My version of the famous spicy tomato, garlic and cream cheese based dip sold at Central Market grocery stores in Texas and well loved by many.
Texas Love Dip - My Way
I had never heard of Texas Love Dip before.
But, I had been seeing it passed around on social media for awhile and finally gave it a try.
Apparently it originated from a Texas grocery chain, Central Market, H-E-B, or both, and is a popular party dip there.
Label ingredients on the Central Market version state that it's made with a cream cheese base that includes tomatoes, garlic, tomato paste, a mix of "love dip seasonings" including onion powder, cayenne, tarragon and white pepper, along with lemon juice, kosher salt and cilantro.
H-E-B describes theirs as "a spicy tomato, garlic and cream cheese blend, our Love Dip is love at first bite." I guess that's where the name comes from?
So I used the basic components and I made it. Eh. Wasn't loving it.
Then I made it again with some of my own changes, but it still wasn't appealing to me.
Until, I made it again and added a little bit of mayonnaise!
Call me crazy, and as much as I love cream cheese, I just felt like this dip needed just a bit of real mayonnaise with that cream cheese, and I was right! At least for my taste, the mayonnaise brightened the dip in just the right way. If you're not a fan of mayo, I'm sure some sour cream would stand in too.
A lot of recipes use different forms of tomato - fresh seeded tomatoes, well-drained chopped canned tomatoes and even a little tomato paste - and I tried those, but I settled on using a salsa in the end. It just boosted the flavor in the dip even more and was a perfect match.
Here's how I made it.
Add cream cheese, real mayonnaise (my add), salsa, lemon juice, garlic, cilantro - I was limited on the fresh cilantro, so I'm using dried cilantro leaves here and garnishing with some fresh - onion powder, Creole or Cajun seasoning, dried tarragon, kosher salt and pepper. While you can blend everything together by hand, I decided to use my Ninja Storm to get it nice and smooth.
Seal container and store in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight before serving to allow all of the flavors to meld together. Pictured is a half recipe, by the way.
Transfer to a serving bowl and let come to room temperature before serving. Garnish with fresh chopped tomato and cilantro if desired and serve with sturdy potato chips, tortilla chips, corn chips or mixed crudités vegetables.
For more of my favorite dips, check out this collection on my Pinterest page!
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