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Home » Recipes » Appetizers & Snacks

Healthy 7-layer Mexican dip (+ video)

By: Kathryn Doherty | Last Updated: Mar 4, 2025 | Published: Mar 5, 2018
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This quick + easy healthy 7-layer Mexican dip is creamy and cheesy, with some crisp, fresh flavors to balance it out. Full of taco flavor and your favorite toppings, this gorgeous dip is perfect for parties!A green platter with a layered appetizer dip all spread out, including salsa and green onions on top and a bowl of chips in the background.

This recipe first appeared on Real Housemoms, where I am a contributor.

My conference in California last week was ALL kinds of fun!

We were at the Google campus and learned so much about blogging and also had such a great time catching up with friends and meeting new ones.

Food bloggers are a hilarious, amazing, inspiring and lovely bunch of people. I'm happy to be back home of course, and I may require all week to recover from all the fun we had, but I'll miss hanging out with those ladies all day and night!

So… it’s March now. And in my life, growing up in the South, that’s always meant March Madness.

There are brackets and games and parties and watching.

And food, of course.

Close up photo of healthy 7-layer Mexican dip on a green serving platter with chips stuck in on all sides and bowls of chips, avocado and olives in the background and a sprinkling of green onions.

I pretty much take my football game day favorites and call them basketball eats. #lazyfoodie #samedifference

Some favorites include my cold chili cheese dip, which takes just minutes to put together and is great with chips and veggies, and my healthy slow cooker buffalo chicken, which I love serving up as sliders. They go so fast!

This year though I’m planning to serve up this quick + easy healthy 7-layer Mexican dip!

7-layer Mexican cream cheese dip being assembled on a green serving plate with cream cheese layer and black beans 7-layer Mexican cream cheese dip being assembled on a green serving plate with shredded cheddar cheese on top Chips resting in the side of a layered Mexican dip spread out on a green leafy platter.

It takes no time to put together and I can even make it ahead, which means I get to enjoy the fun too.

I also love that it’s super versatile and can be customized to include your favorites.

You can change up the type of cheese or beans you use, add your favorite style of salsa and I’ve left the 7th layer up to you.

Side angle styled photo of healthy 7-layer Mexican dip on a green serving platter with bowls of chips, avocado and olives in the background and a sprinkling of green onions.

Notes and substitutions for healthy 7-layer Mexican dip:

  • I use non-fat Greek yogurt but you can substitute sour cream if you prefer. It’s not as thick as Greek yogurt so you may not need as much to help thin out the cream cheese. Start with ½ cup and add from there.
  • I don’t use the entire can of black beans for this recipe, probably about ¾ of it. Use as much as you like or substitute another kind of canned beans.
  • Iceberg lettuce gives the best crunch for this cream cheese dip, but you could use part romaine if you’d like - the color mix would be pretty!
  • If you don’t want to use the pickled jalapeños, you can substitute pickled red onions or just leave them off. You can use any of the extra topping ideas to make a full 7 layers.
  • I use homemade taco seasoning but you can substitute store-bought.
  • This is a vegetarian cream cheese dip as is, but you could certainly add ground turkey or beef as one of the layers (either as a substitute for the black beans or above or below them in the layers).

Overhead photo of healthy 7-layer Mexican dip on a green serving platter with a sprinkling of green onions

Oh, and for the optional seventh layer, guacamole or diced avocado is perfect if you’re an avocado lover, but halved olives also are super tasty.

You can even go low-key and use some chopped fresh cilantro or sliced green onions as your seventh layer. Whatever you have on hand!

So as always, feel free to customize this and really make it your own with your favorite ingredients.

Any which way, you are going to love the rich, cream cheese base and the bright, fresh veggies in this 7-layer taco dip.

It’s got SO much flavor and it’s a beautiful dish to put out as well! Everyone loves digging into this and you are going to be getting lots of compliments - and requests for the recipe!

Have a wonderful week my friends! ❤️

XO,

Kathryn

P.S. Serving this in a gorgeous dish is a great way to show off your layers. Check out these pretty glass serving dishes.

A green platter with a layered appetizer dip all spread out, including salsa and green onions on top and a bowl of chips in the background.
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5 from 1 vote

Healthy 7-layer Mexican dip

This easy, healthy 7-layer Mexican dip is creamy and cheesy and perfect for parties!
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Total Time10 minutes mins
Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 8 oz. blocks of ⅓ less fat plain cream cheese, at room temperature
  • ¾ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon taco seasoning, homemade or store-bought
  • 1 15 oz. can of black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 cups of shredded iceberg lettuce
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, or Monterey Jack
  • ¼ cup pickled jalapeños
  • 1 cup prepared salsa or pico de gallo

7th layer options:

  • Guacamole or diced avocado, halved olives, chopped fresh cilantro or chopped green onions. (Or go crazy and use several of these to make an 8-, 9- or 10-layer dip!)

For serving:

  • Tortilla chips, corn chip scoops or fresh veggie sticks (such as bell pepper spears, cucumber rounds, etc.)

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, Greek yogurt and taco seasoning until smooth.
  • Place cream cheese mixture in an even layer in your serving bowl or plate.
  • Top cream cheese with black beans, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, jalapeños and salsa. Use your 7th layer topping of choice and serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

I use non-fat Greek yogurt but you can substitute sour cream if you prefer. It’s not as thick as Greek yogurt so you may not need as much to help thin out the cream cheese. Start with ½ cup and add from there.
I don’t use the entire can of black beans for this recipe, probably about ¾ of it. Use as much as you like or substitute another kind of canned beans.
Iceberg lettuce gives the best crunch for this cream cheese dip, but you could use part romaine if you’d like - the color mix would be pretty!
If you don’t want to use the pickled jalapeños, you can substitute pickled red onions or just leave them off. You can use any of the extra topping ideas to make a full 7 layers.
I use homemade taco seasoning but you can substitute store-bought.
This is a vegetarian cream cheese dip as is, but you could certainly add ground turkey or beef as one of the layers (either as a substitute for the black beans or above or below them in the layers).

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 665mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below or follow me on Instagram @familyfoodonthetable and tag me in your photo!
Close up of chips resting in the bottom layer of a Mexican dip with salsa and green onions on top.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lindsay Cotter

    March 26, 2019 at 10:55 pm

    Such a fun party dip! Always a hit with everyone!

    Reply
    • Kathryn

      March 27, 2019 at 9:53 am

      It really is! ❤️

      Reply
  2. Beth

    March 27, 2019 at 11:11 pm

    So much flavor but a lot of great choices to keep the calories in check! thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Kathryn

      March 28, 2019 at 10:45 am

      It always goes over so well at parties!

      Reply
  3. Toni | Boulder Locavore

    March 29, 2019 at 2:44 am

    This will quickly disappear at parties!

    Reply
    • Kathryn

      April 01, 2019 at 9:18 am

      Yes, it always does! 🙂

      Reply
5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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Hi there! I’m Kathryn Doherty, a cookbook author, mom of two, and devoted food and home cooking nut. I’ve got lots of easy recipes to help you get delicious food on the table for your family!

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