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Easy Cheesy Refried Bean Dip Recipe

This six ingredient Easy Cheesy Refried Bean Dip recipe is so simple to make and will impress all your friends. You’ll start making this easy appetizer for every game day or Cinco de Mayo.

For more ideas of what to make, check out all of our recipes.

A tortilla chip coming out of bean dip with the words "Easy Cheesy Refried Bean Dip" digitally written on top.

It’s amazing, the things you can make at home with little effort and simple ingredients. Like this Homemade Bean Dip. It’s a dump and go recipe. Put all the ingredients in a bowl, stir, and bake. That’s it.

It sounds so easy. And it really is. But this is also a really delicious bean dip recipe. It tastes as good (or, dare I say, even better) than some of the bean dip you get in restaurants.

Which is unfortunate because eventually, you’ll be like me and have a hard time eating out because you can make things better, at home, with basic ingredients, for less money.

So be careful if you serve this easy dip recipe to a crowd. Because from now on, you’ll be asked to bring this easy cheesy bean dip recipe to every single party.

A package of taco seasoning with the words "Budget-Friendly Recipes Using Taco Seasoning (that aren't tacos)" digitally written on top.

A full packet of taco seasoning goes into our bean dip. That way, you don’t have to worry about measuring out a bunch of seasoning. One packet and you’re done.

If you’re looking for more easy recipes using taco seasoning, try one of our other Budget-Friendly Recipes Using Taco Seasoning (that aren’t tacos).

Easy Cheesy Refried Bean Dip Recipe

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Easy Cheesy Refried Bean Dip Ingredients:

How To Make This Easy Cheesy Refried Bean Dip:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.

Your cream cheese needs to be soft. So, if it’s not, microwave it for 30 seconds to soften it. If it’s already at room temperature, skip this step.

Cream cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, and refried beans in a bowl.

Put the cream cheese, refried beans, sour cream, and diced tomatoes in a large bowl. Stir until combined.

Side note: You really want to make sure that the cream cheese is completely incorporated into the mixture. It won’t melt at all when it’s in the oven. So, if you don’t mix it completely, you’ll end up with large clumps on cream cheese in your dip, which isn’t very good.

Cheddar cheese on top of other ingredients in a bowl.

Shred the cheddar cheese and add it to the mixture. Stir until it’s incorporated.

Taco seasoning on top of ingredients in a bowl.

Add in the taco seasoning and give everything a good stir.

Easy Cheesy Refried Bean Dip in a casserole pan.

Pour the entire mixture into a round casserole pan.

Side note: If you don’t want to wash an extra bowl, you could put all the ingredients straight into a casserole pan and just stir in there, making this a one pot bean dip. Personally, I stir this in a bowl beforehand because my casserole pan isn’t deep enough for me to stir without making a mess. But, it’s one more pot to wash.

Easy Cheesy Refried Bean Dip, with a sliced jalapeno garnish, in a casserole pan.

Bake for 30 minutes until the top is golden brown.

If you want, you can garnish it with sliced jalapeño peppers or a little bit of queso fresco.. Serve warm with tortilla chips.

Variations:

Make It A Main Dish

This bean dip is one of our favorite appetizers. But, if you wanted, you could turn it into dinner too.

If you want to make this a main dish, here’s a fun twist. Put the bean dip in the center of the table. Around it, have bowls of your favorite toppings: jalapeño peppers, green onions, black olives, hot sauce, shredded cheese, and sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt).

Serve the bean dip in bowls, then allow your dinner guests to make their own personalized bean dip.

Turn It Into Taco Dip

Turn it into Taco Dip. Use this easy bean dip recipe as the base layer of Taco Dip. Put a layer of sour cream on top. Then, put cooked ground beef (seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, and salt) on top. Then, cover with a layer of shredded cheddar cheese. Bake it for the same 30 minutes.

Vegetarian Taco Dip

Use the variation above, but swap black beans for the ground beef to make a vegetarian taco dip. Top it with olive slices to make it a little more interesting.

A chip being pulled out of a bowl of easy cheesy refried bean dip.

Homemade Refried Bean Dip: Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of beans is bean dip made from?

This bean dip is made from canned refried beans. It’s a lot easier to make it from those. You could also make them from pinto beans, but you would have to process those in a food processor with liquid and that’s just too much work.

Can you make this in the slow cooker?

If you wanted, you could make this homemade bean dip in a slow cooker rather than in the oven. You would still add all the same ingredients into a slow cooker, then stir. Cook on high for 1 to 1.5 hours. When the dip is bubbly, it’s done.

Do you have to shred the cheese?

A block of cheese works so much better in this recipe than bagged shredded cheese.

See, the cheese in those bags have preservatives in them that keep them from clumping together in the bag. But, those same preservatives also prevent them from really melting in your recipes. So, when you’re making a recipe like this, where you want the cheese to melt to give you a nice creamy texture, a block of cheese that you shred yourself works best.

If you aren’t buying a block of cheese for this and you are going with a bag (despite everything I just said in that last paragraph), go with a Mexican cheese blend. It’ll add to the flavor of the bean dip that way.

How do you store leftover bean dip?

Wait until the hot bean dip is completely cool, then store any leftover bean dip in an airtight container in the fridge for about three to four days.

You can reheat this bean dip in the microwave and serve it again as bean dip. But that’s boring.
So, what we actually do is take the leftover bean dip and use it as a burrito filling. Stuff flour tortillas with the creamy dip, roll them, then place them on a baking pan. Bake at 350 F for about 10 minutes then serve with hot salsa or pico de gallo. It’s a really easy and fun way to repurpose leftovers.

We serve a side dish of guacamole or yellow rice with the burritos to make it a complete meal.

Yield: 1 Bowl Of Dip

Easy Cheesy Refried Bean Dip

This six ingredient Easy Cheesy Refried Bean Dip recipe is so simple to make and will impress all your friends. You’ll start making this easy appetizer for every game day or Cinco de Mayo.

Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 oz. cream cheese
  • 16 oz. can of refried beans
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup diced tomatoes
  • 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 package taco seasoning

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.
  2. Put the cream cheese, refried beans, sour cream, and diced tomatoes in a large bowl. Stir until combined.
  3. Shred the cheddar cheese and add it to the mixture. Stir until it’s incorporated.
  4. Add in the taco seasoning and give everything a good stir.
  5. Pour the entire mixture into a round casserole pan.
  6. Bake for 30 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Notes

Your cream cheese needs to be soft. So, if it’s not, microwave it for 30 seconds to soften it. If it’s already at room temperature, skip this step.

Nutrition Information

Yield

30

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 74Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 16mgSodium 135mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 3g

Did you make this recipe?

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Have you made this Easy Cheesy Refried Bean Dip recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments.

amy liu dong

Tuesday 14th of February 2023

I love how easy and delicious this recipe is. My husband loves it so much!

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