Ground Beef Taco Dip

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4.96 from 24 votes

Published on August 4, 2021

, Updated on October 6, 2023

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by Carrie Barnard

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Ground beef taco dip has lots of delicious layers for the best party dip. This is always a crowd pleaser and so easy to make.

baking dish with ground beef taco dip topped with cheese, tomato, olives and lettuce

What is taco dip made of?

This taco dip has amazing layers of ground beef, cream cheese, salsa, lettuce, tomatoes and more. You can easily change things up and add or omit based on your preference.

We make a similar Taco Dip that does not have the ground beef.

Let’s make taco dip with ground beef!

Ingredients:

Ground Beef
Taco Seasoning (I use our easy Homemade Taco Seasoning)
Water
Salsa
Sour Cream
Cream Cheese
shredded Iceberg Lettuce
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Tomatoes – diced
Sliced Olives

How to make ground beef taco dip:

First, brown the ground beef. I used a large skillet over medium high heat.

Once the ground beef has finished cooking, drain off the excess grease.

Second, stir in 1 Tablespoon of the taco seasoning or ½ a packet if using store bought) with the salsa and water. Cook uncovered for a few minutes. It normally takes between 2 to 4 minutes.

Next, in a separate large bowl, add together the cream cheese, sour cream and the remaining taco seasoning and beat with a hand held mixer.

Finally, spread the cream cheese mixture in the bottom of a 8X8 or 9X9 pan. You might need to use a spatula to smooth out the cream cheese mixture.

baking dish topped with cream cheese layer

Once the cream cheese mixture is smooth, top with the ground beef, shredded lettuce, cheese, tomatoes and sliced olives.

What to serve with Taco dip with ground beef?

tortilla chips
corn chips
pita chips
veggies- carrot and cucumber sticks work great.

baking dish with taco dip being scooped with a chip

Why is my taco dip runny?

Often the extra juices from the salsa or vegetables can add liquid to the dip and make it runny. We recommend assembling the dip an hour before serving.

To save time, try making the individual dip layers ahead of time but do not assemble until you are ready to serve. This will prevent the veggies from getting too soft and the dip from getting runny from excess liquid.

We do this often because it is a great solution. You can still prep part of the dish to save time and it will be super easy to put the layers together the day of.

More topping ideas:

Onion- red, Vidalia or green onions are delicious.
Jalapenos- If you like extra heat, add some of these to the top.
Lime- Sometimes, I will take a lime wedge and squeeze a little on top.
Sour cream- You can add a few dollops on the dish or use the squeeze containers to make a pretty design.
Guacamole – I love love this! We have an easy homemade guacamole recipe.
Black beans- Sprinkle a handful of black beans on top.

Variations to try:

Add a layer of refried beans to the dip. Sometimes I add this and it is so delicious. Just put the refried beans in the baking dish first and put the cream cheese layer on top of the beans.
Omit the meat! Skip the ground beef layer and add refried beans or just enjoy with the cream cheese layer alone. I have tried all of these options and they are all amazing.
Use ground turkey. You can easily substitute ground turkey for ground beef. It blends with the taco seasoning and other flavors. No one will even notice!