This is a recipe for melty, cheesy Jalapeño Popper Dip served with homemade corn tortilla chips. Delicious, everyday fare.
Jalapeño Popper Dip
Course: AppetizersCuisine: American, Tex-Mex6
servings20
minutes30
minutes50
minutesNote that it takes an hour to soften cream cheese at room temperature. That has not been factored into the prep time.
Ingredients
8-10 high-quality, stone-ground, 6-inch corn tortillas
1-1½ Tbs olive oil
Zest of 1 lime
Sea salt (to taste)
1 cup (to taste) pickled jalapeños
8 oz cream cheese, softened
¼ – ½ tsp paprika (optional)
1 cup (packed) shredded aged white cheddar (4 oz, see notes)
1 cup (packed) shredded Fontina (4 oz, see notes)
½ cup sour cream (see notes)
1/4- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
2 Tbs butter
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 Tbs finely minced fresh chives (see notes)
Celery sticks
Red bell pepper, cut into thick sticks
Directions
- Cut the tortillas into 6 pie wedges. Fry in oil over medium heat until blistered and crisp (see notes). Toss them immediately with lime zest and sea salt.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (see notes). Strain the jalapeños.
- (Meanwhile, beat together cream cheese and paprika, 30 seconds on med-high speed (speed 6). Scrape down the bowl.) Beat the sour cream, cheddar, and Fontina into the cream cheese, 15 seconds.
- Wrap the jalapeños in a folded paper towel and give a few gentle squeezes to get rid of excess liquid. Chop them, and gently beat them into the cheese mixture, 10 seconds on low speed (speed 2). Scrape down the bowl and give it a little mixy-mix by hand. Taste, remembering that the flavors will concentrate in the oven. (It probably won’t need any salt, but if it’s not spicy enough, make note of that, but do nothing at the moment.) Spread the mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish. (Now is the time to sprinkle with red pepper flakes if you felt it wasn’t spicy enough.)
- Brown the butter over medium heat. Meanwhile, place the panko and chives in a small mixing bowl. Off heat, stir the butter into the panko mixture. Sprinkle this mixture over the dip, and bake until the edges are actively bubbling and sizzling, and the top is beautifully browned, 20-30 minutes. (If it’s sizzling but not brown enough at the end of 30 minutes, broil the finished dip for 1-2 minutes. Let the dip rest on a trivet for 5 minutes before diving in.
- Serve the dip with celery sticks, red bell pepper sticks, and homemade tortilla strips.
Notes
- Substitutions: mayo for some or all of the sour cream, any other type of cheddar for the aged white, Gruyère or Pepper Jack for the Fontina, scallion greens for the chives
- An Alternative to Pan-Frying the Tortillas: toss them the oil and air fry them. I use a Breville Smart Oven / Air Fryer Pro BOV900 for this, with the fry basket in Position 3, and the rack in Position 6. Place a quarter sheet pan on the rack to catch any oil that might drip, and set oven to AIRFRY, 400°F, 11 minutes. Toss every 3 minutes. Go by color as much or more than texture; the chips will become stiffer as they cool.
- Baking the Dip in a Smart Oven: place the rack in Position 4 and use the PHASE COOK function. 1st phase: BAKE at 350°F, Super Convection, 15 minutes. 2nd phase – same settings, but no convection, 15 minutes.
- You can likely modify these BOV900 instructions to suit another air fryer or a perhaps a toaster oven.
The combination of the dairy and the jalapeño gives you a warm, blooming, slow-building heat that lingers pleasantly. You can cut the heat completely out if you want to, by buying “mild” jalapenos.
In terms of texture, this dip is best when warm. In terms of flavor, though, it’s better as it nears room temperature. So, aim to serve it warm, but don’t worry it it cools off a bit.
Everyday Cooking
This is everyday fare. It has some elevated touches, but not so many that I’d bump it up into an elevated category. It’s delicious, for sure. So, make it for yourself, make it for your family, make it for game day with your best friends. It does take more work than most recipes in the “everyday” category … but it wouldn’t if you used store-bought chips.
Ingredients
- As a rule, I don’t buy shredded cheese. I buy it in blocks and shred it myself. Yes, you have to get out the food processor, and then wash it afterward. But if you were to taste freshly shredded cheese and pre-shredded back-to-back, you’d see that there’s no comparison.
Tips & Tricks
- If you cube the cream cheese, it will soften faster. If you do that first, and then the shredding, and then you do the tortillas before you do the dip, the cream cheese might be softened by the time you’re ready to make the dip.
- The butter melts, then foams up, and then you have to start watching it. You’ll notice a tiny, tiny bit of browning at the edges, and you’ll notice the color of the foam darken … and then the browning seems to happen almost in a flash. Watch carefully.
- The bell pepper has to be cut thick enough that it’ll be useful for scooping up dip. Too thin, and it won’t be sturdy enough. The celery, if you leave it long the way that I did for these photos, you should provide a knife for, so that guests can fill their stalk with dip. Otherwise, you’ll have double-dipping. Of course, guests could always spoon dip on small plates, and double-dip all they want.
Leftovers
If you happen to have leftover chicken, slice up a rectangle of refrigerated dip, place it atop the chicken, and re-warm in the microwave until bubbling hot. Great combination!
Servings
For the six servings that I’m recommending, the guests would have to eat the vegetables as well as the chips. Otherwise, you’ll run out of chips before you run out of dip.
Social Learning
You want this to be quick, but it’s not. It takes time, and it dirties a lot of dishes. It’s delicious, though, and fun.
Homemade tortilla chips are so much more interesting than store-bought. They’re crispy, but if you get it just right, at least some of them will have a chew to them as well.
Breville did not sponsor or have anything to do with this post. I just happen to have and like the oven.
Jalapeño Popper Dip
Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything. Thank you, Kesor. Thank you, ⌘+C. Make It Like a Man! is ranked by Feedspot as #2 in the Top 30 Men’s Cooking Blogs.
Keep up with us on Bloglovin’
