If you're looking for a delicious and easy dip recipe, this sausage cream cheese dip is THE ONE!! Just 3 ingredients + 3 steps to prepare... Make this Rotel sausage dip on the stovetop or in your crockpot slow cooker — SUPER SIMPLE!
This Rotel sausage dip is one of my go-to delicious recipes for parties, potlucks, and/or tailgating before the big game — you know, pretty much any occasion that calls for copious amounts of dips and finger foods. And it just doesn't get much better than this Rotel dip!
The Best 3-Ingredient Dip
You'd seriously never guess that three simple ingredients could produce such an addictive and flavorful dip. Even picky eaters will be hooked after the first bite!
If I'm being completely honest, I've even been known to make this easy and delicious sausage cream cheese dip for a quick weeknight dinner...
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- just THREE ingredients (count 'em!!)
- super simple 3 easy steps to prepare
- make it on the stovetop in a large skillet
- or make it a crockpot sausage dip in your slow cooker
- as spicy or mild as you want it to be
- ready to eat in as little as 15 minutes!
Grab a BIG bag of thick and hearty restaurant-style tortilla chips and let's make a batch for your next gathering!
"Thank you for such a simple recipe."
This recipe was awesome, super easy to make and tasted delicious!
Rotel Sausage Dip Ingredients
Making this dip is as easy as 1, 2, 3: pork sausage + Rotel tomatoes, + cream cheese!! And it NEVER gets boring. There are plenty of options for customization within this 3-ingredient framework:
- Bulk hot pork sausage: My go-to is a 1-lb. roll of Jimmy Dean hot sausage. To be clear, this is not in any way sponsored by Jimmy Dean... I just think their spicy sausage packs the perfect amount of heat, and it isn't excessively greasy after browning. If you prefer a milder dip, then by all means go for regular sausage or even mild sausage.
- Rotel tomatoes & chilies: Rotel is always a classic ingredient in Mexican-inspired dips, so it's a natural fit here. The original variety is pretty mild, but they do also offer an actual mild variety if you prefer absolutely no heat.
Me? I just saw they're now offering a habanero variety, and I am TOTALLY trying that for some extra heat next time I make this hot sausage dip! And if you fall somewhere in the middle, this hatch chili Rotel is fantastic. - Cream cheese: Cream cheese on the whole doesn't vary much between brands, so choose whatever your fave is. That said, you could lighten this recipe up slightly by using Neufchatel. Or swap it for chive & onion cream cheese, my tried and true dip starter!
At this point, you probably don't even need my help to figure out how to make sausage dip. But I'll still walk you through how to make this easy 3-ingredient dip recipe on both the stovetop and crockpot, so everything is simple and straightforward.
How To Make Sausage Dip
THREE ingredients and just THREE steps... See why this is hands down the easiest sausage cream cheese Rotel dip recipe ever?!!
- Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking it up into small pieces as it's cooking. For best results, at this point, you’ll want to drain off any excess grease. However, I’ve found that when I use Jimmy Dean hot sausage, the excess oil is very minimal, so I just skip doing this.
BTW, if you don't already own one of these ground meat choppers, you totally need to pick one up! It makes browning and crumbling ground beef, ground turkey, and bulk sausage so much easier than trying to use a wooden spoon. - Now is the time to decide whether you want to continue your prep on the stovetop (fastest) or in your crockpot (best for transporting a hot dip to a tailgate party or potluck). If you're continuing on the stovetop, just leave the browned sausage in the skillet and dump in 2 cans of Rotel.
If you're moving the sausage dip to your crockpot, transfer the browned ground sausage to the crockpot insert. Then dump the 2 cans of Rotel in with it. - Cube two 8-oz. blocks of cream and add them to the sausage Rotel mixture. Cook over medium-low heat on the stovetop until fully combined, stirring frequently.
If you're preparing this dip in the crockpot, the cook time will take longer. You can use any heat setting, depending on how soon you plan to serve it. Just turn it down to "keep warm" after the ingredients are fully combined to avoid scorching it.
Tara's Tip: Easy Crockpot Cleanup
Hate scrubbing your crockpot clean after a party? Me too!! Line it with one of these disposable slow cooker liners for quick and easy cleanup. You'll thank yourself the next day!
Tips For Best Results
- Use a ground meat chopper. I know I already mentioned this, but a silicone ground meat chopper makes browning the bulk sausage for this simple dip nearly effortless. It's the first thing I reach for when making taco meat, meat sauces, and sausage/ground beef-based dips like this!
