Easy Hot Chip Beef Dip

Today I wanted to tell my readers about a delicious yet easy hot chip beef dip I made for our Thanksgiving meal. We had about 12 guests for dinner but had prepared enough food, including appetizers, to serve twice that many.

One of my favorite things about holiday meals, and particularly Thanksgiving, is the wide variety of food prepared, especially the appetizers. I like this one for a number of reasons, but one key reason is that it’s an easy appetizer to fix, and I have what I need without another trip to the grocery store.

We should all have a section in our recipe box or folder entitled, “Appetizers.” That way, when it comes time to find that special appetizer recipe we want, the search shouldn’t be difficult.

If you have all your recipes in digital format on your computer, all the better. Some cooks may label this as a classic appetizer often referred to as a “hot chipped beef dip recipe” or “dried beef dip recipe,” but no matter what you call it, this recipe is a hit for any occasion.

On the days after Thanksgiving, many in the family hung out and ate leftovers we had stored in the refrigerator. They watched football on what they called “game day” due to all the college conference rivalry games available on TV.

Mark is a real sports fan, and he indulged in this easy hot chip beef dip much of the weekend.

Items You May Need In The Kitchen:

• Silicone Cutting Boards (I highly recommend these!)
• Baking Pan or Microwaveable Pan
• Hand Mixer
• A Good Knife
• Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons

Hot Chip Beef Dip Ingredients

• Dried Chipped Beef: Savory beef salted, pressed, dried, and sliced into thin delectable pieces of smoked beef.
• Cream Cheese: Soft, creamy, mild-tasting cheese made with milk and cream. The perfect cheese to use when making this appetizer!
• Sour Cream: Used to add more flavor to this dip. It has a 20% fat content. The cream is mixed with a lactic acid that creates that sour taste we all love! It also helps to thicken the cream.
• Green Onions: Green onions or “scallions” are typical names to describe a long, thin, tubular edible plant with an oniony flavor.
• Milk: Due to the fat content, milk helps to produce a moist and creamy dip. It also helps to enrich the flavor of all of the other ingredients.

Easy Hot Chip Beef Dip

Instructions

Step One: Gather the Ingredients

There really isn’t much to the list of ingredients. Of course, the cream cheese, sour cream, and dried beef are key to the recipe.

Step Two: Soften the Cream Cheese

Since this is a dip, the cream cheese has to be softened in a bowl or small baking dish so you can dip your chips or crackers with ease in the softened cream cheese. I like to allow the cream cheese to sit at room temperature as I prepare the other ingredients. I have also warmed it in the microwave at 30-second intervals if I am a little short on time.

Step Three: Cut the Chip Beef

I have Mark rinse the dried beef while in the jars to remove any extra salt/sodium. Then he’ll cut or chop the beef into thin slices so it can be more easily stirred in the dip mixture and stay on the chip or cracker when eaten.

Step Four: Add the Sour Cream

Adding the sour cream also makes the dip more soft and easy to work with, besides adding a slight tart taste to the flavors in the dip.

Step Five: Mix until Creamy

Mix the ingredients in the bowl using a hand mixer, or by hand, if preferred. Make sure it has a creamy texture since it will be used as a tasty dip. You can heat it in your microwave oven, at 30-second intervals, if you feel that will help soften the mixture. This is one of the appetizers we make where we don’t have to bake it.

Step Six: Add the Chip Beef

Now add the beef that’s been cut. Continue to stir until fully blended with the sour cream and cream cheese mixture.

Finished Product

Once the beef is blended in the dip mixture you’ll top things off with the cut-up green onions. The onions are always added to our recipe, but others will often add things like pecans, green peppers, black pepper spice, garlic powder, or other favorites to add a unique flavor to this dip.

Be sure to store this appetizer in the fridge until it’s ready to be served so it stays as fresh as possible. It may thicken up a bit, but should soften up some once left on the counter for a few minutes at room temperature. We warm it up in the microwave to serve it hot!

Easy Hot Chip Beef Dip Recipe

Should Dried Chip Beef be Rinsed Before Cooking?

The beef we use for this dip has already been cooked, so it doesn’t need any additional cooking. We’ve found the beef to be pretty salty in flavor, that’s why we’ve always rinsed it first.

You can try using it right out of the jar and decide for yourself. It won’t be unhealthy eating it that way unless you should be reducing your salt intake.

Is Hormel Dried Beef the Same as Chipped Beef?

As you can see from the picture, we used Armour Dried Beef. That’s what was available at my local store, but we’ve used the Hormel product in the past and they both work fine for flavor and texture. Buddig Beef also carries delicious dried chipped beef and may be a little less expensive.

Why is This Hot Chip Beef Dip Called “SOS” food?

When Mark and I were dating, he visited my family for Thanksgiving one year. My dad told him we were going to have “s__t on a shingle” as an appetizer. It took Mark a while to figure out what my dad meant.

I guess it had been called that for many years, and not just in my family setting. We’ve made it a practice to call it chip or chipped beef in our household, just taking a more conservative approach.

What Other Meats Can Be Used in This Hot Chip Beef Dip Recipe to Substitute for the Chipped Beef?

I know other families have used cooked chicken breasts and tuna in place of beef. We’ve enjoyed the beef and really haven’t tried the other options.

What Chips or Crackers Work Best With This Hot Chip Beef Dip?

Our favorite has always been Fritos corn chips. They taste great and seem to hold up best when dipped.

I did see a few family members using other crackers from the appetizer table like Chicken on a Biscuit, Triscuit, Wheat Thins of all varieties, and even the baguette slices we had out. You could try some tortilla chips too, but it does change the flavor some, depending on the taste of the chips.

Is This Hot Chip Beef Dip Appetizer Good for You?

With all the dairy products and meat in this dip, it will have a fair amount of calories, but also good protein content. With the chips and crackers added, I don’t think it qualifies as a low-carb food. There really isn’t much fiber, unless you consider the corn from the Fritos in that category.

Final Word

I tend to be a snacker and find appetizers like this one to be a real temptation for me. I try to limit what I eat during the holidays, and having this delicious hot chip beef dip close by is a challenge to that goal.

The way in which the sour cream, cream cheese, green onion, and chip beef come together to create this creamy and luscious dip, hits the spot every time. Many friends and family have asked for this recipe! So make sure you are ready to share it when you take this dip to a family get-together!

Trying different meats, toppings, chips, and crackers can make this easy hot chip beef dip a real adventure at mealtime.

If you make yours differently, I’d love to hear from you in the comments about what changes you’ve made. Let’s share our food prep ideas with others so they can find joy in new and fun recipes. May God Bless this world. Linda