Name: Mexican Street Style Jalapeño Dip
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons chili powder; 2 teaspoons smoked paprika; 1/2-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, to your taste; 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 1 yellow onion, chopped; 1 poblano pepper, chopped; 2-4 jalapeños; 2 cloves garlic, chopped; kosher salt and black pepper; 6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature; 1/3 cup sour cream; 4 tablespoons salted butter; 1/3 cup olive oil mayo or plain Greek yogurt; 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice; 3/4 cup crumbled cotija cheese; 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped

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This Spicy Mexican Street Style Jalapeño Dip incorporates spicy, smoky flavors into the creamiest dip. Roasted jalapeños and poblano peppers, mixed with chili powder, cream cheese, and mayo. Then served up dip-style with chili butter and salty crumbled Mexican cotija cheese on top. This dip is quick to make and totally delicious, especially with tortillas and chips on the side for scooping. A wonderful appetizer for spring and summertime!

As far as appetizers go, I tend to sway toward a warm cheesy recipe or my staple cheese board. If you look through our recipe archives you’ll see that I’ve shared very few dips.

Some of you may remember a Mexican Street Corn Dip that I shared last summer. It’s one of the only dips I’ve made over and over. Everyone loves it.

Since corn is not in season, I started making the dip with charred, fire-roasted jalapeños and poblano peppers. It’s similar, but the peppers give off such a spicy, smoky flavor. I might just like the peppers even more than the corn!

Here are details

This is really pretty easy to do. I like to start with roasting the peppers. I have a gas cooktop, so I always roast my peppers over an open flame. If you have a gas range, I’d highly recommend this method. The open flame creates the best flavor.

If you don’t have gas burners, roast the peppers in the oven, under the broiler. This works pretty much the same. The roasted peppers are used for topping, so just set these aside until serving.

Onto to creating this yummy dip!

Everything starts with the spice mix, I love to use chili powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne. I wanted to add a little smokiness and a little more kick to the flavors. I actually use the spice mix both in the dip and for topping.

From here, simply cook the raw peppers with onions and garlic, then add a dash of the spice mix. Stir in cream cheese and sour cream for major creaminess and cook everything together until warmed. Having the dip warm is key, so keep this over low heat or warm in a crockpot (on the low setting) until ready to serve.

If you’re looking to make this ahead of time, I recommend spooning the dip into a baking dish, then rewarming at 350° for 15 minutes. That will work great too!

Next, melt half of a stick of butter together with the spices. Do not skip this step. The butter really, really flavors the dip in a wonderfully delicious way.

Finally, mix the mayo with lime juice.

Now, put the dip all together. Spoon the dip into a wide, shallow bowl. Then add the sliced roasted jalapeños and spoon over dollops of the mayo. The mayo melts into the dip creating even more creaminess. Drizzle the butter overtop and sprinkle on the cheese. The cheese and butter on top only make the dip even more delicious, really completing the dip experience.

I know this process may seem like a lot, but it actually comes together quickly and easily. Promise it will be so great for entertaining this summer!

And most importantly, this is just really good! The dip is so creamy with a spicy flavor, but not too much spiciness. Plus, you can adjust the heat to your own personal taste. If you love a spicy dip, use all 4 peppers. If you want just a little heat, use 1 or 2 peppers. It’s up to you, use what you enjoy most!

Looking for other easy appetizer recipes? Here are a few ideas:

Hot Chicken Enchilada Bean Dip

Easy Creamy White Chicken Chili Corn Dip

Crumbled Feta and Tomato Basil Vinaigrette Dip

Roasted Lemon Spinach and Artichoke Dip

10 Minute Garden Herb Avocado Dip

Moroccan Dip Platter

Lastly, if you make this Mexican Street Style Jalapeño 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, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!