dip Archives – A Well Crafted Party

There is a fairly new trend that I’m 1000% behind, and it is basically creating finely diced salads that are eaten with chips. I mean, best of both worlds, right? The viral Green Goddess Salad was the first one I saw and tried, but I’ve now tried several salads this way and it has become a favorite twist to a weeknight meal or healthy addition to a party appetizer menu. This Italian Salad Chip Dip Recipe would work for either a main meal (lunch anyone?) or an appetizer! And, the best part? It is completely customizable depending on your tastes!

The ingredients for this Italian Salad Chip Dip are completely customizable!

I’m one of the weird people who read recipes for fun and then take a bunch of ideas and my preferences and make something up. I know that not everyone is that way, so I do practice and test recipes for the blog. But, I also like to work on recipes that are adjustable to a person’s preferences when possible. And, this one fits the bill! Don’t like the cheese? Sub a different one? Don’t eat meat? Sub in some great vegetables! I’ll share suggested substitutions below, but have fun with this one!

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A great twist on a traditional chips and dip recipe, eat your salad with your chips!

Italian Salad Chip Dip Recipe

This recipe makes approximately 3.5 cups of chip dip. This is a hearty recipe so it will serve quite a few people for an appetizer or potentially 4 people for a good lunch.

Chopped Italian Salad Chip Dip Ingredients:

8 ounces of ham (I used a thicker cut deli ham)
3.5 ounces of salami
2 cups of parmesan cheese shredded
2.25 ounces black olives sliced
Parsley (You’ll end up wanting around 1/2 cup once chopped)
16 oz Roasted Red Peppers
10 Pepperoncinis
1/2 Large Red Onion
1/3 cup olive oil
3 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
2 Teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 Teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 Teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 Teaspoon salt (as it is being served with salty chips and there is salt in the salami and ham, you don’t need much!)

The biggest tip for making a salad into a chip dip is chopping everything as small as possible!

Directions:

Take all of the ingredients other than the cheese, spices, oil and vinegar, and chop into as small as pieces as you can get. This takes some time, but the smaller the better! You want your guests to be able to get as many of the ingredients on one chip as possible.
In a mixing bowl, add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, and spices. Whisk until incorporated. (When oil and vinegar incorporate they get a slightly creamy look to them!)
Add in all of your chopped ingredients and cheese. Mix with a spoon.
Serve with your favorite chips! I liked this salad with Salt & Vinegar chips* as well as Parmesan Garlic chips*!

Customize this Italian Chip Dip to your tastes!

Ways to Customize:

Want it even more salad like? Add in a hearty romaine! Serve directly after adding in the romaine as it will not keep as well as a salad without it.
Change out the meats for roasted Zucchini and Eggplant.
Add in Italian tomatoes for a bright pop of flavor.
Trade the black olives for your favorite green olives!
Change out the Parmesan for Provolone, Asiago, or Mozzarella!

How would you customize this dip? Share in the comments below!

Corn Salad Chip Dip Recipe

This recipe makes approximately 7 cups of dip which will feed a crowd. If you have a smaller group, just halve the recipe! The great thing about this mixture is you can adjust the spice to your comfort level by adding more or removing as needed.

Corn Salad Dip Ingredients:

2 Bags of Frozen Corn (12 oz each, 24 oz total)

3 tablespoons butter

16 ounces of shredded Mexican blend cheese (cheddar would also work)

16 ounces (or two 8 ounce packages) of cream cheese (room temp)

1 cup sour cream

2-4 Jalapenos depending on your desired spice level (finely diced)

2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Ancho Chile Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Paprika

1/2 Teaspoon Cumin

Salt & Pepper to taste (do not overdo salt as this will be eaten with salted chips)

This creamy and cheesy Jalapeno Chip Dip Recipe is bound to be a crowd pleaser at your next BBQ!

Directions:

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add butter, corn, and spices. Cook the corn and spices together until corn is slightly charred. You can achieve this by letting the corn sit in one place for a time before stirring. Don’t let it burn, but get a little darkness to the kernels. Set aside to let cool.

In a large mixing bowl add cream cheese, sour cream, finely diced Jalapeno, and shredded cheese. Mix with a hand mixer.

Add in cooled corn and mix with large spoon. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remember that you’ll be serving with salted chips, so don’t overdo the salt content.

Garnish with a slice or two of jalapeno and serve with corn chips!

Jalapeno tips:

Cut with gloves or a plastic bag on your hand to avoid getting the oils on your hands and transferring to more sensitive areas.

Scrape out seeds and white pith to reduce potential heat levels a bit.

This creamy and cheesy Jalapeno Chip Dip Recipe is bound to be a crowd pleaser at your next BBQ!

Change it up!

This is a fun recipe to put your own spin on. Don’t like Jalapenos? Change them out for some Poblano peppers instead! Want to add a pop of freshness? Add in some cut tomatoes to brighten up the dish.

Let me know what you would do to add your own special twist to this Corn Salad Dip recipe in the comments!