Skillet Jalapeño Popper Dip
Cream cheese, cheese, and bacon baked in a skillet over the fire until the crumb topping browns.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 4 oz
- cal / oz
- 105
- protein
- 10 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 30 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Snack
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Cream cheese | 8 oz | softened, or it will not mix |
|---|---|---|
| Sour cream | 1/2 cup | |
| Mayonnaise | 1/2 cup | |
| Shredded Italian cheese blend | 1 1/2 cups | |
| Canned diced jalapeños | 1/2 cup | drained |
| Bacon | 6 strips | cooked and chopped at home; hold back 1 tbsp for the top |
| Fresh jalapeño | 1 | sliced thin, for the top |
| Panko breadcrumbs | 1/2 cup | |
| Butter | 2 tbsp | melted |
| Tortilla chips | 1 bag | for dipping |
Method
- Stir the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, shredded cheese, canned jalapeños, and most of the bacon together in a bowl until there are no white lumps left.
- Scrape it into a cast iron skillet and level the top.
- Toss the panko with the melted butter, then scatter it over the surface.
- Lay the sliced fresh jalapeño and the reserved bacon on top.
- Set the skillet on a grill grate over a bed of coals, not open flame. Cook about 20 minutes, until it bubbles at the edges and the crumbs go brown.
- Pull it off and let it sit five minutes. Straight off the fire it is hot enough to hurt.
- Serve with chips.
This is a dairy-heavy dip, so it only works on a trip with a real cooler. There is no trail version of it worth writing. Everything but the bacon is a cold ingredient, and cream cheese that has ridden warm for two days is not something to serve to a group.
The fat ratio is doing the work. Sour cream and mayo thin the cream cheese enough that it melts into a scoopable dip instead of splitting into grease and curd. Coals under a grate, not flame: direct fire scorches the bottom long before the middle is hot. The panko and butter give you a crust that holds up while people dig at it.
Packing
Cook and chop the bacon at home and carry it in a sealed bag. Cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, and shredded cheese all need cooler space and a hard block of ice, not a slush cooler. Panko and butter can ride in the food bin.
Variations
- Swap the Italian blend for sharp cheddar or pepper jack.
- No fresh jalapeño, no problem: a second spoon of the canned ones on top does the same job.
- In a dutch oven with coals on the lid, the top browns faster; check at 12 minutes.
https://campfirefoodie.com/skillet-jalapeno-popper-dip-recipe