Pizza Dip
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Dip into your new favorite appetizer with this easy, cheesy Pizza Dip recipe. It’s made with layers of creamy, melty cheese, warm marinara sauce, and pepperonis, surrounded by buttery pieces of bread, perfect for pulling apart and dipping in the flavorful baked pizza dip!
Table of contents
Pizza is one of my all-time favorite foods. And when I’m hosting a party, there’s always going to be plenty of dips. So of course I made an epic pizza dip recipe!
This pizza dip is sure to make an appearance at my annual Super Bowl party, holiday party, and pretty much every other party I throw! This dip is truly delicious and it’s easy to make ahead of time, so I can pop it in the oven right before party time.
The best part is, the buttery bread used to dip up the hot pizza dip is baked right in the skillet with the dip, so it’s a one-pot appetizer. And less dishes is always a win in my book!
Ingredients
- Refrigerated canned biscuits – any 16 ounce can of unflavored biscuits will work for this recipe.
- Butter
- Parmesan cheese – just like your favorite pizza, the pull apart bread surrounding the dip is topped with grated parmesan cheese.
- Italian seasoning – I highly recommend my homemade seasoning, linked here. It’s so flavorful and easy to mix up in less than 5 minutes, with herbs like basil, thyme and oregano. You can also purchase pre-made Italian seasoning on the spice aisle at the grocery store.
- Cream cheese – combine with ricotta cheese to make a creamy, cheesy base for the dip. Always make sure to leave the cream cheese out on the counter for at least 30 minutes before making the dip to soften it up. This way, it will easily mix in with the ricotta cheese.
- Ricotta cheese – whole milk ricotta is my preference for it’s rich flavor and creamy texture.
- Marinara sauce – I recommend using either homemade marinara sauce or Rao’s marinara sauce (my favorite store brand sauce in a jar). You can also use a jar of pizza sauce.
- Mozzarella cheese – I always recommend grating the cheese at home yourself. The bags of pre-shredded cheese at the grocery store contain anti-caking additives that prevent them from melting as well.
- Pepperoni (optional topping) – you can also make the dip vegetarian by topping it with sliced mushrooms, diced bell peppers, sliced black olives, or your favorite veggie pizza topping.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Prepare the pull-apart bread ring.
- Open the can of biscuit dough and cut each biscuit in half, so that you have 16 pieces of dough.
- Roll each piece of dough into a ball.
- Melt butter in a large bowl, then stir in parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning. Roll each ball of dough in the seasoned butter until it’s coated on all sides.
- Place the seasoned balls of dough in a circle around the edge of a large oven-safe skillet that’s been coated with oil or cooking spray. I used a 15 inch cast iron skillet to make this recipe.
Prepare the pizza dip.
- Use a large bowl and an electric hand mixer, or stand mixer, to combine softened cream cheese with ricotta cheese and Italian seasoning. Spread the cream cheese mixture in the middle of the seasoned balls of dough in the skillet.
- Top the cheesy mixture with marinara sauce.
- Sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese and Italian seasoning on top of the marinara sauce.
- Slice each of the pepperonis into 4 pieces and sprinkle them on top of the mozzarella cheese. This is an optional topping, and you’re welcome to use another pizza topping of your choice.
- Bake the pizza dip in the oven at 350°F for 25-30 minutes.
Optional toppings
This dip can be topped with one, two, or several of your favorite pizza toppings to make a loaded pizza dip. Make the recipe vegetarian by topping it with veggies, or add more meat to make a meat-lovers pizza dip! You really can’t go wrong with any of these tasty toppings.
- Cooked, crumbed Italian sausage
- Cooked, diced bacon
- Sliced salami (quartered like the pepperonis pictured in this post)
- Diced ham
- Sliced mushrooms
- Diced red or green bell peppers
- Sliced black olives
- Diced onions
- Sliced jalapenos (to spice up the dip!)
- Artichoke hearts
- Fresh basil leaves (add these after you remove the dip from the oven)
Recipe notes
- You can make the dip without the pull-apart bread ring. Assemble the pizza dip as instructed in a smaller oven-safe skillet, 9-inch pie plate, or in a small baking dish. This will make the dip gluten free, and you can serve it with gluten-free bread or crackers for dipping.
- You can assemble the pizza dip up to 24 hours ahead of time. Cover and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake the dip.
- You can make the dip, without the pull-apart bread ring, in a slow cooker. Simply add the different layers to a small Crock Pot set to low for 1-2 hours, then turn the Crock Pot to warm. The dip can set in the Crock Pot on warm for up to 6 hours. Serve the dip with breadsticks, garlic bread, a warm sliced baguette, crackers, or garlic knots for dipping.
- The dip is best served hot, so I recommend baking it right before you plan to serve it, or making it in a Crock Pot, so that it will stay warm for hours.
Storage and reheating
Cover and store leftover pizza dip in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you’re reheating the dip and the pull-apart rolls together, I recommend reheating it in the oven. Cover the entire dish with a piece of foil and reheat at 350°F for 10 minutes. Uncover the dip and cook for another 5 minutes, or until heated through.
If you’re only reheating the pizza dip without the rolls, you can still reheat it in the oven, or you can reheat it in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave for 2 minutes.
More dip recipes
Make a “dip bar” for your next party, game day, or family gathering, with a combination of dips, bread, chips, and veggies. You’ll love all of these delicious dip recipes!
Pizza Dip
Ingredients
For the pull-apart bread
- 16.3 ounce can Grands biscuit dough, 8 count
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 2 teaspoons parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, click link for the recipe
For the pizza dip
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning, divided
- 1 cup marinara sauce, or pizza sauce
- 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese, grated
- 8 slices pepperoni, quartered (optional topping)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Cut each biscuit in half, then roll each half of dough into a ball.
- Combine the melted butter, parmesan cheese, and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning in a bowl.
- Roll each of the balls of biscuit dough in the seasoned butter, then arrange them around the edge of a greased large cast iron skillet.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer, or stand mixer, to combine the cream cheese, ricotta cheese and 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture in the bottom of the skillet in the middle of the balls of dough.
- Top with the marinara sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese and remaining 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Top with pepperonis, or another pizza topping of your choice.
- Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.
Notes
- To make the dip vegetarian, top it with sliced mushrooms, diced bell peppers, sliced black olives, or your favorite veggie pizza topping, instead of pepperonis.
- You can make the dip without the pull-apart bread ring. Assemble the pizza dip as instructed in a smaller oven-safe skillet, 9-inch pie plate, or in a small baking dish. This will make the dip gluten free, and you can serve it with gluten-free bread or crackers for dipping.
- You can assemble the pizza dip up to 24 hours ahead of time. Cover and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake the dip.
- You can make the dip, without the pull-apart bread ring, in a slow cooker. Simply add the different layers to a small Crock Pot set to low for 1-2 hours, then turn the Crock Pot to warm. The dip can set in the Crock Pot on warm for up to 6 hours.
- Leftover pizza dip should be covered and stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat the dip and the pull-apart rolls together, I recommend reheating it in the oven. Cover the entire dish with a piece of foil and reheat at 350°F for 10 minutes. Uncover the dip and cook for another 5 minutes, or until heated through.
Nutrition Facts
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