5 Layer Mexican Dip is easy, creamy, and spicy. This delicious party appetizer is made with layers of refried beans, sour cream, taco sauce, veggies, and lots of shredded cheese. Bring this 5 Layer Dip to your next Super Bowl party, game day, BBQ, pool party, fourth of July, or a fun girl's night in.
Mexican food is undoubtedly one of my all-time favorite cuisines. I don't know what it is.
Is it spice, cheesiness, or creaminess? Is it the chips and guac? Or is it the margaritas? Or all of the above? haha.
Mexican food is like. party in your mouth and it goes oh so well with margaritas. The food is amazing and the culture is so fun.
Today I'm sharing with you my 5 Layer Mexican Dip that I've been making for years.
What is 5 Layer Mexican Dip?
A 5 Layer Mexican Dip is simply 5 layers of dip consisting of Mexican ingredients and flavors.
The first layer begins with refried beans followed by a layer of sour cream, then taco sauce, lots of veggies, and shredded cheese.
The veggies I used in this recipe are green bell peppers, jalapenos, scallions, tomatoes, and olives. You'll also need lots of fresh chopped cilantro and taco seasoning.
The combo of veggies, beans, sour cream, and cheese is scrumptious. This recipe is a crowd-pleaser and will be the star at your party.
It's the perfect appetizer to make for a Super Bowl party, game day, BBQ, pool party, or just a girl's night in. Throw in some margaritas and you've got yourself a real party! Trust me, this recipe will be a big hit!
Other party appetizers you'll enjoy are this Enchilada Bean Dip, Pav Bhaji Dip, and Mexican Pani Puri,
Ingredients for 5 Layer Mexican Bean Dip
Refried Beans - I love Trader Joe's Traditional Refried Beans. You can use any store-bought can of refried beans.
Taco Sauce - I like Taco Bell's Mild or Hot Sauce, but you can use any brand you like.
Sour Cream - You'll need sour cream for the beans and when assembling the dip.
Water - You'll need water to thin out the beans slightly.
Taco Seasoning - Again, I love Trader Joe's brand and it's spicy too. You'll need taco seasoning for the beans, veggie mixture, and for garnish.
Tomatoes - Make sure you drain your tomatoes before adding them to the veggie mixture.
Other Veggies - Green Bell Pepper, Scallions (or green onions), Jalapeno, and Olives.
Cilantro - You'll need lots of fresh chopped cilantro to flavor the dip.
Why You’ll Love this 5 Layer Mexican Dip
- Party Appetizer
- An Explosion of Flavors
- A Crowd Pleaser
- Easy and Delicious Recipe
- Make Ahead - keeps well for up to 2 days
- Cheesy & Creamy
- Spicy
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-Free
How to make 5 Layer Mexican Dip
Make the Beans
1. On medium heat, add the beans to a pot.
2. Add water, taco seasoning, and taco sauce. Stir.
3. Once the beans are warm, add sour cream and stir.
4. You should end up with a creamy texture. Your bean mixture is ready.
5. Pour the bean dip into a 10" x 7" (or around there) serving tray and let it cool.
Chop the Veggies
1. Chop the tomatoes and drain well.
2. Chop the scallions.
3. Now chop the black olives.
4. Next, chop the green bell peppers, I just used my favorite vegetable chopper.
5. Chop the jalapenos. You can use 1 or 2 jalapenos and deseed them if you prefer. I prefer spice so I used 2 with seeds.
6. Lastly, chop fresh cilantro.
7. In a large bowl, add the tomatoes, scallions, black olives, green bell peppers, jalapenos, and fresh cilantro.
8. Add taco seasoning and mix.
Assemble 5 Layer Dip
1. Top the bean layer with large dollops of sour cream. This is your second layer.
2. Spread out the sour cream.
3. Third Layer - Drizzle Taco Bell Mild/Hot sauce.
4. Fourth Layer - Top with all the veggie mixture.
5. Fifth Layer - Top with shredded Mexican cheese.
6. Garnish with fresh cilantro, a few chopped scallions, and sliced olives. You can also sprinkle some taco seasoning. Serve cold or at room temperature. Enjoy with tortilla chips!
Tips to make 5 Layer Dip
- First, prepare the bean layer and pour the refried beans into a serving casserole dish. Let it cool before assembling the rest of the ingredients.
- Make sure you chop and drain your tomatoes. This will prevent your dip from getting soggy.
