This Cheesy Sausage Dip recipe is an appetizer staple filled with rich cheesy flavor and savory sausage. And, you can make it in the slow cooker!
Whether you are looking for a recipe to serve during football watch parties, tailgate parties, or just a simple gathering, this delicious and simple Cheesy Sausage Dip is to die for! I love to plan out a menu of amazing snacks and appetizers and spread them out on the coffee table when it’s time to watch the game or have company over. And, one recipe you will always find on that table is this yummy dip!
My spin on this classic adds cream cheese and corn and relies on Italian ground sausage as its star. This is the stove-top version, but you can make it in a slow cooker as well. And even if you make it stove-top, you can also transfer it to a slow cooker to keep it warm. It’s totally up to you.
I like to serve this dip alongside some corn chips scoops or tortilla chips. Yuuuummy!
Ingredient FAQs
Italian Ground Sausage – To make it, simply brown and crumble the bulk sausage over medium heat. Be sure to allow it to really brown and get that deep brown color – that means flavor. Then, drain away any grease.
Cream Cheese – Any cream cheese will do, but I like the richness of the full-fat variety.
Processed Cheese Product, like Velveeta – I recommend cutting the cheese into chunks and adding them to the pot. It is much easier to melt the cheese when it is cut up like this. Just be sure to stir frequently, being cautious not to scorch.
Whole Kernel Corn – I suggest you just grab canned corn to save yourself some time. Be sure to drain it before you add it to the mixture.
Can of Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilis – You know the stuff… Rotel or Ro*Tel. You will want to drain these before adding to your mixture so your dip isn’t too watery.
Garlic Powder – I’m not partial to any brand. Whatever you have on hand will work just fine.
Slow Cooker Method for Cheese Dip
If you’re going to go the slow cooker route – simply brown the sausage and drain the grease away. Add the meat, cubed cheeses, drained tomatoes and corn, and garlic powder and cover. Put the slow cooker on low heat and stir occasionally until the cheeses have melted. Keep the dip on warm and serve with chips.
How long will sausage cheese dip last in the fridge?
When properly stored in an airtight container, homemade sausage cheese dip can last for about 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. However, when preparing a large batch of dip, it’s a good idea to serve a portion at a time because any dip you leave out at room temperature for extended periods of time should be discarded.
Ingredients
- 1 (16-ounce) package bulk ground Italian sausage
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
- 1 (16-ounce) package processed cheese product like Velveeta
- 1 (15-ounce) can whole kernel corn drained
- 2 (10-ounce) cans diced tomatoes and green chilis mild or hot; drained
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions:
- In a large skillet, brown the ground sausage. Drain any grease away. Return the pan with the meat to medium low heat. Cut the cheeses into cubes and add them to the pan. Cook until the cheese has melted, stirring occasionally. Add the drained whole kernel corn, two cans of drained tomatoes and chilis, and garlic powder. Cook until heated through. Transfer to a serving dish or to a slow cooker on warm to keep it warm. Serve alongside corn or tortilla chips.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- In a large skillet, brown the ground sausage. Drain any grease away. Cut the cheeses into cubes. Add the sausage, cheeses, drained whole kernel corn, drained tomatoes with chilis, and garlic powder to the bowl of a slow cooker. Cover and set to low. Cook until the cheese has melted then turn to warm. Serve alongside corn or tortilla chips.
Nutrition
* If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
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Love this recipe for potlucks. Made it for a church baby shower and I hope they like it!
Love hearing that, Candy!
This dip is amazing! Made it once for a family gathering a while back. Now im not allowed to show up unless I have this dip!!
Thank you for this amazing recipe 😆
Ha! Love hearing that!
Never made it before but it was DELISH!!
I have some left – wondering if you can freeze it??
So glad to hear you enjoyed it, Lora! You know, I’ve never tried freezing it, so I can’t say for sure, but I can’t think of any particular reason why it wouldn’t freeze.
There are a ton of “standard” cheesy sausage dips out there and although I love them all (who wouldn’t?), this is by far my favorite! I love the addition of corn for a *little* sweetness, and adding the “processed cheese stuff” really rounds out the flavor. Saving this one as a 5-star in my book!
