What sounds better on a chilly day than hot baked pimento cheese dip with a Goldfish cracker crust? I can't think of anything. If you like regular pimento cheese dip on a summer's day, you'll love this oven warmed version that includes a crispy top.
The idea of making this came about when we got some Goldfish crackers as part of a Christmas present. I like Goldfish, but I wasn't sure I was just going to sit down and eat them straight up. Maybe I would have, but I elected to put (some of) them in a baggie and pop them like crunchy bubble wrap (this part is super fun, and much better than using a rolling pin to smash them, potentially making your bag explode and send orange crumbs flying everywhere, trust me). And then scatter them lovingly across a pillow of cheesiness. Then I put it in the oven and once it came out, started dipping French bread rounds into it.
A Great Party Food
This is one of those recipes that is perfect for a Super Bowl party, and hopefully I'm not taking a legal risk by referring to a football game by its commonly used shortened name. You can prepare the cheese base a day or two in advance if you like, and bake it up along with any other oven baked dips at the same time for maximum efficiency. Given that the game happens on a Sunday night, at 6:30 p.m. no less, efficiency is the name of the game if you're hosting. It's even the name of the game if you are at someone else's house and want to get home at a semi reasonable hour so you don't throw off your entire week by making Monday get off on the wrong foot. It's obvious that sports exec types don't have any regard for the working people who are the most devoted to watching their games, or they'd make them at much more convenient times.
Doesn't matter though, I generally don't watch it live because 1) football is boring and 2) the NFL is a terrible thing to support. I'll watch the ads and read the commentary online the next day to keep up with any new pop culture references that come out of it. Let's be honest though, has there been anything that's stuck since WASSSAAAAAP in the early 2000s? I didn't think so.
Or you can hang on to this recipe until the Carolina Cup and make it for your Cup party. Really, any event that requires food that'll make everyone keep reaching for more is where you need to be taking this. Everyone can appreciate a melty baking dish full of cheese and cheese and cheese.
Hot Pimento Cheese Dip with a Goldfish Cracker Crust
Equipment
- 1 quart capacity baking dish or individual baking dishes to fit 4 cups collectively
Ingredients
- 2 oz Neufatchel cheese softened
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese grated
- 4 oz diced pimentos drained
- ¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
- cooking spray
- ½ cup Goldfish crackers, finely crushed (or other cheese crackers or panko bread crumbs)
Instructions
- Turn the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix the cheeses, mayo, pimentos, and seasonings in a bowl until thoroughly combined.
- Spray your baking dish(es) with the cooking spray.
- Spoon the pimento cheese mixture into the baking dish(es), and cover the top evenly with crushed cheese crackers or panko.
- Put into the heated oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the edges begin to bubble. Multiple smaller baking dishes may take less time.
You can make this in any oven proof baking dish but I recommend investing in an enameled cast iron one, especially if you make dips a lot. Get the size that makes the most sense for you. For us, it is a smaller one, and for me it's the adorable heart shaped Le Creuset that I snagged from the outlet store last year. We were driving back from Savannah on girls trip and we just so happened to go to the gas station that was next to it and my friends obliged and went in there with me to browse around for a while. It's a real treat having a Le Creuset outlet in Yemassee, South Carolina, and next time I am down that way I have my eye on a griddle pan... in whatever color is cheapest!
