TL/DR – Easy Cheesy Bean Dip. Use a food processor and the oven to turn beans, sour cream, monterey jack cheese, ranch seasoning and lemon juice into a smooth, warm baked dip that will be gone as soon as it’s cool enough to eat. –
This savory baked dip is all about beans and cheese, but instead of chili-based spices, it is flavored with ranch seasoning and lemon juice. It’s smooth and creamy, but feels a little less guilty because of the beans.
The key to this recipe is a food processor. Place drained pinto beans, monterey jack cheese, sour cream, lemon juice (or pickle juice,) lemon zest, ranch seasoning and salt into a food processor and process until the mixture is very smooth, stopping to scrape the sides down with a spatula a couple of times.
Taste the mixture before removing it from the processor to ensure that you don’t need more salt, then pour it into a small baking dish, top with grated parmesan cheese and a few additional sprinkles of ranch seasoning.
Bake it at 350 for 30 minutes and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before serving it. Serve it with any kind of chip, flat bread, crudités, chunks of crusty bread, or as a spread for sandwiches or wraps.
Easy Cheesy Bean Dip
Use a food processor and the oven to turn beans, sour cream, monterey jack cheese, ranch seasoning and lemon juice into a smooth, warm baked dip that will be gone as soon as it's cool enough to eat.
Ingredients
- 2 14.5 oz cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained well
- 3/4 c sour cream
- 8 oz shredded monterey jack cheese
- 1 1/2 T ranch seasoning plus more for garnish
- Up to 1/2 t salt
- 2 T lemon juice OR 3 T pickle juice
- Zest of one lemon (optional)
- 1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.
- Step 2 Place the beans, sour cream, cheese, ranch seasoning, 1/4 t salt, and the lemon or pickle juice into a food processor. Cover and process until very smooth, for about 3 minutes, stopping at least once to scrape down the sides with a spatula.
- Step 3 Taste the mixture once it is very smooth and add more salt (or pickle juice) to taste.
- Step 4 Pour the mixture in a small baking dish and top with the grated parmesan cheese and about an additional 1/2 t ranch seasoning sprinkled over the top.
- Step 5 Bake it at 350 F for 30 minutes. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes before serving with any kind of chip, flatbread, crudités, or as a spread for sandwiches or wraps.
