10 Hot, Cheesy, Bubbly Dips That Disappear at Parties

Break out the chips, crackers, and crostinis, and let’s get dipping!

By
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Editor
Mimi Young is an editor and pastry chef. She has also curated and written numerous recipe roundups for Serious Eats.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Published December 04, 2025
A closeup of a hand holding a scoop of baked dip with melted cheese from a dish

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Bringing out a steaming casserole dish of hot dip is a surefire way to get everyone’s attention at a party. You barely need to announce, “Hot dip coming through!”—the visuals and aroma do all the work, drawing people in like a siren’s call. And the best part? A hot dip delivers instant gratification for surprisingly little effort.

It’s a set-it-down-and-let-people-dive-in situation: no passing hors d’oeuvres, no refilling platters, and once the dish is empty, you’re done. So we’ve curated 10 cheesy, bubbly hot dip recipes that practically guarantee a scraped-clean vessel and an easy cleanup. Just make sure you set out plenty of chips, crackers, crostini, and other dippers.

Love these recipes? Join MyRecipes to save them. It’s so easy—and free!

  • Creamy Corn Dip

    Overhead view of corn dip

    Serious Eats / Lorena Masso

    The problem with most hot corn dip recipes is their over-reliance on mayo and sour cream to create a creamy texture that offsets the inevitable rubberiness of the cheese—typically cheddar, Jack, or mozzarella—once it begins to cool. Not an issue here. This version uses a blend of cream cheese, feta, and half-and-half, which prevents the cheese from turning elastic and adds just the right salinity from the briny feta to balance the corn’s sweetness. A finishing touch of cherry tomatoes, olives, and mint brings a cool, fresh element and a burst of color.

  • Hot Spinach-Artichoke Dip

    spinach-artichoke dip hero

    Serious Eats/Morgan Hunt Glaze

    Even the lactose-intolerant (like me) might have a hard time resisting this creamy, cheesy hot spinach artichoke dip, made with the ideal ratio of spinach to artichokes and a trifecta of cream cheese, mayo, and sour cream for perfect texture. This is one recipe where thawed frozen cut-leaf spinach is preferred over fresh—it’s easier to use and perfectly sized for scooping onto vegetables and chips.

  • Fully Loaded Vegan Queso Dip

    20150228-vegan-loaded-queso-dip7.jpg
    J. Kenji López-Alt

    For a spectacular vegan queso dip that’s sure to please even omnivores, start with a base of vegan nacho cheese sauce—rich, tangy, gooey, and spicy—made from toasted cashews and puréed potatoes. Top it with crispy pan-fried homemade vegan chorizo for meaty texture, along with diced tomatoes and canned chopped chiles. Serve with canned black beans, cilantro, scallions, additional chiles, and plenty of tortilla chips for scooping.

  • Warm Butternut Squash Cheddar Dip

    20151119-warm-butternut-squash-cheddar-dip-top-morgan-eisenberg.jpg
    Morgan Eisenberg

    Roasted butternut squash—with its sweet, nutty flavor and buttery, creamy texture—is irresistible on its own. Add caramelized onions, crispy fried sage, cream cheese, and sour cream, then top it with a blanket of golden, bubbly cheddar, and you’ve got a gooey, autumnal casserole worth fighting over.

    Continue to 5 of 10 below

  • Spicy Maryland Crab Dip

    A closeup of a hand holding a scoop of baked dip with melted cheese from a dish

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    Maryland crab purists may scoff at mixing prized blue crab lump meat with cream cheese, mayo, sour cream, Old Bay, garlic powder, cayenne, hot sauce, grated cheddar, and Worcestershire—but don’t knock this irresistible hot crab dip until you’ve tried it. It still delivers bold crab flavor in a shareable, cost-effective format that's perfect for feeding a crowd—far more practical than individual crab cakes.

  • Cranberry-Jalapeño Baked Brie Dip

    20181216-cranberry-jalapeno-baked-brie-overhead-morgan-eisenberg
    Morgan Eisenberg

    Baked Brie is already an easy hot dip on its own, but layering it with chopped fresh cranberries and jalapeño adds a delectably low-effort, high-reward twist. A touch of brown sugar tempers the cranberries’ tartness and the chile’s heat.

  • Chili Con Queso

    20110912-170286-chile-con-queso.jpg
    Lisa Fain

    While the Tex-Mex specialty known as chili con queso is traditionally made with processed “cheese food” (a.k.a. Velveeta) and a can of Ro*Tel diced tomatoes with green chiles, this version takes a different approach. To replicate that signature creamy, velvety texture, a blend of real cheddar and Jack cheeses is melted with a roux and a touch of sour cream for tang, while diced fresh tomato and green chiles add brightness.

  • 7-Layer Buffalo Chicken Dip

    20160129-7-layer-buffalo-chicken-dip-finished-morgan-eisenberg.jpg
    Morgan Eisenberg

    You know the saying “more is more”? This Buffalo chicken dip proves it. Three kinds of cheese deliver creamy, melty, stretchy textures in an over-the-top, layered format. Unlike the typical seven-layer versions—often too thick for chips to handle—this one is built for dipping, with cream cheese thinned by ranch dressing and refried beans loosened with Buffalo sauce to amp up flavor and improve scoopability. Dip freely, with minimal risk of chip breakage.

    Continue to 9 of 10 below

  • Beer Cheese

    A round ceramic plate holding two Bavarian-style pretzels and a small bowl of beer cheese. Part of one pretzel is being dipped into the beer cheese by a hand.

    Serious Eats / Qi Ai

    Cornstarch and evaporated milk are the secret ingredients that meld sharp cheddar with bitter brown ale into a smooth, rich, irresistibly dippable sauce, boldly flavored with Dijon, Worcestershire, and hot sauce—perfect for soft pretzels and just about everything else.

  • French Onion Soup Cheese Dip

    20140121-280747-french-onion-soup-cheese-dip.jpg
    Joshua Bousel

    Ever wonder what happens when you flip the ratio of soup stock to cheese in French onion soup—favoring more cheese? You get this insanely cheesy, wonderfully gooey dip loaded with caramelized onions.

Explore more:

More Serious Eats Recipes