Lighter Pizza Dip

Hot pizza dip has been all over the place. Was it from anticipation of the Superbowl? If so, they totally got me because that’s exactly what I brought to the Superbowl viewing party I attended.

Speaking of anticipating the Superbowl, I knew I would be piling up my plate with all kinds of things, and going for seconds, thirds, fourths… so I made this dip lighter! Totally counters the bacon wrapped stuffed jalapenos that Brandi made O:-).

I also used mini turkey pepperoni because they seemed much more suitable for a dip, being smaller and more scoopable. Although I have to admit, pictures I have seen of this dip on others’ blogs seem prettier with the bigger slices of pepperoni. Leave it to me to choose functionality over appearance. But you could also scoop this up with some pepperoni chips if you feel like the pepperoni ratio is too low.

Despite appearances, it tasted great! Just like pizza, but with a creamy layer of goodness. Yes that would be the cream cheese mixture I am talking about. Cream cheese is, after all, one of my favorite ingredients.

LIGHTER PIZZA DIP

Serves 8

Ingredients:

6 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella, divided

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 cup pizza sauce

2 oz. mini turkey pepperoni

2 Tbsp green bell pepper, diced

2 Tbsp chopped onion

2 Tbsp black olives, sliced

Italian seasoning (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, oregano, parsley, basil, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes.
3. Spread mixture in the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese on top of the cream cheese mixture. Spread the pizza sauce over all.
4. Microwave the pepperoni for about 30 seconds just to get some of the fat out of them so you don’t end up with a greasy mess on top of your pizza dip.
5. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, then top with green pepper, onion, pepperoni and olive slices. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning if using. Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes or until cheese is fully melted and bubbly.
6. Serve hot with baguette slices, tortilla chips, bagel chips or Fritos scoops.

Source: Adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything, Mother Thyme, and My Baking Addiction.