Chipped Beef Dip
by Sommer Collier — on Aug 6, 2026 
This chipped beef dip reminds me of the kind of appetizer you’d find at every family gathering growing up. I love how a handful of simple ingredients transforms into a creamy, savory dip that’s perfect for scooping up with crackers, toasted bread, or crunchy vegetables. It’s quick to make and always a hit!
Chances are that if you are under the age of 30, you’ve probably never heard of, let alone tasted, chipped beef dip. This is a nostalgic old-school recipe that goes back to my childhood, and I’m well into my forties! But like all trends, this recipe has been making a comeback over the years, and rightfully so. This ultra-decadent and savory dip is full of bits of dried beef, fresh scallions, pickled jalapeños, and zesty herbs, that are blended together with cream cheese and tangy sour cream. Like my retro shit on a shingle recipe using jarred dried beef shavings, this beef dip is the perfect throwback party snack! Whether I’m serving it for game day, birthday celebrations, or even a laidback movie night, I always double or even triple the batch I’m making because this spread disappears really fast. Just one scoop of this creamy, rich stuff and you’ll get why it’s one of my favorite all-time praty snacks!
Sandi – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is excellent! I have friends who do not like any spiciness to a dish so I’ve also made this replacing the jalapenos with peppericini when we got together. I enjoy it both ways.
Table of Contents
Sommer’s Recipe Highlights
Quick and Easy – I love to serve up this rich and creamy beef shmear because all it requires is a handful of ingredients, minimal prep, and a few seconds of mixing. Then I scoop it up with a cracker or toasted slice of bread, and enjoy! Serve it alongside some of my other delicious dips, like my bean dip recipe!
Retro All-Star – This shaved beef recipe is a war-era classic that is making an epic comeback, and I’m here for it! Not every trendy recipe is worth the hype, but this all-time classic party appetizer is one that will definitely not go out of style for years to come.
Versatile – I’m obsessed with the fact that you can enjoy this dip either hot or cold. Plus, did you know that it’s actually more than just a dip? That’s right. You can even spread this on your favorite slice of bread and eat it as a simple sandwich.
Key Ingredients and Tips
- Cream cheese – Some dried beef spread recipes call for a smaller amount of cream cheese and more sour cream. Yet, I prefer a thick, spreadable consistency, so my recipe is heavy on cream cheese. Make sure to opt for the block of cream cheese instead of the whipped tubbed kind! I recommend taking the cream cheese out of the fridge several hours before making this dip, so that it’s soft and easy to work with.
- Sour cream – This is used to thin out the cream cheese just a little, and offer an extra tangy flavor. Use full-at sour cream for the best results.
- Chipped beef – I use packaged dried beef found near the canned meats. It looks like thin jerky stripped in a jar. Chop it into tiny pieces.
- Green onions – Use freshly chopped scallions for a zesty note.
- Pickled jalapeños – Chop them into small pieces for a little bit of heat in every bite! You can use mild or hot pickled jalapeños. Even though you will drain off the juices, this also thins the dip out just a little.
- Dill – Fresh is best! However, if you can’t find fresh dill, use 1 teaspoon dried dill instead.
- Worcestershire sauce – I love how worcestershire provides depth and a little extra salt. Therefore, there’s no need to add any table salt to this recipe.
- Garlic powder – Because everything tastes better with a little touch of garlicky goodness!
How to Make
Find the full recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Prep – It’s important that the cream cheese is softened, so it mixes evenly into the sour cream. I soften it by either leaving it out of the counter for a few hours, or slightly warming it in the microwave! Then I place the cream cheese and sour cream into a mixing bowl.
Mix – I add in the Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder, and I mix that up until it’s gorgeously smooth. You definitely don’t want any clumps of cream cheese here, so mix it super well.
Add the beef – I chop the beef slices into itty bitty pieces. Then, once the cream cheese base is ready, I mix in the chopped dried beef, fresh green onions, diced jalapeños, and dill. I stir it until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Chill – If I’m serving this cold, I chill the dip in the fridge until I’m ready to chow down! However, it can be served immediately at room temperature.
