Creamy, cheesy, delicious hot beef taco dip perfect for a party and a family dinner alike. This beef taco dip is made with ground beef, veggies, cheese, and some more cheese.
Preheat oven to 375° and make sure the baking dish (or cast iron skillet) is lightly greased.
Heat up a cooking pan over medium heat and add a couple of tablespoons of oil for cooking.
Dice onions, tomatoes, jalapeno, and chili pepper. (You can choose to discard the seeds or keep the seeds for extra spice.)
Start to cook onions until transparent. Add jalapeno and chili pepper and saute until softened.
Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add tomatoes and cook until all veggies are softened.
Add ground beef and break it up as much as possible. Cook until the meat it done. Mix and break apart the clumps occasionally, as the meat cooks.
Sprinkle taco seasoning over the beef and stir everything together well.
Once meat is cooked, transfer the meat and veggies mixture into a mixing bowl.
Stir in cream cheese until completely combined and smooth.
Stir in 1 cup of Mexican cheese mix and transfer into a baking dish or skillet.
Top off with remaining cup of Mexican cheese mix and sprinkle chipotle chili powder and paprika over the cheese.
Bake for about 10-15 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbles.
Notes
More or Less Spicy: Remember most of the chili pepper’s spice is in the seeds so choose to leave the seeds in for more spice or discard for less. You can also select older or younger peppers based on their skin. Older peppers are much spicier than young ones and you can tell the age of the chili pepper by the brown veins on the skin. The more veins, the older it is, the spicier it is. You can also use mild or spicy taco seasoning according to the spice level you desire.
Make Ahead: You can prepare the dip all the way up to the baking step. Just transfer the dip mixture into an air-tight food storage container and store in the refrigerator for a day or two. When you’re ready to bake it, spread the cold mixture in a seasoned cast iron skillet or in a baking dish, add some shredded cheese on top, and bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes.
Make It In A Slow Cooker: Start by cooking veggies and beef on stove-top just like instructed in the recipe. Transfer cooked meat and veggies into the mixing bowl. Mix in softened cream cheese and all of the shredded Mexican cheese mix and transfer the mixture into the slow cooker. Cover and set it to cook on low for about 4 hours. (You can also cook it on high for 2-3 hours.) Once the dip is done, you can set the slow cooker on the warm setting and serve it to your guests right in the slow cooker.