GARLIC BREAD DIP. Like, those have to be my favorite words put together. We’re talking bout layers of layers of flavor. We’ll use garlic in three different forms, fold in some delicious ricotta and cream cheese, add fresh parsley, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and mozzarella and bake this dip in the oven until it’s golden. As an added touch, I love to drizzle it with a little white truffle oil. Because we’re fancy like that! And trust me when I say this – it tastes exactly like garlic bread but in dip form! Trust me, this is the appetizer of your dreams! It’s a cross between baked ricotta and a garlic dip. And it’s perfect to serve for game day, Christmas or New Years with crackers, homemade crostini, or even some potato chips. It’s also a nice alternative to serving dipping oil on your next Italian dinner night. The idea comes from an Italian restaurant here in town that serve whipped ricotta with their truffled garlic bread. And can I just say that I’ve modeled my garlic bread after theirs? As if that wasn’t enough, now I’m serving it up to in dip form. I’m obsessed! Step aside French onion and caramelized onion dip – we’ve got a new easy appetizer in town!
Ingredients for homemade garlic bread dip:
Heads of Garlic + Garlic Cloves: I wasn’t kidding when I said this is a garlic bread dip! We’re starting off my trimming the garlic and roasting the heads. Then we’ll grate in a few cloves into the dish as well. Extra Virgin Olive Oil: or any good quality olive oil, really! We’ll use this to drizzle on the garlic heads before we roast them in the oven.Cream Cheese + Ricotta Cheese: these ingredients are the base of this dip. Make sure to remove them from the refrigerator a couple of hours ahead of time. It’s much easier to blend them together when they aren’t cold! Typically, I use mayo in my dips rather than ricotta, but ricotta pairs much better with garlic, so we’re making that swap.Sour Cream: We’ll add a big dollop of sour cream to add tang to the dip. We’ll use just ¼ cup as the main base is the cream cheese and ricotta.Parmesan and Asiago Cheese: Both the parmesan and asiago add nuttiness to the dip. They pair beautifully with the other ingredients and help enhance the other players in the dip.Seasonings: I add in some garlic powder and some kosher salt. If you’ve been keeping count, that’s garlic in three different intensities what I’ve added to the dip thus far. But of course, you can pack this with as many herbs and spice as you’d like. A big pinch of red pepper flakes would add some heat if that’s you’re thing!Fresh Herbs: I use fresh parsley and chives. Feel free to swap the chives for oregano, basil, or even some thyme if you prefer.Mozzarella Cheese: We’ll use the mozzarella primarily as a topping. It doesn’t get folded in like the other cheeses, but rather just layers on top of the baking dish before we bake this in the oven. Of course, if you don’t want to use asiago, you can add some mozzarella into the dip mixture as well.Truffle Oil: This is entirely optional, adding a light drizzle on top just makes this dip more holiday friendly! Plus I love the combination of white truffle oil with mozzarella and garlic! Leave this out if you don’t have any on hand.Crostini, Crackers, or Chips: grab some crusty bread and slice it on the biased. Drizzle with a little oil and sprinkle with some flakey salt. Bake until golden, I’ve got the full directions here. I also love the TJ’s multigrain pita crackers with this recipe. They are sturdy and hold up to the dip well.
How to make garlic bread cheese dip:
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
Texas Green Chili Queso DipJalapeno Popper DipSlow Cooker Spinach Artichoke DipPhilly Cheese Steak DipBaked Tomato Goat Cheese Dip
Room Temperature: Make sure the creamc ehes, ricotta, and sour cream are all at room temperature so that it’s easier to fold the dip ingredients together.Roasted Garlic: You can roast the garlic heads up to 2 days in advance. Once cooled squeeze the garlic out and pop into an airtight container, refrigerate or freeze until ready to use. You can freeze up to 2 months.
