Skillet Bacon Smoked Cheese Dip
On April 14, 2022 (Updated November 01, 2022)
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This skillet bacon smoked cheese dip is bubbly, melty, and especially delicious when paired with your favorite potato or tortilla chip. It makes a great appetizer or side for a variety of occasions.
Smoked Cheese Dip
I am a lifetime lover and, some might say, connoisseur of cheese. To me, there is nothing more delightful than a giant scoop of warm, melty, stringy cheese. I’ve eaten many a cheese dip and never have I ever seen it combined with my favorite of all meats, BACON! So of course I had to go there with this recipe for smoked cheese dip.
I used generous amounts of my Homemade Smoked Bacon, fresh garlic, cream cheese, and Monterey jack cheese to create a smoked cheese dip that is ultimately smooth and melty without using any processed American cheese.
There’s a little bit of heat from the red pepper flakes and the coarse black pepper that beautifully compliments the creamy cheese and salty bacon. As an added bonus, this cheese dip recipe is made in one skillet, takes less than an hour, and tastes so dang good with crispy chips.
Smoked Cheese Dip Ingredients
Ready to make this cheese dip? You only need a handful of ingredients to make this yummy snack, and a good majority of them will already be in your fridge and pantry.
- 1/2 pound diced bacon
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 4 ounces softened cream cheese
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 Tablespoon corn starch
- 2 Tablespoons sliced green onions
Last up, make sure you have a cast iron skillet on hand to make this recipe. I used an 8-inch skillet, but you can likely also use a 12-inch pan as well.
How to Make Smoked Cheese Dip
Once you have all your ingredients assembled, you’re ready to make this cheese dip. From start to finish, it should only take 1 hour or less, giving you a tasty snack anytime, anywhere.
- Render the bacon. Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon to the skillet and cook to your preferred doneness (this will be used as a topping later so make sure it’s fully cooked now).
- Make the base. Add garlic to the bacon grease in the skillet. Add in minced garlic and chicken stock, cream cheese, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Cook until all ingredients have combined. Turn off the heat on the skillet.
- Add the cheese. Stir corn starch into the shredded cheese, and add the cheese to the base. Stir well to combine.
- Smoke. With your smoker preheated to 175 degrees F, place the dip in the skillet on the grill grates, close the lid, and smoke for 30-45 minutes.
- Serve. Once your cheese is looking good and smoky (it will likely change color a bit from the smoke), remove the skillet from the grill and top with bacon and green onions. Serve while still hot (but take care not to burn yourself on that ooey, gooey cheese!
Tips for Making Smoked Cheese Dip
Even though I think this cheese dip is just about as perfect as can be, there’s always room for tweaks to make it work for you. Here are a few flavor swaps and suggestions to try the next time to make this dip.
- Swap your cheese. I used Monterey Jack cheese for this recipe, but you can use whatever cheese you prefer. Pepper jack would add a nice bit of heat, or Colby jack would give you that yellowy cheddary bright flavor.
- Add different toppings. This dip can be topped with whatever you like. Instead of bacon and green peppers, you can top your smoked dip with beans, chorizo, sausage, red peppers, or even my Candied Jalapenos.
- Try potato chips. Even though cheese dip is usually enjoyed with tortilla chips, this also tastes incredible with flavored potato chips or even sweet potato chips! You can even enjoy it with a nice salty cracker or some veggies. It tastes great on just about anything!
Did you do anything special with your dip that you want to share with the whole class? Let us know! We love hearing how you customize your BBQ to please your friends and family.
More Smoked Cheese Recipes
Cheese and smoke go together beautifully, and Hey Grill Hey is happy to cook all sorts of cheese recipes on the smoker. Check out a few of our cheesiest recipes below.
Smoked Cheese Dip Recipe
Did this smoked cheese dip recipe turn out to be everything you needed and more? If so, let us know in the comments below. You can also catch more behind-the-scenes content from Hey Grill Hey on social media by searching @HeyGrillHey.
Smoked Cheese Dip
Video
Ingredients
- ½ pound bacon diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups Monterey jack cheese shredded
- 1 Tablespoon corn starch
- 2 Tablespoons green onions sliced
Instructions
- Cook bacon. Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Cook the bacon pieces until crisp, about 3-4 minutes, and remove from the pan to a paper towel to drain. Leave about 1 Tablespoon of bacon grease in the pan.
- Start making the dip. Add the minced garlic to the hot pan and cook for about 2 minutes. Whisk in the softened cream cheese, the chicken stock, the red pepper flakes, and the black pepper. Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat.
- Add the cheese. In a bowl, combine the shredded Monterey jack cheese and the corn starch. Mix together to coat the cheese shreds evenly. Dump the cheese into the hot cream cheese/broth mixture. Whisk until the cheese is nice and melty.
- Smoke. Place the cheese dip on the smoker at 175-200 degrees F for 30-45 minutes to melt the cheese and add some smoky flavor.
- Serve. Remove the smoked cheese dip from the smoker and top with the cooked bacon and fresh sliced green onions. Serve while still hot with your favorite chips.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This one is a game changer. Pun intended. For game day, it is the perfect appetizer. Susie hit this one out of the park yet again.
Any recommendations for what type of wood chips to use for smoking this?
Use whatever you like best! I like fruit woods for this type of stuff.
I want to make this at a party next week because it looks amazing!. But I think he just has a grill and not a smoker. How can I adjust this to have him make this in a cast iron on the grill? Thanks!
Follow the recipe as written. You just won’t get the smoky flavor.
Can you re-heat before putting the toppings on.
I use previously cold smoked cheeses in all your recipes for that added smoked flavor
This sounds really good, and I’ll be trying it soon. I’m just wondering if you think I could substitute beer for the chicken stock?
Absolutely!
O.K.
We tried this dip twice. The first time it didn’t work out. We used middle of the line cheese and when it was added with the corn starch, it became a substitute for concrete when it cooled! Not the recipes fault but mine. The second time, better cheese and no corn starch. Everyone hovered around it and in a flash, there was an empty cast iron! Definitely will be a stable around here!!
I’m so happy you made it work for you and that it turned out good!! Thanks for coming back and leaving feedback!