Layered Taco Dip is one of the easiest appetizers you’ll ever make! It comes together quickly with your favorite taco flavors and you can serve it with tortilla chips, corn chips, pita chips, or even fresh veggies! It’s perfect for backyard BBQs, parties, game days or game nights (or the big game: the Super Bowl), or Cinco de Mayo!

Originally posted August 2024, updated April 2026.

Layered Taco Dip

This is Taco Dip layered with traditional refried beans, sour cream, salsa, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and cheddar cheese! It’s a cold taco dip that can be changed up and customized with your favorite Tex-Mex ingredients!

It is a vegetarian taco dip, but you could certainly cook ground beef (or another lean meat), season it with original taco seasoning mix, and add a layer of meat to make it a taco dip recipe with ground beef. Then it would go from a 7-layer dip to an 8-layer dip 😉. Give me all the layers!!

What is Layered Taco Dip?

I certainly can’t tell you where Layered Taco Dip originated, but my first encounter with it was from an Old El Paso cheese package, and the recipe was called the “Old El Paso Taco Dip Recipe” (if my memory serves me).

The rest is history – we’ve been making this recipe for as long as I can remember. I’ve kept a few of the ingredients the same as the original recipe I read, but I’ve made a lot of changes based on my families preferences (hello – no guacamole for me).

Either way, Layered Taco Dip is usually a 7 layer bean dip (or a 5-layer bean dip) that starts with refried beans and then has all of your favorite taco toppings layered on top.

And it’s the perfect appetizer for Taco Tuesday or any other day of the week.

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Why You Will Love This Taco Dip

Easy: this is the king of easy recipes – prepped in as little as 10 minutes and ready to eat in 30 minutes (including chill time) – this is perfect for a last-minute appetizer! That’s why I consider it the BEST taco dip recipe!
Crown Pleaser: this easy taco dip has different textures and flavors that make it hearty and filling! Everybody loves a taco bean dip!
No-Bake: If you hate heating up your kitchen before a party (like I do), this recipe is a no-brainer. It requires no cooking and is served cold with a short 20-minute chill time!
Versatile: No matter how you make it, this is an easy dip. But my favorite thing about this recipe is that it’s customizable. You can use all store-bought ingredients, or add in some homemade ones if that’s your jam. You can also mix and match the layers depending on your tastes and/or what you have in your pantry. I have a whole list of ideas for you below so you can make the perfect party dip!

Equipment Needed for Easy Layered Taco Dip

Measuring cups/spoons (if you’re not eyeballing it)Ingredients for Easy Taco Bean Dip
Mixing bowls
Serving dish
Sharp knife
Cutting board (for tomatoes, onions, lettuce)
Spoon or spatula (for mixing and spreading layers) or Hand Mixer

Ingredients

Simple ingredients and fresh toppings are the stars of this easy taco dip recipe. On the other hand, if you want to step it up and make a fancier recipe, it’s also easy to do that!

Note: I forgot to add cheese to the photo below. DO NOT FORGET THE CHEESE!!

Refried Beans – I always, always use canned refried pinto beans, but I have made them homemade (years ago) so if that’s your thing, go for it! You could also use refried black beans in this recipe.

Salsa – I can’t remember if the original recipe layered the salsa or mixed it, but at some point, I started mixing the salsa with the refried beans and we love it this way! The recipe is a little less drippy (is that a thing?) when the liquid-y salsa is mixed with the drier refried beans. I have used jarred salsa, chunky salsa, homemade salsa and semi-homemade salsa (my favorite recipe here).

Alternatively, my husband makes amazing homemade Pico de Gallo, and that’s another great option in this taco layer dip.

Sour Cream – I prefer full-fat sour cream for this flavorful dip, but you could use low-fat if you like. Some recipes even call for mixing cream cheese with sour cream but I Iike to keep this part of the recipe more true to the Original Old El Paso Taco Dip recipe, so we only use sour cream.

Hidden Valley Ranch Dry Mix – after using this flavor in my taco soup recipe, I thought using it in Taco Dip was a brilliant idea. Mixing the dry ranch dressing mix with the sour cream gives an extra tangy pop of flavor to this already delicious recipe and really elevates the flavors to another level. You could even call it Ranch Taco Dip! YUM!

Lettuce (chopped) – I almost always use regular old iceberg lettuce for this recipe, but you can use any variety that you like or already have. Just make sure you chop it up into small bite-size pieces that are easy to “dip.” For ease, I like to buy the pre-shredded lettuce.

