Easy Hot and Cheesy Pizza Dip with Cream Cheese Recipe

I used to think that my family was special for assigning food types to different events, seasons and even months.

The 4th of July would mean burgers and fall always signified the start of our apple pie season. When the calendar flipped to November 1st I’d immediately start thinking pumpkin.

Now that I’m older I understand that pretty much everyone in America does this, and I’m positive I’d think it was weird if you didn’t associate food with different times of year.

It’s mid-January and I have one kind of food in mind: snacks for The Big Game!

There are a few things that are important to me when I’m thinking of food for football parties, tailgating and homegating:

1. The food has to be portable. The game might be on at someone else’s house, but I’m not showing up empty-handed!
2. The recipe has to be unique. You know there’s going to be wings, chips, salsa and potato chips at any football-related gathering. There’s nothing wrong with any of that, but everyone will cheer when you show up with a new recipe or something different from the usual fare! Mexican street corn dip, Layered Taco Dip, Crab dip, chicken fiesta dip are some other recipes that are perfect for a crowd.
3. The recipe has to be quick and easy to put together. We all have things to do, and I’m a busy mom. The recipe has to come together in minutes if we want to see the kickoff.

I had a little challenge to bring the RAGÚ® Homestyle pasta sauce to the next party I attended. I swear, I made one of the best appetizer recipes I’ve ever tasted!

One reason the appetizer was so good was because I used a thick and hearty sauce. The sauce has a made-from-scratch taste and is made with farm grown ingredients, vine-ripened tomatoes and fragrant herbs.

I made my hot and cheesy pizza dip with cream cheese for a small gathering of about 12 people and everyone loved it! Next time I’m going to serve it alongside this Sausage and Cream Cheese Dip!

I left with promises to share the recipe when I got home, but I actually just remembered that little detail. Now I can send out the link to this page and those people can print out their own copy of it!

Pizza dip with cream cheese

This cheesy pizza dip with cream cheese is the perfect easy appetizer recipe. Here’s how you make it (be sure to scroll down for the full recipe):

Gather up marinara sauce, cheese and your favorite pizza toppings.

Mix cream cheese with Italian seasoning and spread it on the bottom of a glass dish.

Top with some sauce…

Add cheese, then add more sauce and more cheese.

Cover it with your favorite pizza toppings and microwave it for a few minutes.

Serve it hot!

I made my Cheesy Pizza Dip Recipe with Cream Cheese with RAGÚ Homestyle Roasted Garlic Sauce, but I think it would be delicious with any of the other varieties of sauces. Next time I’m going to try it with one of these:

• RAGÚ Homestyle Traditional Pasta Sauce
• RAGÚ Homestyle Cheese Pasta Sauce
• RAGÚ Homestyle Meat Pasta Sauce

Pizza Dip with Cream Cheese Recipe

How to make Cheesy Pizza Dip with Cream Cheese
Ingredients:

• 1 8-ounce block of cream cheese, softened
• ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese
• 1 cup RAGÚ Homestyle Roasted Garlic Sauce
• 2 ounces pepperoni
• 2 tablespoons chopped peppers or any other toppings you’d like

Directions:

1. Mix the Italian seasoning into the cream cheese and spread it into the bottom of a glass pie plate or microwave-safe dish.
2. Spread ½ cup of the marinara sauce on top of the cream cheese.
3. Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheese on top of the sauce, then layer on the rest of the sauce and the rest of the cheese.
4. Sprinkle with the pepperoni, peppers or other toppings.
5. Cover and microwave on high for 5 minutes.
6. Serve hot with crackers or sliced French bread.

I love this recipe because it’s heated in the microwave instead of the oven. You can easily assemble it at home, then pop it into the microwave wherever you’re going.

Sometimes it’s hard to ask the host to use their oven, but the microwave is so easy, no one is going to say no!

What are your favorite game day recipes?