Thanks so very much, Kathi!
My whole family LOVES THIS!
Now this is what I get asked to bring to gatherings.
Love hearing that!
Can you make this with cubed cheddar cheese?
If you mean instead of the Velvetta, I would think you can, but the texture and flavor will be vastly different. I’ve not tested it that way, though.
Can you make with cubed cheddar cheese
Made this with breakfast sausage and it was soooo good. Creamy, salty, and the corn added a great texture. Super easy to make and everyone loved it.
Love hearing that! Breakfast sausage is a great swap, and you’re exactly right, the corn adds the best little pop of texture. I’m so glad it was easy and that everyone loved it!
HI Stacey, I have made this for church tomorrow and all I can say is this recipe is the ultimate in a hot dip! It was so simple to make. Thank you so much.
Aww! Thank you! So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Easy to prepare a great tailgate dish. I have made it with the corn and without both are excellent.
So glad you enjoyed it, Lateria!
This is a MUST…not an option…for football seaon!!!
I couldn’t agree more! 🙂
I’ve been making this for years, using breakfast sausage & Mexi-Corn. We call it “Cowboy Dip”. We like it on baked potatoes, or with short pasta or egg noodles stirred in as a skillet casserole.
That sounds delicious! Cowboy Dip is such a fun name for it! Serving it on baked potatoes is a great way to switch things up. Thanks for sharing that idea!
I’ve been making this delicious dip for years! It’s so good and everybody loves it. It is also great on a baked potato!
Love the baked potato idea! You’re the second person to mention that recently, and I’ve just never thought about it!
Had this at a friends house. It was life changing. Don’t know why but my mind went to white bean soup. What should I add to make it soup consistency
I suppose you could thin it out with some milk or broth?
We love this as a topping for nachos. I use our favorite breakfast sausage to make it. We have even eaten over brown rice, and with short pasta stirred into. It’s not just for dippin’, in our house!
That sounds delicious! I love how versatile it is—using it with breakfast sausage and over brown rice or pasta is such a great idea. Thanks for sharing your creative ways to enjoy it!
I used the southwestern corn instead of regular corn and it was delicious!
Great idea! So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Stacey, we all love this dip. I frequently make it during teacher appreciation week and send small individual bags of fritos and small jars of this to my daughter’s teacher friends at school as a little something different instead of sweets. They all love it. It’s great using little small jars as they have the lid so they don’t spill, but yet the lid can be removed and the dip warmed.
Such a kind and thoughtful idea!
I made this for a family party exactly as written, using all mild Rotel. Wouldn’t change a thing! Thank you for a great recipe that everyone loved!
I’m so glad to hear it turned out great for you, Mel!
This is absolutely delicious! Flavors blend beautifully. No doubt this is a keeper for me! When I have to hold it in a crockpot for a while, I may add some cream/milk to it to keep it from getting too thick. It is great with tortilla chips and Fritos!! Thank you so much for sharing.
Glad to hear you’ve enjoyed this one!
Came up with an alternate use — I poured it over baked potatoes. Makes a great topping!
I did do a slight tweak — I chopped up a sweet onion and cooked it with the sausage, and left out the corn, since I didn’t have any on hand. Everything else is delicious! Second the suggestion to nuke the cheese a bit. Worked great. Thank you, Stacey!
This is GENIUS!! You can bet I’ll be trying this! Thanks for sharing, Elizabeth!
Just a comment — to help speed the process along with dips like this one with having to melt the cheese into the mix…. I start off putting cheese in the microwave for a bit depending on your microwave’s WATTage; then add when very soft.
Thanks for the tip!
Just finished making this and…WOW!
It’s going into my recipe box under ‘Favorites’. Thanks for sharing.
Wonderful! So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Hi I would use ground turkey, season it with a little taco seasoning and maybe fry up some garlic and onions or use powdered seasoning…I would use one block of cream cheese lite, and 80z of velveta…I need to cut the fat and salt…yes, I would add black beans, and even some green peppers, and corn and use the Rotel for spice…It will still be creamy but much more healthy…get the grease from the cheese…Often I cut the fat and salt and it still is great..and when I can cut the sugar, I do so…no one notices!!
