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Sloppy Hot Italian Cheese Dip. Spicy Italian chicken sausage mixed with onions, bell peppers, garlic, and Italian seasoning. All cooked together to create a wonderfully creamy โsloppyโ cheese dip! Add tomatoes, basil pesto, and three Italian-style cheese: parmesan, provolone, and a spicy cheddar or fontina. Then, top with big pepperoni slices and bake until the cheese gets all bubbly on top. Top with fresh parsley and serve with crusty warm ciabatta bread. Itโs just the yummiest dip!
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Weโve never been a family that hosts a big Super Bowl party, but Iโve always looked forward to Super Bowl Sunday!
When my family lived in Cleveland, Super Bowl Sunday was always a fun night. It meant that we got to order carry-out, either pizza or BW3s (if youโre from Ohio, you know all about BW3s โ Mom just said theyโre all over the country now). We would eat in front of the TV while watching the game, we all had fun.
Of course, the halftime show has always been my favorite. Itโs fun to see the live performances!
I know so many of you are having Super Bowl gatherings with friends. I love to share recipes for entertaining!
This dip is the perfect Super Bowl dip! Inspired by a Sloppy Joe dip but I decided to give it a twist. I turned it into a Sloppy Italian dip using a mix of Italian seasonings and cheeses.
It came out so delicious โ best enjoyed with fresh ciabatta!
These are the details
Ingredients
- spicy Italian chicken sausage โ you can also spicy Italian pork or beef sausage
- yellow onions
- red bell peppers
- garlic
- Italian seasoning
- tomato paste
- cream cheese
- basil pesto
- parmesan cheese
- provolone cheese
- spicy cheddar or fontina cheese
- fresh parsley
Special Tools
For this recipe, youโll need an ovensafe skillet. Nothing fancy!
Steps
Step 1: cook the meat
When my Whole Foods has it, I always grab the spicy Italian chicken sausage they make at the meat counter. Itโs one of my favorite Whole Foods items!
If itโs not available, I like to use traditional spicy Italian pork or beef sausage.
Working in an oven-safe skillet, cook the meat with the onions, the red bell peppers, and the garlic.
Step 2: add the seasonings
Next mix in your favorite Italian seasoning. I like to make my own with dried parsley, dried oregano, dried basil, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and chili flakes. Sometimes Iโll add dried rosemary too!
Sprinkle the seasoning over the meat. Add the tomato paste and let this cook another minute.
Step 3: make it creamy
Next add some water to skillet as well as the cream cheese and basil pesto.
Let this simmer over medium heat a few minutes until it is creamy. Then stir in the parmesan, then pull the skillet off the heat.
Step 4: bake
Top the dip with provolone and spicy cheddar. I love the rattle snake cheddar from Whole Foods!
Add pepperoni and place the skillet in the oven to finish cooking and get that cheese all melty!
Some ideas for serving:
Serve this dip topped with fresh parsley or basil. My favorite is to serve this dip warm, along with a loaf of freshly baked ciabatta bread. I think itโs so delicious!
Other yummy options for scooping would be a simple crostini, toasted slices of French bread, or your favorite cracker! A rosemary cracker would be great!
Warm ciabatta bread is my favorite though! Give it a try and youโll be hooked for life.
A fun Super Bowl appetizer. Whether itโs a big game day party or a night in with family, everyone will enjoy this tasty dip!!
Looking for other easy appetizers?? Here are my favorites:ย
Whipped Goat Cheese Candied Bacon Dip
Sweet and Savory Cheesy Bacon Wrapped Puff Pastry Twists
Goat Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates
Pull Apart Roasted Garlic Pizza Dip Sliders
Lastly, if you make this Sloppy Hot Italian Cheese Dip, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, donโt forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Sloppy Hot Italian Cheese Dip
Ingredientsย
- 1 pound spicy Italian chicken sausage or beef sausage
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 red bell peppers, chopped
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 ounces cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons basil pesto
- 2 tablespoons chopped pepperoncini
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded provolone cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded spicy cheddar or fontina
- 3 ounces thin sliced pepperoni
- chopped fresh parsley, for serving
Instructionsย
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425ยฐF.2. In a large oven-safe skillet, add the meat, onions, bell peppers, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Season with salt and pepper. Set over medium-high heat and cook for 10 minutes until the meat is browned. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add 1 cup of water, the cream cheese, pesto, and pepperoncini. Simmer for 5 minutes, until creamy. Mix in the parmesan.3. Remove from the heat. Sprinkle the cheese over the dish. Arrange the pepperoni on top. Bake for 10 minutes until the cheese is melted.4. Serve topped with chopped parsley. Enjoy with warm bread, toasted French bread, or crackers.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Tiegan,
Took it to a party and everyone loved it! Great flavors, had a small crock pot to keep it warm.
