Trisha Yearwood’s Dip Is the Best of the South (It’s So Good)

My sister has a recipe for warm Maryland crab dip that she uses to flex on her neighbors at cookouts. It smells like cheesy Old Bay heaven and disappears faster than baby socks in the dryer. Once you dip a chip, you can’t quit!

I may live almost 3,000 miles away, but I’m a competitive sibling. I needed a recipe that could give her crab dip a run for its money. That recipe is Trisha Yearwood’s super-easy Charleston Cheese Dip.

Why I Love Trisha Yearwood’s Charleston Cheese Dip

Charleston Cheese Dip serves hotel room service vibes. Just imagine being wrapped in a fluffy robe, with total control over the remote, taking the lid off this dip. (Snacking: Do Not Disturb.) Crumbled bacon and Ritz crackers top a green onion–studded mixture of silky cream cheese, cheddar, and Monterey Jack.

I add 1/4 cup of chopped pickled jalapeños for some heat and tang to cut through the rich filling and high-five the cayenne that’s already warming my taste buds.

This dip tastes so freakin’ good, I’d put it up against my sister’s blue ribbon crab dip any day of the week. While my boyfriend and I could have eaten the whole thing ourselves, I shared half with my neighbor, who immediately texted me: “This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever tasted in my life!”

Double the recipe for a crowd; this mouthwatering dip will be gone before you know it.

Tips for Making Charleston Cheese Dip

• Cream cheese is much easier to stir in at room temperature. (Do with that what you will, because sometimes you need cheese dip and you need it now.)
• If you like a little heat, go for 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne and don’t forget those pickled jalapeños. 
• Pair with crudité (for me, that’s baby carrots), a sliced baguette, grain-free Siete Dip Chips, or Fritos Scoops.
• I serve the dip in a 9-inch pie pan, since the name of the game here is surface area. The more crunchy, buttery, umami-packed topping you can fit into every bite, the better.
• This should be baked just before serving, but the filling can be prepped by itself (without the crackers) and stored for a few hours in the fridge.