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If you love jalapeño poppers, you’ll love this dippable version! Jalapeño Popper Dip is easy to make, deliciously cheesy, and perfect for everything from parties to movie night to game day.
INTRO
JALAPEÑO POPPER DIP WITH PANKO TOPPING
Jalapeño poppers are always a hit at parties. Spicy and cheesy, they’re one of the first appetizers to disappear at any party I’m at.
But the biggest downside to this snack is actually making them.
Having to prep the peppers and the filling and then assembling them? No thanks.
When I’m planning snacks for a family movie night, party, or game day, I like to keep things easy with recipes like my Spicy Taco Cheese Ball, Sweet and Spicy Snack Mix, and French Onion Dip. AKA delicious recipes without any individual assembly required.
My Jalapeño Popper Dip follows this trend. I took all of the flavors of a jalapeño popper and put them into a creamy dip with a crispy panko topping.
The best part? You can have this dip ready to pop into the oven in under 10 minutes.
HOW TO MAKE JALAPEÑO POPPER DIP
This Jalapeño Popper Dip recipe uses 4 different cheeses:
- Cream cheese
- Shredded Mexican-style cheese
- Shredded mozzarella
- And freshly grated parmesan
To make the dip, the cream cheese gets blended together with mayonnaise until nice and smooth.
Then fold in a can of diced green chiles and a can of diced jalapño peppers along with the Mexican-style cheese and the mozzarella.
Spoon all of this into a baking dish before topping with the panko and parmesan and baking until hot, bubbly, and lightly browned.
Even though this dip is best when baked with the crispy panko topping, you can leave off the panko and parmesan and pop the dip into the microwave until hot and bubbly if you’re in a hurry.
CAN YOU MAKE JALAPEÑO POPPER DIP AHEAD OF TIME?
Like all of my favorite snacks, Jalapeño Popper Dip can be made ahead of time.
It’s convenient to be able to assemble the dip several hours or even a day ahead of time and bake it just before serving.
If you choose to go this route, follow the instructions through step 3. Cover the dip and refrigerate.
When you’re ready to bake the dip, sprinkle on the panko and parmesan topping while the oven preheats, then bake according to the recipe directions.
CAN YOU FREEZE JALAPEÑO POPPER DIP?
If you really want to work ahead, you could even freeze the Jalapeño Popper Dip.
Make sure you spread the dip into a freezer-safe dish. I also recommend putting it into a dish that can go straight from the freezer to the oven without shattering.
Just like with refrigerating the dip, leave off the panko and parmesan topping. Cover tightly and freeze until ready to bake.
Once ready to enjoy, remove from the freezer, top with the parmesan and panko, and pop it into the oven. You will likely need to bake the dip for 10-15 extra minutes when baking from frozen.
Keep an eye on the popper dip the last 10 minutes or so of cooking. If it starts to get too brown, lightly cover with foil to prevent it from browning more while the dip finishes baking.
HOW TO SERVE THIS DIP
So what goes with Jalapeño Popper Dip? Anything you can dip, really!
I love to serve it with toasted French bread, tortilla chips, and crackers. I also like to put out some raw veggies – the crunchy, cool veggies are a yummy contrast to the hot, creamy dip.
And, of course, you’ll probably want a nice cold beer or even a frozen mason jar margarita with your popper dip!
Whether you make Jalapeño Popper Dip for a family game night snack or your next party, you’ll love how easy this recipe is to make and your friends and family will love how delicious it is!
Jalapeño Popper Dip
Ingredients
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 can diced green chiles 4 ounces; drained
- 4 ounces canned diced jalapeño peppers drained
- ½ cup shredded Mexican style cheese
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an oven safe serving dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Using an electric mixer, blend the cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth.
- Stir in green chiles, jalapeno peppers, and Mexican and mozzarella cheeses. Spoon this mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- Mix together the Panko and parmesan cheese and sprinkle it over the cream cheese mixture.
- Spray the Panko and parmesan with a quick spray of non-stick cooking spray.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the mixture is hot and the topping is lightly browned.
Notes
- If you are in a hurry, skip the panko/parmesan topping and simply microwave the cream cheese mixture until hot and bubbly.
- To make ahead: prep dip through step 3, cover and refrigerate for several hours or up to a day. Top with panko/parmesan and bake according to directions.
- To freeze: prep dip through step 3, putting the dip in a freezer safe dish that can go straight from freezer to oven. Cover tightly and freeze. When ready to bake, pull from freezer, top with panko/parmesan and bake. You may need to bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, covering lightly with foil if dip starts to brown too much towards the end of baking.
- Serve this dip with French bread, fresh vegetables, tortilla chips, crackers…pretty much anything that pairs well with cheese!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Have you ever tried making it with something other than mayonnaise? I ask because my body rejects something in mayo – I don’t know what it is, but every time I eat a recipe with mayonnaise in it I get pretty spectacularly sick. Any recommendations on what I could substitute?
I was thinking sour cream most likely?
I tried the condensed cheddar cheese soup mix instead of mayo and it turned out great!
Lauren-
I have not made this without the mayonnaise – sorry I am not more of a help regarding a substitution.
-Jamie
hi lauren,
i was just reading through all of the comments, because i want to make this and make it a bit lighter.
i saw where one person used greek yogurt and another used sour cream. both said they turned out great! i’m going to make this, this weekend and use greek yogurt.
i’ll try to get back and post how it turned out :)
emily
I hate football too, and like you, really only get excited for the superbowl because of the food. This dip looks so awesome and easy! I can’t wait to make it.
Jamie, I made this dip for poker night with the guys…it was gone in less than 30 minutes. Normally during Poker games, we need to go on beer runs…they actually on an ingredient run instead. If this dip can please 5 card playing, beer drinking Arizona men…you know it’s good.
Matt-
I am thrilled to hear that you and your poker buddies enjoyed this dip! An ingredient run, huh? Now, that’s what I’m talking about! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and comment! Have a great day.
-Jamie
I made this amazing dip this weekend when we had friends over. This dip was SO easy and SO delicious! My friend even asked for the recipe.
Doreen-
This is one of my absolute favorites! So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
-Jamie
Hi Jamie, I was wondering what can I substitute the mexican cheese with since the supermarkets where I live don’t sell stuff like that.. :( Thanks!
Dee-
You can just use regular cheddar or a combination of cheeses. I used Kraft Shredded Mexican Blend. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
This dip looks amazing! What kind of Mexican style cheese did you use? Thanks!
Mary-
I just used a Mexican Cheese Blend from Kraft. Hope this helps.
-Jamie
I make this with sour cream instead of mayonnaise.
Hi, can’t wait to try this for the Super Bowl — wondering one thing – what “mexican style” cheese did you use? I’m thinking this could mean two things — the “mexican blends” in the shredded section, or real mexican cheese in the specialty section.
I’ve made this recipe twice, and both times it was a BIG hit!!! I’ve even got requests for the recipe too. People tend to graze around this dip with handfuls of chips waiting to dip in! Thanks again for sharing this ‘must keep’ recipe!!!
Thank you for this recipe ^.^
Just made if for a Thanksgiving potluck and it was a hit!!