4th of July Flag Dip
This 4th of July Flag Dip is a taco flavored dip that is not only a tasty but very patriotic too! Perfect for any red, white and blue celebration!
A Flag Themed Taco Dip
I’m all about the fun Independence Day party food! There’s so many fun ways to celebrate this country and so many delicious recipes to enjoy. Why make a regular, everyday, Taco Dip when you can fancy it up and make it the talk of the party?! I’ll admit, this one can feel a little tedious to make but it is well worth the effort. I promise it will be the hit at the food table!
Made this for our 4th of July cookout. It not only tasted really, really good but it was so festive looking and everyone commented on how much they loved it. Thank you!
– Jess
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! If you aren’t serving a big crowd for the holiday, you can certainly still make this. I think halving this would work in a 9×9-inch pan, obviously it wouldn’t be a rectangle, but you could still make a super cute presentation for a smaller crowd.
No problem! Just free hand the cheese with some kitchen shears. Or you can use the suggestion about the piped stars in the next question.
No. If you don’t have enough cheese to make the stars, or don’t want to cut out the stars, you can grab a piping bag with a Wilton star tip and pipe on some simple sour cream stars to the star section of the flag.
I’ve seen friends who add cooked ground beef to their taco dip. Others have made this more like a layered taco dip with refried beans, guac, and lettuce. Add whatever you think you and your guests will enjoy. Then just top with the cheese, tomatoes and chips to make it red, white, and blue.
The chips will get stale if stored too long in the fridge so keep that in mind if you plan to make this earlier in the day. Since this is made with cream cheese and other perishable ingredients, it does need to be kept in the fridge when it’s not being eaten.
This dip always disappears in no time when I make it, but if there are leftovers it would still be good for up to 4 days if covered and kept in the fridge. Keep in mind that the chips will go stale and may get soggy over time. I do not suggest freezing this Patriotic Taco Dip.
Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe)
- cream cheese– softening it to room temperature (not melting) is key to getting the dip to the right consistency. So make sure to pull it out to soften ahead of time. If you forget to grab it from the fridge, try using these tricks to soften your cream cheese faster.
- salsa – you can make a homemade salsa, or grab some premade stuff from the store.
- sour cream– light or full fat sour cream will work, whatever your preference. If you don’t like sour cream, try using plain Greek yogurt instead but just remember that since it’s mixed in with so many other things it just adds creaminess and doesn’t really taste like its own separate ingredient.
- shredded cheddar cheese – this can be any cheese you love since this is going inside the dip and not decorating on top. If you want a kick of heat, try using Pepper Jack cheese.
- green onions– if you don’t like green onions, just leave them out.
- taco seasoning – grab a packet from the grocery store, or you can make your own taco seasoning.
- Monterey Jack cheese – divided use for the white stripes of the flag. This needs to be a block of Monterey Jack cheese (you can also use Mozzarella cheese).
- blue tortilla chips – crushed, plus more for serving. This is what you use for the blue background underneath the stars. You can find these at most grocery stores. I commonly get them Walmart, as you can see by the Great Value brand seen in the picture below.
- grape tomatoes – we use these for the red stripes in our flag. If you want to have smaller bites of tomatoes, go ahead and dice these up and just arrange them the same way. Or just grab a regular beefsteak tomato and dice up – whatever works best for you and the taste and texture you enjoy!
How To Make Flag Dip
Place the cream cheese, salsa, sour cream, cheddar, green onions, and taco seasoning into a large bowl. With an electric hand mixer, combine the ingredients until smooth. Smooth this mixture into the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Cut the block of Monterey Jack in half. Very carefully, cut one of the halves into about ¼ inch slices. Using a small cookie cutter, cut out stars. I made 6, but you can use as many as you’d like. Shred the remaining Monterey Jack cheese.
In the upper left corner of the baking dish, add about half of the crushed tortilla chips in a 5×4-inch rectangle. This doesn’t have to be perfect, just do your best.
Then, to make the stripes, add 4 rows of tomatoes, they will be at the top and bottom of the baking dish and two more lines in between. I like to add just a line of tomatoes for each stripe to get a template going.
Fill in the other stripe sections with some of the Monterey Jack cheese. Now, build up the sections with more of the ingredients so you fully cover up the dip underneath. You may not end up using all of the crushed tortillas, tomatoes, and cheese.
Finally, add your cheese stars over the crushed tortilla section.
Serve immediately with more tortilla chips or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Craving More Recipes?
- 4th of July Party Recipes
- Patriotic Homemade Funfetti Cake
- Patriotic Sugar Cookie Bars
- Patriotic Mixed Berry Dessert
- Red, White and Blue Jell-O Cups
- 4th of July Cupcakes
- 4th of July Rice Krispies Treats
- Red, White and Blue Pinwheel Cookies
- 4th of July Waffle Cones
- Patriotic Jell-O Marshmallows
4th of July Flag Dip
Ingredients
- 2 (8 ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 16 ounce jar of your favorite salsa (I like Herdez salsa)
- 1 ¼ cups sour cream
- 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 ounce packet taco seasoning
- 16 ounce block Monterey Jack cheese
- 4 ounces blue tortilla chips, crushed (enough to make a blue square shape)
- 2 pints grape tomatoes, quartered
Instructions
- Place 2 (8 ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened to room temperature, 16 ounce jar of your favorite salsa, 1 ¼ cups sour cream, 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese, 4 green onions, thinly sliced and 1 ounce packet taco seasoning into a large bowl.
- With an electric hand mixer, combine the ingredients until smooth.
- Smooth this mixture into the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Cut the 16 ounce block Monterey Jack cheese in half. Very carefully, cut one of the halves into about ¼ inch slices.
- Using a small cookie cutter, cut out stars. We made 6, but you can use as many as you’d like and can fit into this section.
- Shred the remaining Monterey Jack cheese.
- In the upper left corner of the baking dish, add 4 ounces blue tortilla chips, crushed in a 5×4-inch rectangle. This doesn’t have to be perfect, just do your best.
- Then, to make the stripes, add 4 rows using 2 pints grape tomatoes, quartered – they will be at the top and bottom of the baking dish and two more lines in between. I like to add just a line of tomatoes for each stripe to get a template going.
- Fill in the other stripe sections with some of the Monterey Jack cheese.
- Now, build up the sections with more of the ingredients so you fully cover up the dip underneath.
- Finally, add your cheese stars over the crushed tortilla section.
- Serve immediately with more tortilla chips or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
This is a winner and looks really patriotic! I love it. Thank you! I definitely will try it!
Hope you love it Mollie!!
Can you make this the day before? THX
I actually answer this question in more detail above in the frequently asked questions section 🙂 Hope you love it!
Made this for our 4th of July cookout. It not only tasted really, really good but it was so festive looking and everyone commented on how much they loved it. Thank you!