Roasted Red Pepper Cheese Dip

There is no doubt that this Roasted Red Pepper Cheese Dip will quickly become your favourite dip of all time! Its smokey, nutty flavour and its gooey, creamy texture are oh, so delicious! Prepared with four different cheeses, this dip is a flavour explosion!

I’m not one of those faint-of-heart, overly dramatic types of men.  My blog might suggest otherwise with the crocheting, my love of kitchenware, and also the fact that I’m a self-proclaimed cat lady on the inside. So, when I say this dip made me weak in the knees, I mean that my mouth could not handle that much flavour!  The explosion of flavour from this Roasted Red Pepper Cheese Dip, prepared with four types of cheese, resulted in a complete state of euphoria!

Okay, I’m a little more dramatic than I care to admit, but I’m trying to impress upon you the absolute insanity in terms of taste and texture that is this dip.  It’s without a doubt, a dip that I can eat at any time of the day, will fit well into any dipping occasion, and most certainly will result in much praise from whomever you decide to share this dip with – if you decide to share, that is!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Roasted Red Peppers – You can easily make your own. Learn how to do that here. Otherwise, you can buy them in jars at almost any grocer. Drain them well and lay them flat to pat them dry. This will ensure you have a creamy dip and not a watery one!
• Spices and Seasonings – You will need smoked paprika, dried parsley, salt, and ground black pepper.
• Cream Cheese – Use the brick-style cream cheese for the best results.
• Pecorino Cheese
• Parmesan Cheese
• Old White Cheddar Cheese
• Parsley – Freshly chopped for garnish, colour, and freshness.

HOW TO MAKE ROASTED RED PEPPER CHEESE DIP

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Add all of the ingredients to a mixing bowl and toss well to combine. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and garnish. Serve immediately. Easy, right!?

ROASTED RED PEPPERS

Let’s talk about roasted red peppers.  I’m not a fan of bell peppers in any colour unless they are well-cooked.  I find that in their raw state, they taste like soil.  Also, I’m one of those rare people who experience heartburn or indigestion after eating bell peppers, which I have learned is the result of eating the skin on the pepper.

Roasting peppers certainly takes care of this problem, because the roasting process, which cooks the peppers at a very high temperature, blisters the skin so you remove it quite easily.  The flesh of the pepper loses that soil-y taste (for me, anyway!) and becomes sweeter, and smokey, and develops an almost spreadable texture.  I absolutely love it!

Many recipes can benefit from the smokiness and concentrated bell pepper flavour.  And, Dear Reader, nothing is easier than roasting red peppers.  If you like peppers as much as we do, then I do encourage you to make your own. It’s actually quite fun! Fun?  Yes, fun!  There are very few recipes that require you to burn food.  Roasted Red Peppers require just that! And, with the help of a very hot oven, and a little patience, you can have homemade Roasted Red Peppers any time you please! Here is how I do it.

FOUR CHEESES

Four cheeses are used in this recipe, and to be quite frank, you can pick similar cheeses if you don’t have the exact cheeses on hand that you see in the recipe card below.  My only suggestion is that you do not change up the cream cheese, and use a good, solid cream cheese – not the spreadable type – use the brick cream cheese.  Keep it cold and when ready to mix into the dip, cut it into cubes straight from the fridge.  You want the cream cheese to be heated all the way through, but not softened and mixed into the dip completely.

The grated pecorino and the grated parmesan cheeses can easily be substituted in this recipe if you don’t have those particular cheeses on hand already.  Try asiago, manchego, or romano.  In essence, it’s important to use two very flavourful, hard, dry cheeses if you’re going to make a substitution.

There is, nor will there ever be, a substitution for old white cheddar.  That might be just a personal bias, and if it is, so be it!  Most cheese lovers will have an old, aged cheddar on hand anyway, so it shouldn’t be that much of an issue.  I prefer to use white cheddar so that I can keep that glorious red colour in the dish from the roasted red peppers and the addition of the paprika.

HOW TO SERVE YOUR ROASTED RED PEPPER CHEESE DIP

The best way to eat this dip is with thinly sliced baguette that has been lightly brushed with olive oil and grilled on both sides for two to three minutes.  The extra creamy consistency of the dip, which can most certainly act as a spread as well, coupled with the crisp, crunchy grilled bread, is absolute perfection!

You can certainly serve this dip with chips or crackers too.  But, since this dip has such a wonderfully balanced flavour already, use chips and crackers that are unflavoured or just lightly flavoured.  For example, I would not serve this dip with a garlic flavoured cracker or a chip that has a strong salt presence.  Try low-sodium Triscuit, or basic Carr’s Water Crackers.  Or, if you’re like me, just bread!

I’ll find any excuse at all to eat just bread.  And if I’m really being honest, I could eat this dip all by itself; just give me a spoon and let me live!

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down to follow me and never miss another recipe!