Cream Cheese Rotel Dip
The 3-Ingredient Sausage Dip I’ve Made for Game Day Since the Early 2000s
Prep time: 15 minutes | Serves: 10-12 | Crockpot-Friendly
This dip is rich, spicy, and so addictive that it might disappear before halftime. It’s only three ingredients, but the magic happens when the cream cheese mellows the heat from the Rotel and the sausage adds the savory, satisfying bite. This is the kind of dip where people hover near the table with chips in hand, waiting for you to refill it.
This dip has been a game day favorite in our family for as long as I can remember. I don’t know where the recipe originated but I remember friends asking my mom to make it for game days throughout my childhood. In high school, I started making it for friends and never quit. It might sound too easy to be that good but let me tell you, I’ve never left a party with extra.
The beauty of this recipe is its simplicity. Brown some sausage, melt some cream cheese, stir in Rotel, and you’re done. No chopping, no precise measurements, no way to mess it up. It’s the recipe I make when I want to look like I tried harder than I did.
Ingredients:
1 pound ground sausage (I use regular breakfast sausage, but spicy works too)
2 (8oz) packages cream cheese
1 (10oz) can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles (original or mild—your call on heat level)
Instructions:
Brown the sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it into small crumbles as it cooks (about 7-8 minutes). You want it fully cooked with no pink remaining. Drain excess grease by tilting the pan and using a spoon to remove it, or transfer sausage to a paper towel-lined plate.
Melt the cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl in 1-minute increments, stirring between each, until it’s smooth and pourable (usually 2-3 minutes total).
Add the Rotel (including all the juice—that’s where the flavor lives) to the melted cream cheese and stir until completely smooth. If it’s not combining easily, microwave for another 30-60 seconds.
Fold in the cooked sausage and stir until everything is evenly distributed. You should have a thick, creamy, slightly chunky dip.
Serve immediately or transfer to a small crockpot on the “warm” setting to keep it hot throughout the game.
Pro tips:
Make it ahead: Prepare this up to a day in advance, refrigerate, then reheat in the crockpot or microwave before serving.
Spice level: Use hot Rotel and spicy sausage if your crowd likes heat. For milder palates, stick with mild Rotel and regular breakfast sausage.
Keep it warm: A 2-quart crockpot on low is perfect for keeping this dip at the ideal temperature for hours without scorching.
Stretch it: If you need to feed more people, add a third block of cream cheese and another can of Rotel. The ratio is forgiving.
What to serve it with: Tortilla chips are classic, but I’ve also served this with:
Wheat Thins for people who want to pretend this is healthy
Celery sticks for the same crowd
Toasted baguette slices if you’re feeling fancy
Fair warning: This dip is rich. Dangerously so. People will eat it until they’re uncomfortably full and then go back for one more chip. Plan accordingly.