It’s that time of year again – time for us to showcase all the Super Bowl food we made this year! Every February we love cooking up snacks for the big game, and we find it an interesting challenge to make all-vegetarian fare that’s fun, tasty, and fits right in with what everyone else cooks up for Super Bowl Sunday. This year we made four things, and we’re going to start out with this dip, which we based on a recipe from Bon Appétit. Seven layer dips are a classic for parties, but they usually feature some kind of mystery meat tucked in the middle – but not this one. This dip is 100% meat-free and brings in a ton of different flavors from all seven layers. Here’s how to make this from scratch for your next big party.
You’ll need:
- 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) of butter
- An onion
- Garlic
- Cumin
- A can of chipotles in adobo sauce
- 2 15-ounce cans of pinto beans
- Vinegar
- American cheese
- Monterey Jack cheese
- 2 avocados
- A lime
- Sour cream
- Salsa
- Pickled jalapeños
- Scallions
- Cilantro
- Tortilla chips
You’re first going to make the beans, which serve as the bottom layer of the dip. Dice up your onion, then cook it with your butter in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until it’s started to lightly brown. While you’re waiting, finely chop 6 cloves of garlic and 3 chipotles, and also drain and rinse off all your beans. Once the onions begin to brown, add in the garlic plus 1 1/2 teaspoons of cumin and cook for just a minute. Then stir in the chipotles, the beans, and a large pinch of salt.
Add a cup of water to the pan and bring this all to a simmer, then use a potato masher while cooking the beans for a few minutes, until you get a consistency like this:
You can take the beans off the heat and stir in a tablespoon of vinegar, then move on to the next layer: your queso. In a small pan, bring 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, 2 teaspoons of adobo sauce (from your chipotles), and a pinch of salt to a simmer. Grate up 4 ounces of your American cheese, or if you’re using sliced cheese take 6 or 7 slices and tear them into pieces, then whisk them in. Grate 3 ounces of Monterey Jack cheese and whisk in as well until you have a smooth cheese sauce.
Finally, chop your avocados into pieces and mix with the juice from half your lime plus some salt. Now you can begin layering: pour the queso directly over the beans, then top with the avocado, followed by some sour cream, then some salsa, then some jalapeño slices. Slice up your scallions and add those on top, then chop some cilantro leaves and scatter those over everything.
Now you can serve the dip right from the skillet, with some tortilla chips.
We liked that this dip was a good combination of homemade and prepared ingredients: we got to make some vegetarian beans, and we also whipped up a queso on our stovetop, making for the two base layers of the dip. But then we added in some good store-bought items, like sour cream, salsa, pre-sliced jalapeños and some chopped avocados, making for a bunch of really good vegetarian additions to a skillet packed with flavor. The Super Bowl always needs a dip on hand, and we think this one fit the bill well as a rich, hearty, complex snack to scoop up while watching the game.