Pizza Dip

Cheesy, gooey, flavorful pizza with all your favorite toppings just went crustless. But then you dip other crunchy things into it, so I guess it's not completely crustless. Unless you just want to eat it with a spoon. Which is totally an option. No seriously, I won't judge. But the crusty bread or chips or crackers really do go well with this dip, so maybe not so much with the spoon. I love dips for parties (and subsequent dinners from the leftovers) and this might be one of my new favorites. I made two versions--a veggie lovers with sauteed peppers, onions and mushrooms and a classic pepperoni. Both were fantastic on their own, but Dave thought they could have been combined for one ultimate pizza dip party. This dip is perfect in that way though because you can customize it exactly to your liking with your favorite toppings, or divide it up and have different flavors based on your crowd and preferences. Either way, it's a big bowl of pizza flavored yum.

I snagged this recipe from a Secret Recipe Club reveal with Sid from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking shared it. Sid actually came up with the idea of splitting the dip to use different toppings. I took it a step further to double the ingredients to make two full dips and adjusted the toppings for some of our favorites, sauteing those peppers, onions and mushrooms before baking. The result was awesome and this was a big hit, particularly with toasted sliced baguette for serving (although the pita crackers and tortilla chips definitely served the purpose when the bread ran out. If you like pizza, you need this dip in your life. Serve at your next party, take it to a potluck or just make it for a fun dinner with a green salad and some bread. Okay, now I'm excited about this dip and need to make it again soon!

Pizza Dip

Ingredients

1/3 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup onion, diced
1/3 cup green pepper, chopped 2 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sour cream, divided
1 teaspoon garlic powder, divided
2 teaspoons pizza sprinkle or Italian seasoning, divided
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
1 1/2 cups pizza sauce, divided
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup pepperoni, chopped

Lightly spray a skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onion and peppers and saute until softened and onions begin to turn translucent. Set aside.

Working with two bowls, place half the cream cheese, sour cream (3/4 cup), garlic powder, pizza sprinkle or Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese in each bowl. Stir until combined.

Lightly spray two 8 inch baking dishes with cooking spray. Turn each cheese mixture into one of the baking dishes (one bowl into one dish, the other bowl into the other dish) and smooth to an even layer. Spread 3/4 cup of pizza sauce over the top of each dish.

Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded mozzarella over the pizza sauce in each dish.

In one dish, layer sauteed vegetables over the cheese. In the other dish, arrange pepperoni across the top. At this point, both dips can be covered and refrigerated until ready to bake and serve.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and pepperoni begins to crisp.

Serve warm with sliced and toasted bread, crackers or tortilla chips.

Makes 2 dips, about 8 servings each.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

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