 15 slices pepperoni
For Serving
- Crusty bread, pita/tortilla/bagel chips, or vegetables
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) to ensure it’s ready for baking the dip.
- Mix Base Ingredients: In a medium bowl, combine softened cream cheese, sour cream, dried garlic powder, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes. Mix well until smooth and creamy. For best texture, make sure sour cream is not cold before mixing.
- Spread Base: Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly on the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan, baking dish, or cast iron skillet.
- Add Marinara and Cheese: Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce evenly over the cream cheese layer. Sprinkle the finely grated Parmesan cheese and shredded mozzarella cheese evenly on top of the marinara sauce.
- Add Toppings: Arrange pepperoni slices evenly over the cheese layer. Feel free to add other pizza toppings if desired.
- Bake: Place the dish uncovered in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is bubbly and starting to brown.
- Garnish and Serve: Optionally, sprinkle additional red pepper flakes, freshly ground black pepper, and roughly chopped parsley on top. Serve warm with crusty bread, pita chips, tortilla chips, bagel chips, or vegetables for dipping.
Notes
- Make-Ahead: Assemble the dip and refrigerate, covered, for up to 3 days before baking. Before baking, let it sit at room temperature for 20-25 minutes.
- Grate and shred cheeses from a block for best flavor and texture.
- Use quality marinara sauce like Rao’s or homemade marinara for best taste.
- Additional toppings can include sausage, mushrooms, olives, bell peppers, onions, sliced tomatoes, beef, ham, pineapple, feta, and more.
- Sour cream can be substituted with mayonnaise, plain Greek yogurt, or cottage cheese.
- Serve with homemade crusty no-knead bread for an excellent dipping experience.
- Explore other pizza-inspired recipes like homemade dough pizza, Buffalo chicken pizza, Hawaiian pizza, and French bread pizza for more variety.