Sounds like a solid plan!
Wow! That went dead center between the goal posts! SCORE, STACEY!!!
Ha! Thanks! Great football analogy. So glad to hear y’all enjoyed it!
Delicious dip! The garlic powder really added to the flavor. My family has already asked me to make it again!
Thanks, Heather! Glad y’all enjoyed it!
Has anyone ever added black beans? Love it the way the recipe shows but can’t get the black bean idea off my mind
I think it sounds like a great addition!
I’ve always used half beef and half sausage, but never corn or cream cheese. WOW, loved it!
We are cilantro fans so I used the chili tomatoes with cilantro and lime and added some cilantro sprinkled on top.
This is going to be our halftime entertainment 🏈📣 Touchdown Stacey!
Sounds great! I love cilantro, too! Glad y’all enjoyed it!
Oh my goodness I made the sausage dip recipe, I halved the recipe just in case we didn’t like it, but we loved it! Superbowl Sunday this will be on the menu.😋😋
Glad you enjoyed it!
I have made this recipe numerous times and it is ALWAYS a huge crowd favorite! I’m making it tomorrow on request for our Friday Treat Day at school. Thank you for sharing!
So glad to hear it! Hope y’all enjoy it tomorrow!
I added onion when I was cooking the sausage! This was a delicious recipe!
Onions sound like the perfect addition! Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
What would the ingredients be to serve 45 people?
It honestly depends on serving size – which can vary greatly with this recipe. I’d plan on tripling or quadrupling this recipe for that number of folks.
Looks good and I will probably try it, but will leave the corn out…..
Hope you enjoy it!
I found this recipe while checking to see if anyone had ever mixed cream cheese and velveeta. I normally do a similar dip, without the cream cheese, and a few modifications. I use Jimmy Dean “hot” breakfast sausage(2lbs) mixed with one packet of McCormicks taco seasoning and one packet of chili seasoning, 2 cans of spicy Rotel and a pound of crispy fried bacon crumpled into bits and add that to a double of your ingredients. It is superb! It also makes a GREAT Mac and cheese.
That sounds amazing! LOVE the mac and cheese idea!
What about sour cream instead of cream cheese
I’ve not tried that, so I can’t say for sure.
Stacey or have anyone else tried this recipe using hamburger meat (w taco seasons pkg) instead of Italian sausage. I love your recipe Stacey and it will be just the right serving size for four people and some left over. Thanks Stacey!
I’ve not tired that, but sound like a delicious Mexican twist!
Man, this looks good. It would be great for game day!
I couldn’t agree more! Thanks, Mike!
Thanks for Sharing
Absolutely delicious dip as is!! Don’t understand these nitty bitters crabbing about this and or that!
There will always be folks who complain. But, thanks!!
Been making this dip for years for our Christmas Eve get together. One of our friends calls it crack dip because it’s so addictive. We make it without the corn and use the white corn chips.
It’s perfect for any occasion!
Italian sausage while I’m sure is nice, doesn’t seem southern at all. I always use rotel, Jimmy dean country mild sausage, velveeta, cream cheese, no garlic. Again, doesn’t seem southern. Never put corn in it, but that’s a preference. For those wondering why your dip is too thick, don’t drain your rotel, dump it in. If it sets up and needs reheating, add a few tablespoons of milk while reheating. It comes back to creamy life!
Not everything I make is necessarily “southern.”
Looks good, but Italian sausage seems like an odd choice for a Mexican-type dip. I usually see these dips made with breakfast sausage or hamburger.
It works perfectly. I promise.
Having Super bowl at work, how many will this serve?
It really depends on the serving size. I’d be comfortable with 8 to 10.
How long will this keep in the refrigerator?
A few days, but no more than a week.
Such a great recipe!! Second time I made a spicy version with hot Italian sausage, cream cheese w/ jalapeño, and diced tomatoes with habanero.
Sounds great! Glad you enjoyed it!
This is the the second time since I found this recipe and it has proven to be a hit. The only thing I didn’t put in was the corn and it still was a hit. This recipe was delicious and I will be making it again and again.
