Easy 5 Layer Mexican Dip with Salsa - A Football Tailgating Classic Recipe (2024)

Our Super Easy 5 Layer Mexican Dip is made with salsa, cream cheese, refried beans, sour cream, and cheddar cheese. We also love to include jalapeños and black olives for an extra kick during football season!

I was introduced to this party food years ago when my sister-n-law at the time made it for a Super Bowl party. I’ve been making different versions of it since!!

I’ll share the 5 layer version with you, but you’ll see I sometimes will add a 6th or even 7th layer to it for kicks and giggles.

What is 5 Layer Mexican Dip?

Well, this is kinda self-explanatory. It’s a Mexican Dip that you see often at family get-togethers, birthday parties, New Year’s parties, and tailgating.

This version is made with layers of refried beans, cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and black olives.

You can serve with nachos or even spread onto a flour or corn tortilla for more of a meal versus a dip.

Is Mexican 5 Layer Dip Keto-Friendly?

The 5 Layer Mexican Dip can be. I didn’t focus on that for this recipe, but if you check the labels, you very well could make a keto-friendly version of this recipe.

The cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and black olives are low in carbs & higher in fat naturally, but you’d want to check your refried beans and salsa brands. Some of those can be higher in carbs than others.

What Do You Serve With 5 Layer Mexican Dip?

I like it served with restaurant-style nachos.

Those are just personally my favorite, but Kalee & Jake like the scoop-style nachos, too.

It’s also fun to have some flour (or corn) tortillas handy in case someone wants to make a bean burrito.

Any other tailgating, party-type finger foods would be great with your Mexican 5 Layer Dip.

Don’t get too focused on sticking with a Mexican theme unless that’s your goal.

If you’re just planning a fun get-together, any type of finger food will go well with this dip.

What Ingredients You’ll Need to Make 5 Layer Mexican Dip?

You’ll need:

• 1 16 oz can of refried beans
• 1/2 pack of taco seasoning
• 8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese – softened (if you’re going for keto, do full fat)
• 8 oz reduced fat sour cream (if you’re doing keto, do full fat)
• 16 oz jar of salsa
• 1 cup shedded cheddar cheese
• 2.25 oz of sliced black olives
• *optional 6th layer of jalapeños

We personally like a little spice so we added 1/4 cup diced jalapeños to our recipe.

Love spice? Check out our keto-friendly loaded cauliflower recipe!

Making Our 5 Layer Mexican Dip Recipe

Start by first laying the refried beans to the bottom of a 9 x 9 pan – an 8 x 8 will work, too.

In a separate bowl, blend together the cream cheese, the sour cream, and half the pack of taco seasoning.

Spread the cream cheese & sour cream mixture over the beans.

Next step is to spread the full jar of salsa over the beans & cream cheese/sour cream layers.

Finally, you top with your shredded cheddar cheese and black olives.

Now, if you’re like us, you can add a 6th layer of jalapeños.

Do you serve your Mexican Dip hot or cold?

The dip we made is ready to go once layered together. I did let mine sit in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before serving.

I ate it cold, but for a change, I also would scoop some into a bowl, and zap in the microwave just for a little change.

However, this dip is ready to serve cold or room temp for your tailgate party.

Need more tailgating ideas?

Check out more ideas in our round-up of tailgating recipes!!

Best Tailgating Ideas | Easy Ideas You’ll Love