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This easy cheesy dip needs just 4 ingredients and a few minutes to prepare.
Rotel dip is a quick party favorite with ground beef, Rotel tomatoes and a creamy cheesy base!
Prep it and keep it warm in a slow cooker. Serve it with a pile of tortilla chips for a great game-day spread.
Ingredients in Rotel Dip
This Rotel Dip recipe, also known as ugly dip, is a game day favorite made with just a few ingredients. This recipe is similar to queso dip and is a quick and easy snack.
- Rotel Tomatoes: A can of rotel tomatoes adds lots of flavor and a little heat. Rotel can be substituted with any kind of salsa.
- Meat: We love ground beef in this recipe but swap it out for ground turkey or sausage.
- Cheese: Velveeta makes this dip quick and easy (and super creamy). Cream cheese with a bit of cheddar is a great substitute.
- Seasonings: I add a pinch of chili powder. You can also add taco seasoning or your favorite spices to the meat if you’d like or use leftover taco ground beef.
How to Make Rotel Dip
This Rotel cheese dip recipe is as easy as 1,2,3!
- Brown meat on the stovetop and drain.
- Add Rotel tomatoes and cheese to the same pan.
- Stir until melted.
Do not drain the Rotel, as the juices provide the right consistency. We do sometimes add two cans of Rotel! Of course, like most recipes, you can add in your own favorites or change the flavors/additions based on what you have on hand.
Tips & Variations
- Brown the meat and drain excess grease or use lean hamburger meat.
- If you’d perfect to skip the Velveeta cheese, use 8 oz cream cheese and 1 cup cheddar cheese in place.
- This recipe can be thinned out with a bit of milk if you’d like a thinner consistency.
- Serve with tortilla chips, crackers, or celery, carrots, and other veggies for dipping.
- Keep Rotel dip warm in a small slow cooker. If the Rotel dip cools, it will be hard to scoop so it can be reheated on the stovetop or in the microwave until dippable again!
- Leftovers are great in a quesadilla, over potatoes, or added to tacos.
Ro-tel tomatoes are a brand of diced tomatoes with green chilies. They bring a little heat to dishes and have a taste similar to salsa and can be found in the canned tomato section of most grocery stores. They add great flavor to Chili recipes, stews, Taco Soup and more.
If you don’t have Rotel Tomatoes on hand, you can substitute another brand of tomatoes with green chiles or salsa. Although the flavor won’t be exactly the same, the dip will still taste delicious.
This dip can easily be made in the slow cooker. Simply brown and drain the ground beef or sausage as directed and drain. Combine all ingredients in a mini crock pot/slow cooker and set to low 2-3 hours stirring occasionally until melted. Once melted, turn the slow cooker to warm.
More Easy Cheesy Dips
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Rotel Dip
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef or mild, hot sausage
- 16 ounces processed cheese loaf such as Velveeta, see note
- 10 ounces canned diced tomatoes with chilies with juices, such as Rotel, 1 can
- ½ teaspoon chili powder optional
Instructions
- In a large skillet, cook the ground beef or sausage over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Drain excess fat.
- Reduce the heat to medium.
- Add processed cheese, Rotel tomatoes with juices, and chili powder.
- Stir the mixture until the cheese has melted and the dip is smooth.
- Serve warm with tortilla chips.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American, Tex Mex© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Simple and yummy! Thank you!!
gr8 Dip recipe
should you have leftovers, (if you have not added milk as in a review) you have a ready made Quasidia Filling.
I’ve been bringing this to parties for years. I always use sausage. It’s always a big hit. There are never leftovers. Recommend.
I made this yesterday for a party. It’s very good. Next time I’ll use the hot Rotel for additional spice.
YUMMMMMMMMMMM! Just made this for the Super Bowl today. It’s wonderful and a recipe I will use in the future. I used Queso Blanco Velveeta and ground beef along with the Rotel and chili powder and it’s a definite touchdown on flavor! Thank you for your recipe! Love your website! OH, and I forgot I also added cilantro! So good!!!!
YUMMMMMMMMMMM! Just made this for the Super Bowl today. It’s wonderful and a recipe I will use in the future. I used Queso Blanco Velveeta and ground beef along with the Rotel and chili powder and it’s a definite touchdown on flavor! Thank you for your recipe! Love your website!
very good dip !
Absolutely delicious! I used Velveeta, Rotel, chili powder, and a roll of ground sausage. While the sausage cooked, the cheese and tomatoes were heated in the microwave until the cheese melted-about 3 minutes. I added the fried sausage to the bowl while it was still hot. Easy-peasy and flavorful!
I almost used mild Rotel, but used the original/regular instead. I don’t like much spice but it turned out perfect.
First time making and having this……soooo good!!!!!
Thank you very quick and easy way to visualize making this recipe. Straight to the point!
Delicious
Awesome
I want to thank you for this recipe. I made it for a game afternoon gathering. The group ate the meal that was served, and then proceeded to eat the Rotel dip right away.
I was thinking they would eat it later, not so much. They couldn’t get enough. I doubled it and glad I did.
Oh, Holly… I when reading the narrative, “How to Make Rotel Dip”, step 1) Brown meat and drain on the stovetop.
Wait…WHAT? Hell, nah! Not on MY stovetop! I’m the one that has to clean that s*** up!
Under the weather today, so I appreciated the laugh.
My gosh…I haven’t eaten Velveeta in over 40 years! Looks like I may just have to revisit that orange box, again!
Haha!! Whoops, thanks for catching that…. please do not drain it on your stovetop. Enjoy the dip and I hope you’re feeling better soon Terry!
Made this in a double portion for a potluck at work. Every bite was devoured and I received a ton of compliments! One of my coworkers who cooks and bakes for people on the side asked what I put in it. She thought the chili powder was the “secret “ ingredient that made the dip really shine.
Delicious and super easy dip. I used the cream cheese & cheddar option from the notes since we aren’t big fans of the other cheese. I tried it without the chili powder first and thought it was delicious. I then added the chili powder and it was even better!
So glad you loved it, Gwyneth!
Delicious and easy
Happy to hear you enjoyed it, DJ!
My family absolutely love the Rotel Dip.
love this recipe!