7 Layer Dip: This hot and super cheesy 7 layer dip will turn your old standby 7 layer dip on its head with the addition of a super flavorful shredded chicken taco layer. It’s just the dip you need for your next party!

Smack in the middle of the annual early fall pumpkin frenzy, I’m still trying to ground myself by focusing on other types of recipes.

It’s not easy. I’m a pumpkin lover.

Kyle still teases me each year about stocking up my pantry with those orange cans of puree in anticipation of the next great pumpkin shortage. But you know what? When it comes time to make a pumpkin roll on a whim, I’M READY.

In any event, I know you’re all looking for other recipes this time of year too. There will be more pumpkin to come in the next few weeks, but for now, we’re talking about this 7 layer dip.

Because it’s football season and so many of you guys are all about the game day food these days!

So let’s get to it, shall we?

This is a 7 layer dip with shredded taco chicken. And it’s a behemoth of a taco dip if I ever saw one! I pulled my inspiration for this dip from a couple of places so let me say that you won’t find another one like this around the web anywhere.

Believe me, I’ve checked.

Not Your Ordinary 7 Layer Dip

You know those cold 7 layer dips that show up at every football party, block party, and potluck you’ve ever been to? The type that the grocery stores now assemble for you, in case you’re short on time?

This isn’t that dip.

And it’s not that there’s anything wrong with those cold 7 layer dip recipes – heck, I LOVE them! – it’s just that I wanted something hot, cheesy, and melty to dip my chips into. So I pulled some inspiration from the standard 7 layer dip and made transformed it into a hot 7 layer dip.

Taco Dip with Meat

And then I went a step further! I’m totally loving how my Instant Pot shredded chicken turned out and how versatile it is to add to other recipes. So when I was developing this recipe, I KNEW I needed to build it around this chicken.

In hot dips, like this cheesy caramelized onion and chorizo dip, I feel it’s absolutely necessary to have a hefty protein component to offset the creamy factor these dips offer. Consider this to be a 7 layer taco dip with meat. And plenty of cheese, of course!

Because this is a dip of many layers, I stayed pretty true to the basic idea behind a 7 layer dip with what my layers were with one main exception: there’s no guacamole here. I just can’t bring myself to cook guacamole and watch it get all brown from the heat of the oven.

In place of the guac, I added a layer of corn. And in place of the plain diced tomatoes you often see, I added a layer of Rotel tomatoes. Why not add a little ZIP to this dip, right??

How to Make a 7 Layer Dip

First things, first: have a plan for how you want to layer your ingredients.

I made sure that the flavor of each layer complemented each other in the order I layered them.

I also wanted them layered in a way that would give the dip some “structure” so that it wouldn’t be a gigantic sloppy mess when dipping or serving to appetizer plates.

And lastly, I obviously wanted the cheese on top so it would give the dip a cheesy lid for dipping.

You’ll ready all of the ingredients for your layers before you start building your dip. That means, you’ll need to make your shredded chicken in advance and this can be made (and refrigerated) up to 2 days in advance.

Ingredients for a 7 Layer Taco Dip

To up the creamy factor and to add a little sweetness to this savory dip, this automatically needed to be a taco dip with cream cheese. And that was my bottom layer. Building up from there, here’s the order of my taco dip ingredient layers (bottom to top):

• cream cheese
• shredded taco chicken made in the Instant Pot with my homemade taco seasoning
• refried beans
• Rotel tomatoes
• corn
• scallions
• shredded white and yellow sharp cheddar cheeses

After the dip came out of the oven all hot, melty, and smelling like Taco Tuesday, we sprinkled some extra sliced scallions and dolloped some sour cream on top.

Then, it was DIPPING TIME!

Seriously, grab your best dipping chips! We love Fritos Scoops for heavy dips like this one but “hefty” tortilla chips would work just fine too. You just want to ensure the chips you pick aren’t thin and flimsy ones because they definitely will break in the dip while scooping.

And to me, there’s nothing more frustrating to me at a party than my chips breaking off in a dip.

What We Loved About This Shredded Chicken Taco Dip

Right off the bat, I loved that I found another way to use my shredded Mexican chicken. When we make tacos or burrito bowls with this chicken, there is usually some chicken leftover. And rather than freezing what remains, this is an excellent way to use up the leftovers.

We downright devoured this dip, and so did everyone else who scooped into it. It’s a gigantic crowd-pleaser type of recipe and it WILL rival any buffalo chicken dip it gets pitted against.

The recipe makes enough for about 10 to 14 appetizer servings but I love that it can easily be doubled or tripled for larger crowds. I made this one in an 11 × 7-inch (2-quart) baking dish.

To double the recipe, use a 13 × 9-inch (3-quart) casserole dish. To triple the recipe, use a 15 × 10-inch (4-quart) casserole dish.

Regardless of your football fan status (we’re not into football at all!), you need this 7 layer dip with shredded taco chicken at your next party. And then, please, come back to let me know how much you loved it. I know you won’t be sorry for making it!

More Hot Dips:

• baked fontina garlic cheese dip
• slow cooker cheesy corn, bacon, jalapeño dip
• queso fundido with chorizo
• hot crab dip

Continue to Content

7 Layer Dip with Shredded Taco Chicken

Yield: 10 to 14 appetizer servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Bake Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

7 layer dip gets transformed from a cold dip to a this hot and super cheesy 7 layer dip with the addition of a super flavorful shredded chicken taco layer. Let's call it the modern taco dip recipe that you need for your next party!

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Ingredients

For the dip:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 ½ cups shredded taco chicken
• 1 (16 oz) can refried beans or 1 ½ cups homemade refried beans
• 1 (10 oz) can Rotel or fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed (and drained if needed)
• 1 cup sliced scallions (from about 3 scallions), divided
• 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)

For topping and serving:

• Remaining ¼ cup sliced scallions
• Sour cream
• Tortilla chips or Fritos Scoops

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Grease a 2-quart baking dish. Grease a large piece of aluminum foil (big enough to cover the dish), and set aside.
2. Spread the cream cheese out in an even layer in the bottom of the dish. Scatter the shredded chicken over the top. Spread the refried beans out on top of the chicken, followed by a layer of each: diced tomatoes, corn, ¾ cup of the scallions, and shredded cheese. Cover the dish tightly with the foil.
3. Bake for 35 minutes, remove the foil, and baked uncovered for another 10 minutes. Allow the dip to cool for 5 minutes before topping with remaining scallions and dollops of sour cream. Serve the dip while still hot.

Notes

Do ahead: The chicken for this dip can be made up to 3 days in advance. The dip can be assembled and refrigerated up to 1 day before baking.

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