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This Seven Layer Dip is made with beans, sour cream, guacamole, cheese, tomatoes, olives, and scallions. Nothing fancy and no cooking required, but together the whole combination tastes amazing when scooped up with a sturdy tortilla chip.
Seven Layer Dip is a fun, delicious way to feed the masses at parties, potlucks, and holidays. People go crazy for the stuff. I think it’s the fun combination of so many colors, textures, flavors, and the fact that you eat it with tortilla chips.
As a hostess or food contributor, I love Seven Layer Dip because it’s basically just assembly, it’s not even cooking. It’s so easy! And, you can make it a day ahead and refrigerate it overnight. It will only taste better, and it’s one less thing for you to worry about.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Taco seasoning: to make your own taco seasoning, whisk together ¼ cup chili powder, 2 tbsp. ground cumin, 1 tbsp. paprika, 2 tsp. ground coriander, 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (or less to taste), and salt to taste (I like 2 teaspoons). Use 2 tablespoons of this mix in the Seven Layer Dip recipe.
- Avocados: I stripped down guacamole down to its essence for this recipe, but feel free to make full-blown guacamole if you prefer.
- Olives: I love the flavor of canned black olives in this dip, but it’s the easiest thing in the world to omit if you don’t like them.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a small bowl, mix the beans and taco seasoning mix. Spread in the bottom of a medium glass bowl or baking dish, then top with the sour cream.
- Halve avocados, remove the pits, and scoop out the flesh. Mash the avocados with the lime juice and salt to taste (I like ½ teaspoon), then spread on top of the sour cream layer.
- On top of the guacamole layer, add the shredded cheese, tomatoes, olives, and scallions in that order.
- Serve immediately with tortilla chips or cover and chill until serving time.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: One batch of this recipe should feed 12 people as a snack or appetizer. But the recipe is easy to scale up or down to fit the group.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: You can definitely make this recipe a few hours ahead, but any longer and the avocado layer may begin to brown.
- Delicious add-ins: Use your favorite guacamole in place of the avocado layer. Spread a layer of pico de gallo on the dip instead of raw tomatoes. Try crumbled queso fresco in place of shredded cheddar. Or, add some chopped cilantro along with the scallions.
Homemade Taco Seasoning
Make your own Taco Seasoning at home in minutes with a few common pantry spices. It’s cheaper and tastier than store-bought, and you can easily customize it if you want to.
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Seven Layer Dip
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
- 2 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning or 1 packet store-bought (see note 1)
- 8 ounces sour cream
- 2 avocados (see note 2)
- 2 teaspoons lime juice (from 1 lime)
- Salt
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 tomatoes chopped
- 1 (3.8 ounce) can sliced olives drained (see note 3)
- 2 scallions finely sliced
- tortilla chips for serving
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix the beans and taco seasoning mix. Spread in the bottom of a medium glass bowl or baking dish, then top with the sour cream.
- Halve avocados, remove the pits, and scoop out the flesh. Mash the avocados with the lime juice and salt to taste (I like ½ teaspoon), then spread on top of the sour cream layer.
- On top of the guacamole layer, add the shredded cheese, tomatoes, olives, and scallions in that order. Serve immediately with tortilla chips or cover and chill until serving time.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Taco seasoning: to make your own taco seasoning, whisk together ¼ cup chili powder, 2 tbsp. ground cumin, 1 tbsp. paprika, 2 tsp. ground coriander, 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (or less to taste), and salt to taste (I like 2 teaspoons). Use 2 tablespoons of this mix in the Seven Layer Dip recipe.
- Avocados: I stripped down guacamole down to its essence for this recipe, but feel free to make full-blown guacamole if you prefer.
- Olives: I love the flavor of canned black olives in this dip, but it’s the easiest thing in the world to omit if you don’t like them.
- Yield: One batch of this recipe should feed 12 people as a snack or appetizer. But the recipe is easy to scale up or down to fit the group.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: You can definitely make this recipe a few hours ahead, but any longer and the avocado layer may begin to brown.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Made this recently for a small get-together and it was the first food to go!
Hi Peyton, I’m so happy to hear! I’m glad they enjoyed it! – Meggan