Hot Pizza Dip is one of my favorite appetizers! And get this my friends: it’s made in the microwave. You can’t get easier than that, can you. Spoon this hot dip onto a baguette slice or directly in your mouth, I’m no judge.Â
Originally posted February 1, 2013
I really love the waves that come on food blogs. You probably wouldn’t notice unless you follow multiple, (or like 1200 if you’re me) but they’re all so predictable. Pumpkin and apple recipes starting October 1st, thousands of cookie recipes in December, everyone pledging to be healthy in 2013 with salads in January, then a few weeks later conveniently forgetting about that in time for Super Bowl appetizers, the more cheese and carbs the better. I’m not complaining, really. I’m one of them. It’s just a nice feeling having 1200 dips to choose from this week.
How to make pizza dip
So here’s my carby-cheesy appetizer for you guys. This hot pizza dip really is sooooooo good, but were you that doubtful after you heard carby-cheesy? I first had this dip a few New-Years-Eve’s ago at my brother Eric’s house. He and his wife Sandi decided to make all the top-rated appetizers on Allrecipes.com, and this was one of them. It blew everything else away, in my opinion, even though it was competing against the likes of these and these and these.
The recipe has 450 reviews on Allrecipes.com, which means that it’s got to be pretty reliable. And now you have my Pizza-Dip-Testimony too. Oh, and did I mention this is cooked in the microwave? Yeah dude. Have fun watching the commercials the Super Bowl!!
Microwave the pepperoni for about one minute, or until it is just barely starting to get crispy. Set aside. Or eat half of them and then microwave some more, like I did.
Other great appetizers for game day!
Hot Pizza Dip
Ingredients
- 1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- dash red pepper flakes, optional
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1 cup pizza sauce
- 3/4 cup pepperoni, quartered
- 1 baguette, sliced (for dipping)
Additional topping ideas
- green bell pepper, chopped small
- chopped black olives
- sausage, cooked and crumbled
- mushrooms, chopped
Instructions
- In a medium bowl or stand mixer, beat together the softened cream cheese, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon parsley, 1 teaspoon basil, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, and a dash of red pepper if you like it spicy. (You can mix this all by hand if your cream cheese is very soft.)
- Spread mixture in the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate, or a shallow microwave-safe dish.
- Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese on top of the cream cheese mixture.
- Spread 1 cup of pizza sauce over the cheese.
- Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella and 1/2 cup Parmesan.
- Quarter your pepperoni slices to make dipping easier (I left a few whole to look pretty on top).
- Place a paper towel on a large plate. Place a single layer of pepperoni slices on top. (do this in batches if you can't fit it all on one plate. Microwave the pepperoni for 20-50 seconds. Keep an eye on it because every microwave is different. When it is just barely starting to get crispy, take it out.
- Chop the pepperoni into quarters for easier dipping (leave a few slices whole to decorate the top of your dip.)
- Sprinkle the pepperoni on top of the cheese, including any slices left whole.
- At this point you can jazz up your pizza dip with other toppings if you like: chopped bell pepper, olives, cooked sausage, mushrooms, the sky is the limit here! Don't let some food blogger tell you what to put on your pizza.
- Cover the pie plate (I used a plastic microwave cover) and microwave the pizza dip for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, set your broiler to hight heat and move an oven rack to the top of the oven. Cut your baguette into thin slices. Place in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet. Broil for 1-2 minutes. SET A TIMER and don't walk away. I can't tell you how many oven fires I have started when only broiling something for a couple minutes!
- Once the bread is golden brown and toasted on top, remove the pan from the oven, flip each slice of bread, and broil the other side for 1-2 minutes, until toasty.
- Serve the pizza dip while it's hot, using a spoon to get the dip onto your bread. The nice thing about this dip is that if it cools down during your party, you can just pop it back in the microwave for a few minutes!
Notes
Source: I adapted this recipe years ago from Allrecipes.com.
This stuff is heavenly. I want some now!
It’s so easy to make – go and do it right now! :)
I love that you have a pizza dip testimony. I really do.
This dip really was the best.