A seven-layer dip is an American

appetizer An hors d'oeuvre ( ; french: hors-d'œuvre ), appetiser or starter is a small dish served before a meal in European cuisine. Some hors d'oeuvres are served cold, others hot. Hors d'oeuvres may be served at the dinner table as a part of the ...

based on ingredients typical of

Tex-Mex cuisine Tex-Mex cuisine (from the words ''Texan'' and ''Mexican'') is an American cuisine that derives from the culinary creations of the ''Tejano'' people of Texas. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern United ...

. The first widely published recipe (1981, ''

Family Circle ''Family Circle'' was an American magazine that covered such topics as homemaking, recipes, and health. It was published from 1932 until the end of 2019. Originally distributed at supermarkets, it was one of the " Seven Sisters," a group of se ...

'' magazine) called it Tex-Mex Dip without reference to any layers. The dish was popular in Texas for some time before the recipe first appeared in print. The dish typically includes: #

Refried beans Refried beans (from es, frijoles refritos, ) is a dish of cooked and mashed beans that is a traditional staple of Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine, although each cuisine has a different approach when making the dish. Refried beans are also popular ...

(originally commercial jalapeño bean dip) #

Guacamole Guacamole (; (informally shortened to ''guac'' in the United States since the 1980s) is an avocado-based dip, spread, or salad first developed in Mexico. In addition to its use in modern Mexican cuisine, it has become part of international cuisi ...

(originally mashed seasoned avocados) #

Sour cream Sour cream (in North American English, Australian English and New Zealand English) or soured cream (British English) is a dairy product obtained by fermenting regular cream with certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, wh ...

(originally a mixture of sour cream & mayonnaise seasoned with commercial taco seasoning mix) #

Pico de gallo ''Pico de gallo'' (, ), also called ''salsa fresca'' ('fresh sauce'), ''salsa bandera'' ('flag sauce'), and ''salsa cruda'' ('raw sauce'), is a type of salsa commonly used in Mexican cuisine. It is traditionally made from chopped tomato, onio ...

salsa roja Salsa roja () is a type of spicy red sauce in Mexican cuisine. It is made of jitomate (red tomato), ground with onion, garlic, chilli, salt and pepper to taste. This red sauce comes in subtypes: ''salsa cocida'' ("cooked sauce"), in which the i ...

salsa verde Salsa verde () is a type of spicy, green sauce in Mexican cuisine based on tomatillo and green chili peppers. The tomatillo-based Mexican ''salsa verde'' dates to the Aztec Empire, as documented by the Spanish physician Francisco Hernández, a ...

or chopped tomatoes (originally simply chopped green onions, tomatoes and onions) # Grated

cheddar cheese Cheddar cheese (or simply cheddar) is a natural cheese that is relatively hard, off-white (or orange if colourings such as annatto are added), and sometimes sharp-tasting. Cheddar originates from the English village of Cheddar in Somerset. Ched ...

Monterey Jack cheese Monterey Jack, sometimes shortened to Jack, is a Californian white, semi-hard cheese made using cow's milk, with a mild flavor and slight sweetness. It has been called "an American original" and "as a vestige of Spanish rule in the early ninetee ...

, queso asadero,

queso Chihuahua In Mexico, queso Chihuahua is commonly recognized as a soft white cheese available in braids, balls or rounds and originates in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. In Chihuahua, it is called ''queso menonita'', after the Mennonite communities of nort ...

or a blend (some early recipes substituted processed commercial jalapeño cheese dip - or homemade

chile con queso Chile con queso (Spanish (language), Spanish for "chile with cheese"), sometimes simply called queso, is an appetizer or side dish of Cheese sauce, melted cheese and chili peppers, typically served in Tex-Mex cuisine, Tex-Mex restaurants as a Dip ...

) # Black

olives The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...

# Optional ingredients and variations include many items such as chopped onion, cooked

ground beef Ground beef, minced beef or beef mince is beef that has been finely chopped with a knife, meat grinder (American English), mincer or mincing machine (British English). It is used in many recipes including hamburgers, bolognese sauce, meatloaf, ...

, shredded

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of food, ...

(for texture), or sliced

jalapeño The jalapeño ( , , ) is a medium-sized chili pepper pod type cultivar of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. A mature jalapeño chili is long and hangs down with a round, firm, smooth flesh of wide. It can have a range of pungency, with Scovi ...

chiles for additional spiciness. The dish is often chilled when not served immediately. Originally served with

corn chips Corn chips are a snack food made from cornmeal fried in oil or baked, usually in the shape of a small noodle or scoop. Corn chips are thick, rigid and very crunchy. Corn chips have the strong aroma and flavor of roasted corn, and are often heav ...

, seven-layer dip is now served most often with

tortilla chip A tortilla chip is a snack food made from corn tortillas, which are cut into triangles and then fried or baked (alternatively they may be discs pressed out of corn masa then fried or baked). Corn tortillas are made of nixtamalized corn, veget ...

References

Mexican cuisine Dips (food) Appetizers Tex-Mex cuisine {{mexico-cuisine-stub

See also

References