Party Dip

A Retro Crowd Pleaser

Last week when I was at the lake house our friend mentioned snacking on some dried beef. While I would probably never buy the beef just to snack on, it did trigger a memory of a recipe I saw in my Grandma’s cookbook of a Party Dip that was popular in the 1960’s.

I personally am a big fan of party dip. In fact, one of my favorite aunts always has some kind of homemade dip in her fridge and I love going there.

It is such a great snack to eat with veggies or crackers and perfect for busy days when you’re starving.

When Can You Eat This Dip?

Despite the name, you do not have to be going to or hosting a party make this Party Dip. You can make it to have on hand for snacks, lunches, or a special treat.

I actually have a party to attend this evening so I decided to go ahead and make this classic dip for my gathering. It had been a long time since I had even seen the dried beef in the store but, sure enough, there it was on the top shelf of the “Canned Meat” section of my local Jewel-Osco.

Is Canned Meat Good?

Let me tell you, the canned meat section can be a scary place. But the dried beef, made by Hormel is tasty. If you haven’t had it, think packaged lunch meat that isn’t greasy and also a little like the flavor of beef jerky without the toughness. I promise you it is good although the look and name of it can scare you. I wouldn’t steer you wrong.

Get it? STEER…dried beef…

Seriously though, this is good stuff, no bull. Well… actually quite a bit of bull.

Let’s just moooooooove on.

This dip is one of my favorites because it is easy to make and requires just a few ingredients. It also makes a lot which is perfect for a party.

The rest of the ingredients are a bit more standard and are listed in the printable recipe card below.

Note that we like onions and seasoning so I add a little more onion and spices to mine. There is no right or wrong when it comes to adjusting the seasonings.

Flavor it to your preference.

The instructions are laid out in the recipe card below but they’re pretty simple. As you can see in these pictures you’ll be whipping up the cream cheese, then the sour cream with another mix, the seasonings with another mix, and then the minced beef and onions with a final mix before refrigerating. 

Serve with crackers of your choice. A reader recommended using the Chicken In A Biscuit crackers for this dip and I couldn’t agree more. Another delicious option is using the mini dark rye bread for this.

This is one of my all time favorite recipes. I hope you make it and enjoy it as much as we do.

Until Next Time!

Happy Eating!

For another easy and delicious recipe, try my Taco Dip!