Layered Taco Dip

Name: Layered Taco Dip
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Americna==an
Ingredients: 1 can refried beans; 2-3 ripe avocados, smashed; 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (1 lime); 2 garlic cloves, minced; ½ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon pepper; 2 cups sour cream (sub: plain organic Greek yogurt); 1-2 tablespoons taco seasoning, according to your taste; 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese; 1 cup loosely packed shredded Romaine or Green Leaf lettuce; 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, chopped; Diced red onion; Black olives; Salsa

★★★★★ 5 /5 Updated: 2/1/22

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Layered Taco Dip is the ideal party appetizer. The ingredients are simple and cheap, it’s easy to make ahead of time, and the flavor is amazing! The layers make it look like a complex recipe when, in reality, it takes only a few minutes to throw together!

Reasons to make Layered Taco Dip

1 – Eat on it all week. I left this in the fridge, and we ate on it for lunch, snacks, and dinner throughout the week. Not only can you dip tortilla chips but carrot sticks, as well. Seriously one of my favorite meals.

2 – It’s a perfect recipe for groups of people. You can throw this Layered Taco Dip together in about 15 minutes and there’s no cooking required. Plus, who doesn’t love this dip? It’s sure to be a party favorite.

3 – This version of the Layered Taco Dip is actually healthy! Just look at all of the real food ingredients in it.

How to Make Layered Taco Dip

Step 1: Beans

Refried beans are full of fiber, protein and low in fat and calories. Make sure you either make your own refried beans or buy organic to avoid strange ingredients. I’ve found that the Vegetarian Refried Beans in my store had the least amount of ingredients and were the lowest in fat, as well.

The base of your Layered Taco Dip will start by spreading out refried beans in the dish.

Overhead shot of refried beans in a glass 8x8 dish

Step 2: Avocados & Seasoning

The next layer is some avocado goodness. You’ll mix together some ripe avocados and lime juice (or use our Guacamole recipe) and then spread it out over the bean layer. This is a great way to use up some frozen avocado. Yes, you can freeze avocado! I do it all the time to add to smoothies like our Green Machine Smoothie.

Adding a good amount of avocados brings some great nutrition to the Layered Taco Dip too! Avocados = good fat, vitamins, minerals.

Overhead shot of avocado layer in layered taco dip recipe

Step 3: Sour Cream & Taco Seasoning

In this step, you’ll mix together sour cream and taco seasoning before spreading it over the avocado layer. While you can use store-bought taco seasoning, we recommend just making your own homemade taco seasoning. I always have a jar of this in my pantry since I use it so frequently on recipes like our Chicken Taco Soup, Taco Bar, and Mexican Soup.

Another healthy substitution is using plain Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream. Using Greek Yogurt is a near-perfect substitution for sour cream. It adds some awesome probiotics and calcium.

Overhead shot of sour cream and taco seasoning layer in layered taco recipe

Step 4: Cheese!

You can’t have a Layered Taco Dip without cheese, right? If you have some leftover cheese that you have frozen (yes, you can freeze cheese), this is a great way to use it up.

Overhead shot of sheet layer in an 8x8 dish for a layered taco dip recipe

Step 5: Veggies

Top your Taco Dip off with the veggies of your choice. I used some chopped-up lettuce and diced cherry tomatoes. Next time I plan to add some diced red onion. I’m not a black olive person, but many like to add those to their dip as well.

Veggies on top of layered taco dip recipe

What to Serve with Layered Taco Dip

The main team player with Taco Dip is tortilla chips. They are simply a must!

Other Ideas:

Load up a crunchy tostada. Add some taco meat if you want or just spread it on a tostada shell!

Wrap it into a burrito. You have everything you need for a tasty bean burrito with this dip. Wrap it in a flour tortilla.

Top quesadillas. Turn a boring quesadilla into a gourmet delight by topping it off with this dip.

Layered Taco Dip would be a great side dish to Beef Taquitos, Chicken Burritos, or Shredded Beef Tacos.

Storing Taco Dip

Layered Taco Dip is a GREAT recipe to make ahead of time. In fact, it tastes even better if prepped and chilled in the fridge for at least an hour. I use this recipe frequently as a game-day recipe.

Keep any leftover dip covered tightly in the refrigerator. We have started using these glass baking dishes with lids. It’s perfect for recipes like Layered Taco Dip or freezer meals.

Layered Taco Dip will keep for 3-4 days, but the longer it’s kept, the more the layers will “bleed” together and it can start to get a bit watery. If it gets watery, just drain it off, or use a paper towel to absorb the liquid. It will still taste amazing, just may not look picture perfect.

Layered taco dip in a glass dish with a lid

Rachel Tiemeyer

As co-founder of Thriving Home, Rachel dreams about creating recipes (literally) and uses her husband, her 3 kids, and even the neighbors as guinea pigs several nights a week. She believes that good food has the power to bring families and friends closer together and continues to wake up excited about her job each day, even after 10+ years!