This easy Pizza Dip recipe is made with cream cheese, marinara, pepperonis, and just a few other ingredients are layered into a casserole dish. It’s baked in the oven for a deliciously hot and cheesy dip that everyone will love. Serve it on game day, or any time you need a crowd-pleasing appetizer!
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What’s in This Pizza Dip Recipe?
Cream cheese, shredded cheese, marinara sauce, and pepperoni come together to make this creamy, cheesy dip that tastes like a hot slice of pizza! This is one of our favorite party dips to serve a crowd.
- Cream Cheese: Forms the base of our dip, making it creamy and rich. Use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese for the best results.
- Cheese: We use a mixture of mozzarella, cheddar, and Parmesan cheese to make this dip ultra-cheesy! Feel free to swap in your favorite cheeses.
- Italian Seasoning: Adds classic Italian flavor to this easy dip.
- Black Pepper: Adds just a hint of spice.
- Marinara Sauce: This is layered into the dip to get that real pizza taste!
- Pepperoni: We like to use mini pepperonis because they’re bite-sized, but you can also chop up regular-sized pepperoni into quarters.
Variations on Pepperoni Pizza Dip
There are so many ways to modify this dip to your liking. Try swapping out any of the cheeses for pepper jack, Colby, Swiss, fontina, muenster, provolone, or gouda. Swap marinara sauce for alfredo sauce for a white pizza dip or try pesto.
Leave out the pepperoni for a cheese pizza dip, or add extra toppings to mimic your favorite slice. Mushrooms, bell peppers, olives, cooked sausage, crumbled bacon, or diced onion would all be delicious! Just be sure to cook down any ingredients that contain a lot of water so they don’t make the dip watery.
How to Make Ahead
You can fully assemble this dip up through step 4 and refrigerate it until ready to bake. We recommend baking just before serving.
How to Store and Reheat
Store leftover pizza dip tightly covered in plastic wrap or aluminum foil in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in a 375°F oven for 20-30 minutes, or until warmed through. We do not recommend freezing this dip.
This cream cheese pizza dip pairs so well with different dippers. Try crudites, tortilla chips, cubed fresh bread, crostini, bacon wrapped crackers, pita chips, or cheese straws. To really wow guests or kids, bake up fresh pizza dough to slice into dippable pieces.
Notes from the Test Kitchen
We find that this dip is best served hot. That way, the cream cheese stays scoopable, and the cheeses are melty and delicious. It will become too firm to scoop if refrigerated. This is one of our favorite Super Bowl dips!
Pizza Dip Recipe
Equipment
- 8×8-inch Baking Pan
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature (1 brick)
- 2 cups freshly shredded mozzarella cheese divided
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning store-bought or homemade
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup marinara sauce store-bought or homemade
- ½ cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup mini pepperoni
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, half of the mozzarella, Italian seasoning, and pepper until combined.8 ounces cream cheese, 2 cups freshly shredded mozzarella cheese, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Transfer to a 2 quart baking dish and smooth into an even layer. Spread the pizza sauce evenly over the top.1 cup marinara sauce
- Top with the remaining mozzarella, cheddar, and parmesan cheeses. Arrange the pepperoni on top.½ cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese, ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, ¼ cup mini pepperoni
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and browned. Serve with your favorite cubed bread, crackers, veggies, etc.
Video
Becky’s Tips
- Use brick-style cream cheese for this dip, and make sure it has fully softened before mixing.
- For best results, shred the cheese from blocks. It melts much better than pre-shredded cheese.
- Feel free to add your favorite pizza toppings to this dip. Just be sure to cook any that have a lot of moisture so that they don’t water down the dip.
- Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.
- To make in a slow cooker, follow our Crockpot Pizza Dip Recipe.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment!
How to Make Pizza Dip Step by Step
Mix the Filling: Preheat your oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, mix 8 ounces (1 brick) of room-temperature cream cheese, 1 cup of shredded mozzarella, 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning, and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper until combined.
Cover with Marinara Sauce: Transfer to a 2-quart baking dish and smooth into an even layer. Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce evenly over the top.
Top and Bake: Top with the remaining 1 cup of shredded mozzarella, ½ cup of shredded cheddar, and ¼ cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Arrange ¼ cup of mini pepperoni on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and browned. Serve with your favorite cubed bread, crackers, veggies, etc.
