Lightened-up pepperoni pizza dip is loaded with your favorite toppings and comes together in minutes. It’s everything we love about traditional pizza baked together and scooped up with tortilla chips, crackers, or fresh veggies.
If you’re not in the mood to make pizza with homemade pizza crust, pepperoni pizza dip is the next best thing. It’s great for game day, the Super Bowl, or if you’re entertaining a crowd. Who doesn’t love pizza? No matter what team is playing, we should always root for pizza dip.
This is Lightened-Up Pizza Dip
Today’s pepperoni pizza dip is lightened up from the full-fat version, sacrificing none of the outstanding flavor. It’s everything you love about a fat slice of cheesy pepperoni pizza baked together and scooped up with your favorite tortilla chips. Doesn’t that sound great? It is. And it doesn’t get much better than this. We use lower fat cream cheese, nonfat Greek yogurt, and a reduced amount of cheese—but it’s still plenty cheesy.
This Pepperoni Pizza Dip Is:
- Loaded with your favorite pizza toppings
- Always a crowd favorite
- 35 minutes start to finish
- Easy to assemble ahead of time
Overview of Ingredients in Pepperoni Pizza Dip
Though the written recipe is below, let me walk you through each ingredient so you’re prepared.
- Cream Cheese + Greek Yogurt: Low-fat cream cheese and nonfat Greek yogurt form the base of this cheesy dip. I like to use low fat cream cheese—I find nonfat cream cheese is lacking in taste and texture. Nonfat greek yogurt, on the other hand, is one of my favorite ingredients when I’m baking and cooking lighter fare. I call it a “power” ingredient.
- Garlic Powder: Garlic powder adds flavor.
- Pizza Sauce: We can’t have pizza dip without pizza sauce! Homemade or store-bought both work wonderfully.
- Cheese: I use shredded mozzarella cheese and grated parmesan cheese, but use your favorite varieties.
- Basil + Oregano: Both ground basil and ground oregano add even more pizza flavor.
- Toppings: Use your favorite pizza toppings—pepperoni, sausage, green peppers, olives, etc. Sometimes I use mini pepperonis because they’re cute. The more loaded the better.
3 Success Tips for the Best Pepperoni Pizza Dip
- Make a base & add toppings. Instead of mixing everything together, create a base made from cream cheese, Greek yogurt, and garlic powder. Then layer on your favorite pizza toppings like pizza sauce, cheese, olives, pepperoni, etc. Layers make each bite interesting—and irresistible!
- Use a 9-inch dish. I recommend a 9-inch pie dish, cake pan, or similar size casserole dish.
- Serve hot. Pair with tortilla chips, toasted artisan bread, pita chips, soft pretzel bites, or fresh veggies.
Ready in 35 minutes start to finish, this appetizer is quick and easy to make.
More Favorite Appetizers
- Pepperoni Pizza Rolls
- Crab Dip
- Cheesy Breadsticks
- Soft Pretzel Bites
- Bacon Wrapped Cheesy Stuffed Jalapeños
- Cheesy Pretzel Twists
- Cold Veggie Pizza
- Cranberry Pecan Cheese Ball
Cheesy Pepperoni Pizza Dip
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: serves 8-10
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
My very favorite recipe for pizza dip. Loaded with your favorite pizza toppings, this lightened-up pizza dip comes together in a snap and is gobbled up even quicker.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (226g) low-fat or full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (full fat or low fat)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup pizza sauce (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1–2 Tablespoons sliced black olives
- 1/4 cup pepperoni slices
- 2 Tablespoons grated parmesan
- ground basil, to taste
- ground oregano, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, and garlic powder in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy. Spread into the bottom of a 9-inch pie dish, cake pan, or similar size casserole dish.
- Spread the pizza sauce evenly over the cream cheese layer. Sprinkle evenly with mozzarella cheese. Top with olives and pepperoni, then sprinkle with grated parmesan. Bake for 18–20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with basil and oregano. Serve hot with your favorite chips, raw veggies, pita wedges, etc. Cover any leftovers and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You may assemble this dip up to 1 day ahead of time. Cover tightly and refrigerate. Before serving, bake as directed.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | 9-Inch Pie Dish or 9-Inch Round Cake Pan | Silicone Spatula
- Topping Options: We like to use pepperoni and sliced black olives. You can also use 1/2 cup crumbled cooked sausage, 1/4 cup chopped green pepper, or any pizza toppings of your choice.
I have four brothers (all younger) and this dip is their favorite thing ever! They request it every Sunday for the NFL games even though I usually only make it for the bigger games (I guess they figure it doesn’t hurt to ask ). I make it with the full fat ingredients because that’s what I usually have on hand and I get regular size pepperoni and cut it in half because I can’t find mini pepperonis in my store. This is definitely my go to dip recipe and is in my regular recipe rotation.
Hi Sally, this dip was so amazing that, the last time I made it, my sister was wolfing it down right after she came home after dinner. I was wondering, though, is it possible to make this recipe in a microwave?
I’m sure you could, but you’d miss the crisp pepperoni and cheese on top 🙂
Made this for a neighborhood get together, big hit with the kids and adults alike. Easy to make and great flavors!
Sally,
This has become one of our absolute favorite dips/snacks/sometimes dinners over the last year. Often you try something new and it’s really good but somehow it doesn’t make it into regular rotation. One of the things we love is how adaptable it is. We use veggies, meats, sometimes pineapple as toppings. We’ve done a 1/2 & 1/2 when we couldn’t decide. We love to serve this with sliced baguette bread rounds. Our local grocery (Wegmans) will slice one up for us and it’s just the right size, but it’s easy to do yourself. Thanks for the inspiration and wonderful recipies!! Blessings.
Love it. So happy you make my pizza dip so often! Your variations sound incredible.
We couldn’t wait for Sunday’s Super Bowl and made this Saturday for a big basketball showdown. I used full fat organic cream cheese and sour cream (bc we had it in the house). I ended up adding some additional garlic powder & garlic salt to the cream cz mixture. It may be personal taste or the flavors were heavier and needed the balance? I added pepperonis (diced into 1/4’s), and black olives. We served it with sliced baguette bread rounds and pita chips. It was the bomb! We ate so much we couldnt have dinner. Sunday we pulled out the leftovers and ate it cold for breakfast…no shame!! Sally, thank you so very much for another amazing recipe, and sharing your love of baking! I can’t wait for the new candy cookbook!!
We made this for super bowl and my daughters made the olives into a “49” and the dip was heavenly and YES we used spoons!!
I do have one question, is there a way to put the dip in or make it in a crock pot. It was yummy hot, and the presentation was perfect.
I made this yesterday for the Superbowl (watching it meant for us to get to go to bed at 5 am) and just left out the pepperoni to make it vegetarian. Everyone loved it and couldn’t believe how simple ist was. Such a great Snack!