Yummy as usual, love your recipes!
Hey Dawn,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and your comment, I’m so glad to hear it was a winner!
This was super yummy! I used hot italian turkey sausage and it was delish!! Such good flavors and it was a hit!
Hey Kathy,
Wonderful! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your feedback, so glad to hear it was enjoyed!
Have a great weekend!
What kind of broth should be used?
Hi Erin,
You can use any broth that you enjoy:) Let me know if you give this recipe a try!
So so so good! Another perfect recipe! We couldnโt eat it all so I re-purposed it with some tomatoes to make a pasta sauce. FANTASTIC!!
Hey Jill,
Wonderful! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and your feedback, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx
Made this for our 2025 Super Bowl Snack. Used my own homemade sausage made of pork, and used regular cheddar. The dip turned out delicious and we used black pepper water crackers to dip with. Will be enjoying this again!
Hey Andre,
Fantastic! I appreciate you trying this recipe, love to hear it turned out well for you! Enjoy your day:)
Amazing flavor!! Kept it warm on a hot-tray. Disappeared quickly! Will be making this again and again. BTW, for all the negative comments, it is a HOT cheese dip. It needs to be kept hot. Also, when you use good quality ingredients, you are not going to have as much fat separation from melted cheese, but you will get a little. It was great with bread, tortilla chips and pita chips. Have not had a recipe of yours that I didn’t love. Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much, Nee:) So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you. I appreciate you making it and your comment! Have the best week! xT
Great flavours and easy to make. I left out all of the cheese apart from some shredded mozzarella and cheddar on top. Also added hot honey on top. Delicious and cosy winter dish with the warm ciabatta!
Hey Kate,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe and your feedback, love to hear it was a hit! XxT
Iโm obsessed with EVERY recipe! How did I miss this one before? 10/10 amazing! Great for party dip!
Hey Tori,
Amazing!! Love to hear this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it! Have the best weekend:) xx
Too greasy & not very dip-like for me. ๐
Hi Jenny,
I appreciate you sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it wasn’t dip like for you and was too greasy. If there is anything that I can help with, please let me know! xT
I tested this recipe as a possible dip to bring to a Super Bowl party on Sunday. It is not really a dip at all, the consistency isnโt dip like. The cheese basically forms a thick layer at the top making it impossible to dip bread into you need to spoon it on the bread. Once it cools the cheese congeals. It is also quite greasy. You would have to take this out of the oven and serve right away so not great to bring to a party- if you were hosting maybe but over all two stars.
Hi Koani,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback. So sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. xx
You can clearly see in the picture that there’s a spoon to help scoop it onto the bread, and any thick cheesy dip will congeal as it cools. Of course a baked dip is meant to be eaten hot! Really not sure what this review is supposed to accomplish?
What it โaccomplishesโ is someone sharing their honest opinion on a recipe. If you liked it, great. But Koani didnโt and sheโs entitled to her opinion.
Well, at least you finally named one of your recipes correctly.
How about if you don’t have something positive to say, you keep the comments to yourself or go to another site!
@jamieโMust be a very sad state youโre in to feel the need to take time out of your day to make such a hateful comment to someone online that you obviously donโt know. Might I suggest you take up a hobby?
Side note: I WISH I had seen this recipe earlier. Wouldโve loved to make it for today! Itโs going on my โto makeโ list.
This sounds incredible, but!!!!I developed Parosmia (damage to the olfactory nerves causing distorted smell and taste) after having Covid. Cream cheese, yogurt, and cottage cheese all smell like rotting meat. I will literally gag. Any suggestions on what I might substitute with?
Hi Linda,
How about ricotta cheese? That would work nicely for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xxT
This sounds delish. I assume you remove sausage from casing and break it up while cooking?
Thanks so much, Talin! Yes, I buy my ground meat already removed from the casing, but if yours is in the casing you can just remove that. I hope you love this recipe! xT