Merry National Chips & Dip Day! This is truly a celebration of an immensely versatile snack category. Prefer your dips creamy? No problem. Like dips with heat? You got it. Savory? Smoky? Check and check. There are dips for every taste, and many of them are simple to make. There are plenty of options available for chips too, depending on how strict you are with your definition. Since crudités are back in fashion you can offer your guests the enticing crunch of chips with raw vegetables, pleasing the health conscious, vegetarians and vegans. You can even deconstruct the nachos on your menu, making chips and dip even easier for you.
Of course, this being a national holiday, we have to give at least a little nod to the person or people who made chips and dip so popular in America. In this case, we have a corporation and a segment of our nation’s population to thank for the fixture in our culture that is chips and dip: Lipton and suburbanites. In the 1950s – 1954 to be more precise – Americans in the suburbs were obsessed with entertaining, serving all manner of foods suspended in Jell-O, and Lipton instant dehydrated onion soup mix. The company behind the soup mix ran ad campaigns that promoted combining it sour cream or cream cheese and serving it with chips. Seriously, that’s the recipe: 1 envelope of Lipton onion soup mix blended with 2 cups (16 ounces) of sour cream and then chilled before serving. This now legendary creation was dubbed California Dip and it rocketed to the upper echelons of dip celebrity.
Below are 5 of our favorite dip recipes from our extensive database. Just add chips!
Cheers!
Roasted Tomato Salsa is sure to be a hit with your guests, particularly if you make your own tortilla chips.
Queso dip is as perfect a partner for salsa as chips. Rick Bayless’ Queso Fundido al Tequila is made with Monterey Jack cheese and tequila.
Did somebody say guac? You can’t talk about chips and dip and not discuss The Best Basic Guacamole.
Vegetarian and vegan guests will love The Best Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce.
Who says chili can’t be enjoyed with chips, transforming it into a dip? Try The Best Vegetarian Bean Chili.