No ! It works well with both cheeses,…. and/or either!!!! White queso or yellow . SOOO good.
I normally make sausage cheese dip with mushroom soup and Velveeta, but a relative coming for Christmas eats gluten-free, so no soup can be added. I like using mushroom soup because it makes the Velveeta “milder”, more like American cheese, which I prefer but it is usually much more expensive than Velveeta. I’ve never made queso with cream cheese and am wondering if that addition might “tamp down” the Velveeta tang like the mushroom soup does. (I hope all that makes sense.) Your photos look so good.
Yes, I do find this to be much more mold than an all Velveeta version.
Oh my goodness, this looks so good. I could really eat a lot of this.
Thanks!!
How many days will this stay good in frig
I’d say about 4.
Im making this on Saturday for a party! Just to be clear… I don’t use the whole package of velveeta? It seems like I would need it but it says that it’s 32 oz….
That’s correct. You only need 1 pound (16-ounces).
Has anyone tried this with regular sausage?
You mean like breakfast sausage?
Yes I use Bass Farm. Try it with a sausage that you like.
I’ve been making this for years but use hamburger instead of sausage, also I add diced onion. It’s a delicious dip!
Hi, this looks delicious, I was wondering if you could use can cheese, such as nacho cheese in a can, I’m old and patients and energy is limited to melt cheese lol
I’ve not done that, but it sould work in theory. Might change the flavor and texture though.
I just made this for my family and they loved it. Very thick and…..cheesy! I love the addition of the cream cheese. Nice spice to it.
SO glad y’all enjoyed it, Jon!
Stacey, the slow cooker instructions say “Cover and set to low. Cook until the cheeses have melted then turn to low.” Should it start on high, and then be turned to low, or start on low the be turned to warm?
Yes, it should then be turned to warm. Sorry for the error. I got it right in the post, but somehow missed this in the actual recipe. I’ll get it corrected. Hope y’all enjoy!
Stacey, I made this for Memorial Day. Put the leftovers in a container in the fridge. Last night DH had 3 more warmed up helpings with corn chips while exclaiming “This is so good!” It really is – the cream cheese made it so smooth. Great recipe. Thanks so much.
Awesome! So glad everyone enjoyed it!!
Cannot wait to try this. We have several friends over for the big game and I always try to have something new. Now to check http://www.frugalharbor.com to see if there are any coupons for the ingredients. Thanks!
Do you mean 2 cans of tomatoes and 2 cans of chiles? Or is there a can of mixed tomatoes and chiles and we should use 2 cans of that? Thanks!
No, it’s two cans of tomatoes and chilies combined. One brand you might be familiar with is Ro*Tel.
Will this double ok?
It sure will. Enjoy!
How many people does one batch feed? I’m making this for a pot luck for work. I’m thinking of doubling it but just want to be sure.
It really depends on the appetite, Lucy. I’d say 4 to 6.
Stacey I have a daughter who cannot eat corn but it is still good without the corn. It is also good with just the cream cheese, sausage and rotel tomatoes. Have you tried that one?
I’m making it tonight with no corn for the Orange Bowl. I’m sure it will be fine without it- We don’t need those extra carbs.
Yes, you can absolutely leave the corn out. Enjoy!
Can this be made ahead of time?
Sure can! It reheats beautifully!
Made this today was too thick so was glad I saved liquid from rotel tomatoes after being in slow cooker still needed more liquid but is good.
Quick thinking! 🙂
This looks to be the most mouth watering version of rotel/queso that I’ve ever seen. And being a good Texas girl you can bet I have had my share of it, in my lifetime!! Making tomorrow and hoping for a final big win for Peyton Manning.
I sure hope you enjoyed it!
This sounds so good. It will go into my crockpot for the big game this weekend. Like you I am not a big fan of football, but I do like the commercials. But this sounds like a winner for any time of the year. Thank you
Stacey, I’m not a huge football fan – period (should I even say that, living in the South?) – but this dip should find itself right at home just about anywhere! Thanks for what my watering mouth tells me will be a winner!
This dip looks so delicious, Stacey…and I’m feeling a little hungry right now so it looks even MORE delicious!