As I’ve mentioned before, the Super Bowl is kind of a big deal for me. I care less about the ads and halftime show (last year aside, of course [obvi I Googled that link and don’t have it bookmarked or anything …]) and instead focus on the most important things: football and food.
I’m a big believer in making Super Bowl food as low maintenance as possible. When scanning recipes, I’ll look for instructions like “make ahead,” “dump and bake,” “cover and simmer” — basically anything that requires me to pay little attention and even less effort. And bonus points if it travels easily, so I can drag it to my aunt’s house without any messes.
By those standards, pizza dip is the ultimate Super Bowl food. It’s quite literally dump and bake, and requires less than five minutes to put together. It can easily be assembled, covered with tin foil and carried, so you can bake it fresh at your Super Bowl party (it only needs 20-25 minutes!). And when did hot, bubbly, browned melted cheese ever disappoint a crowd?
If pizza dip ain’t yo’ thang, a) we need to have a serious talk, and b) I put together a little list of my favorite game day recipes. Check it out, and enjoy!
Pizza Dip
Adapted from the Brown-Eyed Baker
Makes 10-12 servings (as an appetizer)
– 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
– 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
– 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
– 1 cup pizza sauce (I used Whole Foods’ fresh pizza sauce, but if you want to make your own, this version looks super easy)
– 1 tablespoon Italian seasonings (or a mix of dried oregano, thyme and rosemary)
– 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
– 1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
– baguette, sliced and toasted (for serving)
1) Preheat oven to 400F. In a medium bowl, mix together the mozzarella, parmesan, Italian seasonings, garlic powder and crushed red pepper flakes.
2) Spread the cream cheese over the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate or a similar 1-quart baking dish. Top with 1 cup of the shredded cheese mixture. Spread the pizza sauce on the cheese, then top with the remaining cup of cheese.
3) Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly, 20-25 minutes. Serve with slices of toasted baguette.
Note: You could add any toppings that you normally like on your pizza — pepperoni, black olives, bell peppers, sliced sauteed mushrooms, crumbled sausage, etc. Just mix them in with the shredded cheese mixture in Step 1. (Alternately, you could add them to the top of the pizza dip only, by adding them after adding the second cup of cheese in Step 2.)
Oh man, this is one indulgent dish. Very unlike you, Miss Marathon 😉
Hahaha is it any coincidence that I signed up for another half in the same week as making this recipe??
yum!!! DEF making this next week