- Cut the cream cheese into cubes before adding it for faster melting. Technically you can just throw the whole blocks in and still end up with a creamy dip, but they will take much longer to melt.
- DON'T drain the Rotel. The little bit of liquid is essential for thinning out this sausage and cream cheese dip enough to be scoopable.
- Serve with sturdy tortilla chips. Speaking of scoopable... This creamy sausage dip is still on the thick side, so choose some robust restaurant-style tortilla chips. If you're feeling really ambitious, you could even try making your own homemade tortilla chips!
- Tortilla chip alternatives: The larger scoop-size corn chips are great with this dip. Also celery sticks and/or sliced bell peppers are a great option for your low carb guests.
Mini Slow Cooker Crockpot Sausage Dip
I searched high and low to find the BEST mini slow cooker for this crockpot sausage dip (and actually for ALL of my favorite crockpot party dips). My criteria were that it be a small size crock pot, have at least 3 heat levels, and be extra cute on my countertop...
AND I FOUND ONE THAT IS JUST PERFECT!! This beauty holds 1.5 quarts, has 3 manual heat settings, AND comes in 4 fun colors, plus basic black. Even better? It's priced at just $12.99!
In fact, I love it so much that I also bought the coordinating 6-qt. oval programmable version. I use this larger one to make a double batch of this easy dip when I know I'm going to have lots of hungry guests (you know, like for Super Bowl Sunday)... HIGHLY RECOMMEND BOTH!
3-Ingredient Sausage Cream Cheese Dip
Ingredients
- 1 (16-ounce) roll hot pork sausage
- 2 (10-ounce) cans Rotel diced tomatoes & green chilies undrained
- 2 (8-ounce) bricks cream cheese cubed
- restaurant-style tortilla chips for dipping
Instructions
Stovetop Method:
- Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up into small pieces as it’s cooking. Drain off any excess oil, as necessary.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and dump in 2 cans of Rotel.
- Add the cubed cream cheese and cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until the cream cheese melts and everything is fully combined.
- Serve warm with thick restaurant-style tortilla chips.
Crockpot Method:
- Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking it up into small pieces as it’s cooking. Drain off any excess oil.
- Transfer the browned sausage to your crockpot insert, and dump in 2 cans of Rotel.
- Add the cubed cream cheese and cover. Choose your desired heat setting depending on when you want to serve your dip. Heat stirring occasionally until fully combined, about one hour on low heat. Turn heat down to "keep warm".
- Serve warm with thick restaurant-style tortilla chips.
Tips & Suggestions
Featured Products
More Easy Dip Recipes
If you like this sausage dip recipe, you might also enjoy these other easy dip recipes:
- 3-Ingredient Lawson's Chip Dip — If you ever had a Lawson's corner store at the end of your block, you'll recognize this copycat chip dip recipe immediately. If not, you're totally in for a treat!
- Pepperoni Pizza Dip — all the flavors of a supreme pizza in a scoopable, dippable format that's always a party fave!
- Easy Buffalo Chicken Dip — Using canned chicken makes this amazing dip incredibly easy to prepare, AND you can make it in your crockpot!
- Beef Queso Dip — Another super fast and simple (yet amazingly good) dip that's made with just 4 ingredients!
Did you make this recipe?
I'd love to see how your sausage cream cheese dip turns out... Tag me @Unsophisticook on Instagram or use the hashtag #Unsophisticook so I can check it out. Enjoy!
Paula says
eating it now during our first game of the season (Go NOLES). Hearty and tasty. I used one can original Rotel and one mild. Everything else the same as this recipe.
Shelly says
Easy to make and damn good!
Wayne says
This looks so delicious and tasty! I can't wait to show this to my wife!
Sara Welch says
Adding this to my New Year's Eve spread, indeed! So easy and delicious; excited to give this a try!
Lily says
This recipe was awesome, super easy to make and tasted delicious! Thank you for such a simple recipe.
Alison says
This looks like a delightful dip to make for New Year's Eve!
Heidy says
This 3-ingredient Rotel sausage cream cheese dip was off the chain yummy and so flavorful. I used to make this all the time and forgot about it until seeing your recipe. Happy New Year!
rika says
I love easy recipes like this! Cream cheese dip is my go to party appetizer to feed a crowd.
Beth says
This looks so delicious and tasty! I'm so excited to give this recipe a try!
Andrea Metlika says
I can make a meal out of this super easy and delicious dip!