Expert Tips
Taste before adding extra salt – Dried beef is naturally quite salty, plus I’m adding salty worcestershir sauce! So I always give the finished dip a taste before seasoning it with more salt. Most of the time, it doesn’t need any additional salt at all. If you are very sensitive to salt, you can buy low sodium worcestershire sauce, or reduce the amount of beef in the recipe.
Make it ahead – I actually think this dip tastes even better after a few hours in the refrigerator. The flavors have time to blend together, making every bite richer and more beefy.
Dry the jalapeños well – I like to pat the pickled jalapeños dry with a paper towel before chopping them. It keeps the spread thick and creamy instead of watered down.
Save a few toppings for garnish – I like to sprinkle a little extra chopped green onion, dill, or chopped dried beef over the top just before serving, to make it look pretty!
Recipe Variations
- Make it hot – You can place the dip in a small baking dish, top it off with shredded cheddar, and heat it up in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Extra cheese – For an even heartier appetizer, sometimes I stir in some shredded cheddar cheese, or Monterey Jack cheese. This gives it a pimento cheese quality.
- Nuts – Sprinkle some crushed pecans over the final chipped beef dip for some nutty flavors and added crunch.
- Ranch – Zest it up even more by mixing in some dried ranch dip for a herby added twist.
Serving Suggestions
As I’ve already mentioned, you can enjoy this dip either at room temperature, or warmed up with a cheesy layer of cheddar cheese. Totally up to you! You can also set it out on the table cold; it will slowly come to room temperature, and it will still be delicious.
I serve it with assorted crackers, corn chips, butter crackers, pretzel chips, crostini, or slices of toasted baguette.
If you want to keep this more on the low-carb side, you can instead serve this with crunchy veggies like celery sticks, baby carrots, or sliced cucumbers.
Storing
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days. If you’re enjoying this dip warm, then reheat in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chipped Beef AKA Dried Beef: Beef that has been salted, pressed, dried, and sliced thin. It’s often called dried beef or Buddig beef. (Buddig is one of the most popular brands.) Since it’s dried, it is not usually found in the deli section of the grocery store. Instead, dried beef is sold in jars or pouches found near the canned tuna and chicken.
Historically, chipped beef has been used as a convenient form of protein when fresh meat was not available. You can use it in dips, soups, stews, or gravy. It provides a bold, savory, beefy flavor and a bit of salt. Therefore, when you use chipped beef, you should reduce the amount of salt you add to the recipe. If you are a chipped beef fan, you can also try my chipped beef on toast recipe!
You can. Chipped beef is very salty, so you can always rinse off some of that added sodium if you’re watching your salt intake. Just be sure to dry it well before adding it to recipes.
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More Scoopable Recipes
Chipped Beef Dip
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Ingredients
- 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup sour cream
- 4.5 ounce package dried beef, AKA chipped beef or Buddig Beef
- ½ cup chopped green onions
- ¼ cup pickled jalapenos, drained and diced (mild or hot)
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Place the softened cream cheese and sour cream in a medium mixing bowl.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder and mix until very smooth. (Make sure there are no clumps of cream cheese left.)
- Chop the dried beef into scant pieces. Then chop the green onions, jalapenos, and dill. Mix the dried beef, green onions, jalapenos, and dill into the cream cheese mixture.
- Chill until ready to serve. Serve with toasted baguette slices, butter crackers, or fresh cut vegetables.
The combo of cream cheese, dried beef, green onions, and jalapeños is so perfectly balanced and absolutely addictive!
I hadn’t had chipped beef dip since I was a kid at my grandmother’s house and this recipe brought it all flooding back. It’s so creamy, so perfectly seasoned, and so insanely easy to throw together in minutes!
Hi Tom,
I love that this chipped beef dip brought back such special memories of your grandmother’s house. Thank you for the five-star review, and I’m so glad you enjoyed how creamy and easy it is!
I made this for a holiday party and it was scraped clean within the first 20 minutes! Every single person asked me for the recipe and couldn’t believe how rich and flavorful it was from such simple ingredients!
Thank you so much, Karin! I’m thrilled this was such a hit at your holiday party, and what a compliment that everyone wanted the recipe. That kind of feedback really makes my day and helps other readers find the recipe too.
Where did this go? I used to make this dip all the time, then noticed it wasn’t on your website anymore. I was just digging around for something else and saw it popped up again. Thank you, I’m so glad you added it back!