half eaten dish of supreme taco dip with ground beef, cheese, peppers, and olives

This easy appetizer recipe is a party favorite and ALWAYS a crowd-pleaser! Layers of delicious ground beef taco meat, cream cheese, and sour cream, cheddar cheese, and veggies make this Mexican dip hearty enough for a quick family dinner, too.

half eaten dish of supreme taco dip with ground beef, cheese, peppers, and olives

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Why You'll Want to Make the Best Taco Dip Recipe

  • Everyone LOVES this flavorful, hearty Tex-Mex appetizer and will be SO excited when they see you walk into the room with it.
  • It comes together quickly – you only need about 20 minutes to make this recipe.
  • You can make it a couple of hours ahead of time if you need to. Just stick it in the fridge and let it come to room temperature before you serve it. If you do need to make it further in advance, wait to add the veggies until you're ready to serve it, otherwise, the dip will become watery.
  • This recipe is fully customizable – add and delete toppings to your heart's content. (You may notice that the photographs in this post are lacking tomatoes – that's because we had a tomato-hater in the house, so I just left them off the day I photographed this recipe.)
  • If you're thinking this recipe looks amazing, but you don't have a party to go to tonight, go ahead and make it anyway! It also works well as a fun, easy dinner idea. In addition to the tortilla chips, you can give your kids small tortillas or taco shells, and stuff them with the dip.
  • The best part of this recipe is that you can customize it to your family's tastes. Add in your favorite toppings – green onions, any flavor shredded cheese (try Monterey jack), black beans, jalapeno slices, or green chiles all make a great addition to this easy taco dip recipe.

Where Can I Serve this Beef Taco Dip Recipe?

  • It's perfect for a game day party
  • This recipe is hearty enough to serve as a main course alternative on Taco Tuesday
  • Cinco de Mayo
  • At a tailgate before a big game
  • New Years Eve
  • Anywhere you're asked to bring a great appetizer

What You'll Need to Make this Easy Taco Layer Dip

Close up of a dish of party taco dip
  • 1 lb 90-92% lean ground beef
  • 2 envelopes taco seasoning, divided
  • ¾ cup water
  • 16-oz container of sour cream
  • 8-oz package of cream cheese, softened
  • 2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce
  • 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
  • 2 medium tomatoes, diced
  • 1 medium bell pepper, diced
  • 2 ¼ -oz can sliced black olives, drained
  • Tortilla Chips for serving

Easy Substitutions You Can Make for a Yummy Layer Taco Dip

  • As a healthy alternative, swap out the beef hamburger meat for ground turkey.
  • You can also use fat-free sour cream if you'd like to save a few calories.
  • You can also use homemade taco seasoning in place of the packet of taco seasoning.
  • I like to use red bell peppers in this easy recipe because they add a nice pop of color. If you have green pepper in your garden though, go ahead and swap those in.
  • This amazing dip is a great way to use up leftover taco meat. Just use it as a base and start adding your favorite taco toppings.

How to Make Hearty Ground Beef Taco Dip

white oval pan containing partially eaten cheesy beef taco dip and a black serving spoon

How to Make Hearty Ground Beef Taco Dip

Step One

In a large skillet, crumble beef and cook over medium heat until it's no longer pink. (This will take about 5-6 minutes.) Discard any excess grease that's in the pan.

Next, add the water and one of the envelopes of taco seasoning. Continue to cook over low heat until the mixture has thickened.

Step Two

While the ground beef mixture is cooling off a bit, beat the sour cream, cream cheese, and the other envelope of taco seasoning in a medium bowl until it's thoroughly blended. (The easy way to do this is with a hand mixer, but a wooden spoon works too if you give it a bit of muscle.)

Spread the sour cream and cream cheese mixture into a 13×9 baking dish or a 3-quart dish.

In this order, top the mixture with ground beef layer, lettuce, cheese, diced tomatoes, peppers, and black olives.

This cheesy beef taco dip is always a crowd pleaser. Because it has simple ingredients and is always a huge hit, I'm sure it will become one of your "go-to" favorite recipes. So, grab a bag of tortilla chips and serve this recipe at your next party!

white oval pan containing partially eaten cheesy beef taco dip

More Easy Appetizers You'll Love

  • Quick and Easy 3-Ingredient Trader Joe's Everything But the Bagel Dip
  • Easy 4-Ingredient Cold Beer Cheese Appetizer Dip
  • Quick & Easy Mediterranean Spinach, Artichoke, & Feta Dip
  • Healthy Roasted Red Pepper Appetizer Dip
  • Quick & Easy Tzatziki Appetizer Dip
  • Honey Mustard and Horseradish Zippy Shrimp Dip
  • 3-Ingredient Greek Yogurt Fruit Dessert Dip

Print Recipe

This easy appetizer recipe is a party favorite and ALWAYS a crowd-pleaser! Layers of delicious ground beef taco meat, cream cheese and sour cream, cheese, and veggies make this Tex-Mex dish hearty enough for a quick family dinner, too.

Prep Time: 16 mins

Cook Time: 6 mins

  • 1 lb 90-92% lean ground beef
  • 2 envelopes taco seasoning divided
  • ¾ cup water
  • 16- oz container of sour cream
  • 8- oz package of cream cheese softened
  • 2 cups shredded iceberg or romaine lettuce
  • 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
  • 2 medium tomatoes diced
  • 1 medium bell pepper diced
  • 2 ¼ - oz can sliced black olives drained

Step One

  • In a large skillet, crumble and cook the ground beef over medium heat until it's no longer pink.  (This will take about 5-6 minutes.)

  • Next, add the water and one of the envelopes of taco seasoning.  Continue to cook over low heat until the mixture has thickened.

Step Two

  • While the taco meat is cooling off a bit, beat the sour cream, cream cheese, and the other envelope of taco seasoning in a small bowl until it's thoroughly blended.

  • Spread the sour cream and cream cheese mixture into a 13x9 baking pan or a 3-quart dish.

  • In this order, top the mixture with ground beef, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, peppers, and black olives.

Servings: 10 -12 Servings