Warm Jalapeño Popper Dip with Pita Chips

I'm highly anticipating the "black out" that's scheduled for Saturday night here in Columbus... Sadly, I'll be watching the game from a hotel room in Dayton -- courtesy of yet another soccer tournament.

But if I were watching from home, you can bet I'd be stuffing my face with this fantabulous jalapeno popper dip! I mean, I love me some jalapeño poppers (especially wrapped in bacon), but this creamy yet spicy jalapeno popper dip is infinitely easier to prepare and really stretches to feed a crowd.

I recommend starting with a container of Philadelphia Chive & Onion Cream Cheese. Seriously, this stuff makes magical dips -- I use it in almost all of my favorite dip recipes. It provides tons of flavor with zero effort.

My second tip is to head to Walmart for your diced jalapeños and chiles. The Great Value brand tastes fantastic and is easy on your wallet. PLUS it's the only brand I've found that actually dices the jalapeños, rather than just slicing them, which saves you the hassle of chopping them up!

Stir together the cream cheese, chiles and jalapeños, along with some mayonnaise and ½ cup of the shredded Parmesan cheese -- good stuff, huh?! Spread it in an ungreased baking dish, and then grab a small bowl to prepare the topping.

Mix together the Panko bread crumbs and remaining ¼ cup of shredded Parmesan cheese in the small bowl. Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil over the top, and toss it all together until well combined. Sprinkle the bread crumb topping all over the cream cheese mixture and bake until bubbly and golden brown.

A thick, creamy dip like this calls for an extra sturdy chip. We devoured it on pita chips, but wow, is it just me or have the prices skyrocketed on them? If you're looking for a more budget-friendly option, opt for some thicker cut tortilla chips. Then dig in!

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Warm Jalapeño Popper Dip with Pita Chips

Yield: 2 cups

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 27 minutes

Total Time: 32 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 (12-oz.) container Chive & Onion cream cheese, softened
• ¾ cup mayonnaise
• 1 (4-oz.) can diced chiles, drained
• 1 (4-oz.) diced jalapeños, drained
• ¾ cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
• ½ cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, chiles, jalapeños and ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese until well blended. Spread into an ungreased 1 ½-qt. baking dish.
2. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs and remaining ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese. Drizzle in the olive oil and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle the bread crumb topping over the cream cheese mixture.
3. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25-27 minutes, until golden brown. Serve with tortilla or pita chips.

Have you tried this recipe?

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Note that this dip is pretty spicy -- I mean, it is a jalapeño dip after all. But it's not hot enough to stop my 11-year-old daughter from chowing down on it. However, if you're sensitive to spicy foods, you may want to cut back a bit on the diced jalapeños.