- Chop all your veggies and combine them in a big bowl with taco seasoning.
- Finally, assemble.
Substitutions
Vegan - if you're vegan use vegan sour cream and cheese for htis recipe.
Lettuce - Shredded lettuce would be a nice touch in this dip, I would add the lettuce on top of the veggies and before the cheese.
Other Veggies - You can use red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, or orange bell peppers in this recipe. Corn would delicious too.
Storage
You can make this dip 2 days ahead. Just cover it with tight plastic wrap and it should be good when you serve.
For leftovers, store the dip in an airtight container and it'll keep well in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Top Tip
Make sure you chop and drain your tomatoes. This will prevent your dip from getting soggy.
FAQ
Yes, this dip is completely gluten-free.
Simply replace sour cream and cheese with the vegan versions respectively.
Go ahead and use 1 jalapeno instead of 2. Additionally, you can deseed the jalapenos if you wish.
Yes. Simply double the recipe and it'll be enough for about 16 people.
The classic Tortilla Chips - I love blue tortilla chips, you may also use white tortilla chips or yellow tortilla chips. For a healthier option, I love Trader Joe's Organic Quinoa and Black Bean Chips - they are so good and good for you!
5 Layer Mexican Dip is also known as 5 Layer Dip, 5 Layer Bean Dip, Mexican Dip, Mexican Bean Dip, Taco Dip, and Taco Bean Dip. There are so many different variations.
Cheddar Cheese would work great. You can also use Colby Jack Cheese or Pepper Jack Cheese. They would all be delicious.
More Party Appetizer Recipes
Pin & Enjoy!
Recipe Card
5 Layer Mexican Dip (easy, creamy, spicy)
Vegetarian, Gluten-freeIngredients
for the beans
- 1-16 ounce refried beans Trader Joe's traditional
- 2 tablespoon sour cream
- 1 ½ tablespoon taco seasoning I used Trader Joe's
- ¼ cup cold water
for the veggie mixture
- 1 cup scallions chopped
- 1 cup tomatoes chopped
- 1 cup green bell pepper chopped
- 2 jalapenos chopped, remove seeds for less heat
- ¼ cup black olives chopped
- ½ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoon taco seasoning
to assemble
- add bean layer
- 10-12 ounces sour cream
- drizzle of Taco Bell sauce
- top with veggie mixture
- 1 cup - 1 ½ cups shredded Mexican cheese
for garnish
- fresh cilantro chopped
- few scallions chopped
- few black olives sliced
- sprinkle of taco seasoning
Instructions
Make the Beans
- On medium heat, add the beans to a pot.
- Add water, taco seasoning, and taco sauce. Stir.
- Once the beans are warm, add sour cream and stir.
- You should end up with a creamy texture. Your bean mixture is ready.
- Pour the bean dip into a 10" x 7" (or around there) serving tray and let it cool.
Chop the Veggies
- Chop the tomatoes and drain well.
- Chop the scallions.
- Now chop the black olives.
- Next, chop the green bell peppers, I just used my favorite vegetable chopper.
- Chop the jalapenos. You can use 1 or 2 jalapenos and deseed them if you prefer. I prefer spice so I used 2 with seeds.
- Lastly, chop fresh cilantro.
- In a large bowl, add the tomatoes, scallions, black olives, green bell peppers, jalapenos, and fresh cilantro.
- Add taco seasoning and mix.
Assemble 5 Layer Dip
- Top the bean layer with large dollops of sour cream. This is your second layer.
- Spread out the sour cream.
- Third Layer - Drizzle Taco Bell Mild/Hot sauce.
- Fourth Layer - Top with all the veggie mixture.
- Fifth Layer - Top with shredded Mexican cheese.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro, a few chopped scallions, and sliced olives. You can also sprinkle some taco seasoning. Serve cold or at room temperature. Enjoy with tortilla chips!
Aanchal says
This is a superb idea for a crowd! I love how it’s the ingredients for the usual topped nachos dish but soooo much better as the nachos don’t get soggy. Was a hit for my party. Thank you so much!
honeywhatscooking says
HI Aanchal.. So glad to hear. I love this dip too. Total crowd-pleaser. 🙂
Charu says
This was super easy to make and so delicious, thanks for the recipe!
Sheenam says
Made it for Super Bowl evening and it was super hit. We all loved the dip and it was all gone within minutes. 💕💕