Tomatoes (diced) – I like to use fresh tomatoes or buy small cherry or grape tomatoes (cut in half). If using regular tomatoes, a medium tomato (or two) should be plenty.

Onions (diced) – You could use red onion, white onion, yellow onion, or even green onions. I usually pick out any onions, but my hubby loves it with red onions.

Shredded Cheddar Cheese – While cheddar cheese is my usual go-to, I’ve also used Monterey Jack cheese, Mexican cheese blend, or Pepper Jack cheese.

How to Make Layered Bean Dip

Start by mixing your refried beans and salsa together in a medium bowl. You can do this by hand or use a hand mixer.
In a separate small bowl, mix your sour cream and dry ranch mix.
In a casserole dish, spread the bean mixture in an even layer/
Next spread the sour cream mixture over the top of the beans for the second layer.
Top with lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. Then add cheese for the top layer.
Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!

refried beans and salsa mixed in clear bowl

sour cream and ranch dressing mix in a clear bowl

white oval baking dish with beans and salsa mix spread in bottom

white oval baking dish with beans and salsa mix spread in bottom and sour cream mixture spread over top

lettuce tomato and onion layer in a white baking dish

lettuce tomato and onion layer in a white baking dish with cheese on top

Pro Tip

Don’t be like me! Make this in a clear dish to see all the pretty layers. It makes for a great presentation! My original tutorial was shot with a white oval baking dish but I went back and remade it in a clear dish for finals so you’d see what I mean!

Variations (for More Layers or Toppings)

I mentioned before that this Taco Layered Dip is very customizable. Here are some ideas of other layers and toppings you can do!

Green Chiles (green chilis?) mixed into the beans or salsa would be great!
Black Olives are another popular choice – I like to buy sliced black olives (ripe olives) in a can. Easy-peasy!
Diced Bell Pepper is not as popular, but if you have a bunch of bell peppers (like we do from the garden this year), then by all means, layer them on!
Fresh or Pickled Jalapenos will add some heat and spice to this dish (which I LOVE with Mexican recipes).
Fresh Cilantro Leaves on top are a great way to finish off this appetizer. Adding them on top of the cheese (or green onions) adds more flavor and color to the dish!
Guacamole is another “dip” that you can add to the layers of refried beans. You could use store-bought or homemade.
Taco Seasoning mixed into the refried beans or sour cream is another variation I’ve seen often. If you want to skip the ranch seasoning and don’t have taco seasoning, you could add a pinch of each of the following: chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin. This would be sort-of-kind-of like a homemade taco seasoning.
Ground Beef adds another layer to the dish and makes it really filling. You could even make a whole meal out of it by serving it with taco shells or tortillas (spoon the dip into the shells or tortillas, roll them up and voila… easy supper!). See the note below!
Other Proteins – you could also use shredded rotisserie chicken or ground pork or turkey in this recipe. As crazy as it sounds, my Mama always served chopped boiled eggs with tacos growing up, so if you’re daring, you could add those in a layer too for more protein!
Hot Sauce – If you want a hot dip (spicy hot, not temperature hot), adding hot sauce to the bean/salsa mixture is a great addition. You could also use cayenne pepper, hot taco sauce, or hot salsa.

Adding Ground Beef to Layered Taco Dip

This Original Taco Dip Recipe (no meat) is vegetarian. To add meat to the Taco Layer Dip, add these two steps to the recipe above.

Or just use leftover taco meat if you already have some!

taco meat - ground beef in a bowl with taco seasoning

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 packet of taco seasoning

Follow the packet directions to cook beef, drain it, and add the taco seasoning (usually with a little water). In the recipe above, you’ll do the following layers:

Refried beans mixed with Salsa
Ground Beef Mixture
Sour Cream Mixture
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Onions
Cheese
Optional Green Onions, Cilantro or Jalapenos

This is an easy recipe for game day when you want a more filling dip! It’s always a crowd favorite!!

Serving Suggestions

You can serve this easy dip recipe for so many occasions:

Holidays
Family Gatherings
Game Day
Taco Tuesday
Movie NIght
Summer BBQ
or it’s a Perfect Party Appetizer

Storage Directions

If making this delicious dip ahead of time, cover it with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator until serving time.

Store any leftover taco dip in the original dish (again, covered) OR move to an airtight container.

More Delicious Recipes

Here are more taco recipes and other kinds of recipes that we love!