My family loves the 7 layer bean dip! It is also a hit at our birthday parties. It is very easy to make the seven layer dip and it only takes 15 min. If you use ready from the store beans and guacamole then you just need to put everything together. For the pros out there, making everything from scratch including the beans and guacamole will pay off from nutritional and taste perspective. In this recipe, I am using ready to go ingredients as it is faster this way.
Here are the 7 layers we use in this recipe:
- Bean layer made out of refried beans and milk (or salsa if you wish)
- Diary layer made out of sour cream and cream cheese with spices such as chili powder and cumin. You can use yogurt as the base here
- Guacamole
- Salsa
- The remaining of the layers are toppings – green onions
- Black olives
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Add extra layers
Of course you can change the layers and swap them with other favorite ingredients (if you are dairy free for example) or just keep on adding to become let’s say 10 layer dip! For example, ground beef is a great addition to the layers. If you chose to add, make sure to brown the ground beef, add some spices and plug in between the beans and the sour cream. Or maybe we can do that for you next time when making this amazing dish and show you how with pictures!
Add extra spice
Mexican dishes go well with cilantro (very tasteful and healthy) and jalapenos. Just keep on adding things you like and experiment. Really the sky is the limit here!
How to serve the dip
We love serving our 7 layer bean dip with healthy crackers, chips, tortilla chips, make it into a burrito or simply add it as a side. The dip is a great snack that disappears relatively quickly. However, if it stays over 24 hours in the fridge it may become soggy/watery. That hasn’t prevent my family from enjoying the dip even after couple of days.
Beans
In this recipe, we use the black refried beans. You can use any type of beans your choice, they are all super delicious and nutritious. I iterate the type of beans when making the 7 layer bean dip as I am always trying to balance our family diets. Pinto refried beans are another favorite.
Guacamole
Guacamole is super delicious as we love avocados in my family. Avocado is super nutritious by itself fueling us with healthy fats. No wonder why some people recommend avocado to be the first baby food! When I am in a hurry I buy guacamole from the store. I usually buy the 95% avocado based guacamole brand hoping it is getting closer to the home-made guacamole (almost!).
Dairy Layer
Cream cheese and sour cream make the dip taste really good. However, if you train your taste buds over the years, you will notice that making this recipe with yogurt is not that bad at all. In fact, yoghurt will boost the nutritious of the recipe so much more that it may be worth for you to try it out! Yogurt doesn’t have as much fat as the sour cream and cream cheese. Yogurt also can give you a boost of probiotics! Check out our homemade yogurt recipe.
Spices
Spices are one of the most important aspects of when it comes down on how your food tastes. Many recipes call for taco seasoning when making the 7 layer bean dip, however, I prefer to use the main spices themselves. Chili powder and cumin are the big players when it comes to spices so I usually skip the loaded taco seasoning with the simple and more nutritious cumin and chili powder.
Tools
Although the recipe is super easy and quick, you may need some tools to put things together. For example, you may need a can opener of you bought beans in a can that doesn’t have the pull up lever. I use mixer to blend ingredients for the layers, but you can also use spatula, hand mixer, fork or anything that will make the consistency of the ingredients smooth and nice. I use glass baking dish for this recipe as it is always nice to see all the different layers. Don’t forget, we first eat with our eyes! You also need a sieve. I use strainer and save the sauce from the salsa for other dishes I make later on.
7 layer dip
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Wash hands with soap and water. Check out our article about how to wash hands properly
- Gather all ingredients
- Gently rub green onions under cold running water.
Prep
- Pour 1 1/2 cups salsa in a sieve (aka strainer) to drain out the liquid. This will prevent the dip to be soggy. Stir occasionally for better drainage.
- Scoop the cream cheese into a microwave safe bowl and softened it (for about 1 min in the microwave)
- Chop 3 green onions
- Shred 1 cup of cheddar cheese
1st layer
- Mix 1 can of 16 oz refried beans and 2 tbsp milk (or salsa liquid) until smooth. I use a mixer to blend the texture.
- Spread the mixture on the bottom of a glass baking dish
2nd payer
- Combine 1 package of 8 oz cream cheese softened, 8 oz of sour cream, 2 tsp chili powder, and 1/2 tsp cumin. In this step you can use taco seasoning instead of the chili powder and cumin which I don't suggest as it is less healthy.
- I use a mixer to combine all the above ingredients into a smooth texture.
- Spread the mixture over the 1st layer of refried beans and milk (salsa if you chose that option).
3rd layer
- Spread out guacamole evenly on top of the 2nd layer of cream cheese, sour cream, and spices.
4th layer
- Spread out the drained salsa on top of the guacamole layer. Make sure you cover all the guacamole so it doesn't get brown.
5th layer
- Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese on top of the 4th layer with salsa
6th layer
- Drain the sliced black olives from the can. Sprinkle them on top of the bean dip layers.
7th layer
- Sprinkle 4 chopped green onions on top of the bean dip layers.
How to serve
- Chill the 7 layer beans dip into the refrigerator for about 1 hour prior serving
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- In the first layer, instead of milk, you can use the liquid from the salsa
- I use black refried beans, but you can use other refried beans too (such as pinto beans)
- You can make refried beans from scratch too. They are much healthier than from a can
- You can use taco seasoning instead of the cumin and chilli powder spices. I try not to use the taco seasoning as it has extra chemicals I don’t like.
- You can make the guacamole from scratch if you prefer. It is healthier but it will also take some time to make
- When in a hurry, I use mild 95% avocado guacamole
- You can buy shredded cheese directly from the store. I found it more expensive so I shred my own cheese.
- We love serving the dip with chips, making it into tacos, or even using it as a side
- Spicy is good for your tummy, so I usually use mild spicy salsa. I buy a 16 oz mild salsa package and use it all as it is easier than measuring 1 1/2 cups
- I buy reduced or less fat sour cream and cream cheese. If we are eating the dip at home as opposed to bring it to a party, etc, I also use yogurt instead of the cream cheese and sour cream. Yogurt reduces the overall calories and also boosts the nutrients for this recipe.
- You may need can opener depending on what can you buy for the beans
- We are extremely excited to announce we are now using the saferecipeguide.org guidelines to make our recipe safe-friendly. We will slowly be incorporating the safe recipe guidelines into our recipe instructions!
Nutrition
We strive to provide the most accurate information possible, however, it is at your own risk when you decide to use it. For example, the nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by our recipe plugin. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. If we list a recipe as a nut-free, for instance, we do our best to check all ingredients for nuts via an application. However, it is your responsibility to double-check our work prior using the information as there is always room for manual error on our part, or an error on the application we use.
Great post!