Cheesy Sausage Dip Recipe is the ultimate keto appetizer. Gooey cheddar dip meets jalapeños and Italian sausage for an easy low carb Game Day snack. 5 simple ingredients and only 2.5 total carbs per serving. A hit at any party.
I’m not going to say that this is the best sausage dip ever, but I think it might actually be The Best Sausage Dip Ever.
If only my words were adequate enough to tell you just how good this was, and how there were people clustered around it at our friend’s party, just dipping, and dipping, and dipping.
We hope they weren’t double dipping, but everyone loved it so much, I daresay there may have been some of that social taboo going on. But oh the spicy cheesy goodness. Can you blame them?
Seriously, though, I love finger food and appetizers – it’s honestly one of my favorite ways to eat. I love being able to taste a little of this and little of that, and then maybe head back to the best ones for another round. We do an annual New Year’s Party at a friend’s house and this was my offering this year.
Even while I was making it, I knew it was going to be ridiculously good. But it truly was the hit of the party. I suspect I will be required to bring this every year now. Trust me, I don’t mind. It was so easy to make and so luscious.
Tips for Keto Sausage Dip
Most sausage dip recipes take a full can of Rotel tomatoes. I lowered the carb count by using only 1 cup of diced tomatoes and then adding in some chopped jalapeño. Get the petite diced tomatoes if you can, so they mix well throughout the dip. You don’t need Rotel brand, especially if you are adding jalapeños.
Bulk Italian sausage is best but if you can’t find that, get some fresh link sausages and simply remove the casing.
I did not drain the sausage after cooking it. Why lose all that wonderful luscious fat? This is a low carb high fat diet, after all! And I found it all mixed in beautiful and didn’t seem greasy once it was finished.
You can make it in and serve it right from the skillet, to save time and dishes. It should be at least a 10 inch skillet, to hold all of the dip. It looked great in the cast iron pan I used, and I simply cleaned up the sides with a paper towel before serving.
I added a full 8 ounce brick of Cheddar cheese, which is unusual for sausage dip. But I wanted to give it my own little twist and you can never have too much cheese. I used Cabot Farmhouse Reserve.
Cut the cream cheese into small pieces and add right into the hot mixture along with the shredded cheddar. I found that covering the pan and letting it sit for a few minutes helped melt the cheese and allowed it to mix in a little more easily. Keep stirring until it’s all nice and homogeneous. Then spread in the pan and clean up the sides.
Serve that sucker warm! It can be made ahead and re-heated in a 350 oven for 10 or so. I made mine mid-day and just heated it up in my friends oven. You want it warm but not bubbling hot. No burnt tongues, thanks!
What to serve with Cheesy Sausage Dip
This is a question I get a lot when I showcase a dip or a cheese spread: what do you use for scooping it up? I’m like… a spoon? A dip that’s this good doesn’t need any fancy dippers. But I suppose that would be rather gauche at a party.
Any low carb veggie will do, especially the ones that are flat, like cucumber or radish slices, or scoop-like, such as celery, pepper slices, endive leaves, etc. Jicama slices are good too.
But if you are craving some crunch with your dip, you have options there too. You see in these photos, I’ve featured some low carb crackers. I recently bought these Cali’flour Thins from Amazon. They aren’t wildly interesting on their own but they perfect for dipping. These Primal Thins are pretty good too.
You can also make your own delicious keto crackers. Try my Toasted Sesame Crackers or these nut-free Rosemary Parmesan Crackers.
And don’t forget that pork rinds make fabulous scoopers for keto dips and spreads.
Other Delicious Keto Dip Recipes
Hot Caramelized Onion and Bacon Dip
Asiago Dip (use full fat mayo and sour cream)
Cheesy Sausage Dip Recipe is the ultimate keto appetizer. Gooey cheddar dip meets jalapeños and Italian sausage for an easy low carb Game Day snack.
- 12 ounce bulk Italian sausage (can use sausage links, simply remove casings)
- 1 cup diced tomatoes
- 2 medium jalapeños, finely minced
- 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into small pieces
- 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (I used Cabot Farmhouse Reserve)
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In a 10 inch skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage until cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and the jalapeños and bring to a simmer.
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Remove from heat. Add both cheeses and stir in, then cover the pan and let sit about 5 minutes, to help it melt.
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Uncover and stir until well combined, then spread evenly in the pan. Serve warm with veggies and low carb crackers.
Karen says
Serious Drool Factor !! This is our Super Bowl dip — no need to look further.
Amy says
Can I sub the tomatoes with green chillies? Or other suggestions, please…
Carolyn says
Sure, that’s fine too. It won’t be as nice a colour, I don’t think.
Therese says
I would think a mix of red peppers and onions would be good. You will already have the heat from the jalapeño.
Rachael Yerkes says
Love this dip! Perfect for game days and parties
Aimee Shugarman says
OMG this is delicious!!!
Julie Blanner says
Looks like I’m adding this our appetizers on game days. Yum!
Toni says
This was really amazing! A new favorite dip in my house!
Jocelyn says
This is such a delicious dip! It’s going to be perfect for game day too!
Lisa says
Thanks for this. I used to make something like it with Velveeta, which is a no-no for keto. I was wondering how to achieve the smoothness without it, and this looks perfect.
Erin says
Just made this, added 3 Tbsp of salsa instead of the tomatoes and it was SOOOOO GOOD. Served with pork rinds. Thank you for making this lifestyle so delicious!!!
Carolyn says
Yay! We love it too.
Alesha Gayle says
So, I just wanted to write in that I made this. It was incredibly easy, and it was delicious. Thank you, Carolyn, for your recipes. I love your cookbooks too!
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it!
Taryn says
Thanks for including my BLT Dip!
Dee says
What brand of Italian sausage does everyone use. Thank you. Could you use Italian spiced ground turkey?
Carolyn says
Any brand is fine.
MAC says
Would this work stuffed inside mini sweet peppers? Thought I could make the dip the day before, stuff the peppers day of party with a little cheddar on top and bake for a make ahead appetizer. Do you think it would be too runny?
Carolyn says
No, I think it would be FABULOUS! Yummy idea!
Kristen says
I’ve made this delicious dip many times, wondering if it would work to make it in a crockpot after the sausage is cooked? I want to take it to work and I’m trying to figure out the best way.
Carolyn says
I can’t see why not!
Jennifer petersen says
Could I just use regular ground pork. My family doesn’t like Italian sausage.
Carolyn says
Sure but I think it will lack flavor.
Becky says
I made it today with regular pork sausage because that’s what I had and it was still delicious!
Erin says
Yuck!! I found this recipe on Pinterest, and was really excited to make it, but the end result looked and tasted like a bowl full of vomit. It was so bad, I ended up throwing the whole thing out — and I eat everything and don’t like to waste food. I made just half the recipe, and used shredded cheese instead of block (b/c that’s what I had), and didn’t add jalapeños (b/c that’s what I didn’t have…), but none of those things should have resulted in what tasted like cheesy clabbered milk. I’m think I’m just going to stick with Velveeta from here on out.
Carolyn says
I am very sorry to hear that you didn’t like it, as you can see from the reviews that many people love it. Not really sure what happened but I do suspect your changes may have been part of it. This was a huge hit at several parties I have thrown so I know the recipe works as is!
Debra says
The packaged shredded cheese should not be used instead of the block, it contains ingredients that keep it from melting into a smooth dip.
Suzy says
We made this exactly as written and it came out great! Loved it! Super tasty!
Ashley says
The best dip! Loved the jalapeños in it! So cheesy too!
Laura Reese says
This was a delicious dip. We made it in the crock pot.