3-Cheese Garlic Bread Pizza Dip Recipe

Cheesy garlic bread may have evolved from bruschetta, but the dish as we now know it is a product of mid-20th-century Italian restaurants. More recently (that being the 1970s), chunky garlic knots became a popular alternative to this pizza and pasta go-with. In this recipe, however, you're not just getting the knots themselves, but also a tasty dip. Developer Kara Barrett brings us this recipe and says, "The way the mozzarella melts into gooey perfection while the cheddar and Parmesan add layers of flavor makes this dip irresistible. I love how it pairs perfectly with the garlic bread knots and it's so fast to whip up for guests."

Barrett describes the cheeses in this recipe as a bold well-balanced blend. "The mozzarella creates that classic pizza-style stretch, the cheddar adds a rich, sharp flavor, and the Parmesan gives it a salty, umami kick. Combined with marinara and served with warm, buttery garlic knots, it's like dunking into the best part of a deep-dish pizza." While this dish would be a great appetizer for an Italian-style dinner you could also pair it with a green salad for a light and easy meal or make it part of an appetizer buffet alongside mozzarella sticks, pasta skewers, and meatballs in marinara.

For the garlic knots, we're keeping it simple by using frozen ones. The dip (which yes, technically, is a four-cheese one) is made of cream cheese, mozzarella, cheddar, Parmesan, pizza sauce, and oregano.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Line the edges of a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet or oven-safe skillet with garlic knots, forming a ring.

Add the cream cheese, 2 ounces of mozzarella, 1 teaspoon of oregano, cheddar, and Parmesan cheese.

Mix the cheeses until well combined.

Add the cheese mixture to the center of the baking dish.

Spread it in an even layer to the edges of the garlic knots.

Top the mixture with a layer of pizza sauce.

Top with the remaining 4 ounces of fresh mozzarella and ½ teaspoon of oregano.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and bubbling and garnish with fresh herbs, if desired.

Serve while warm and the cheese is still melty.

If you're serving this as an appetizer for a get-together or you like to make your meals ahead of time, then you'll be glad to know that there are several make-ahead shortcuts you can take with this recipe. First of all, if you're going with homemade pizza sauce (which isn't difficult to make), you should be able to store it in the refrigerator for at least a week and you can freeze it for as long as you like. In the latter instance, you'll need to add a little time to thaw it, although you can use the microwave to speed up the process.

The cheese mixture, too, can be prepared in advance. The cream cheese, which is the most perishable ingredient, can last for up to 10 days after being opened. It's also possible to freeze cream cheese-based dips. While thawing might alter the texture to some extent, baking the dip in the oven should smooth things out nicely and the layer of pizza sauce and extra cheese on top will hide any lumps or bumps. Once you're ready to heat up the dip, just take the garlic knots out of the freezer and assemble the ingredients in the pan as the oven preheats.

There are a number of ways you can personalize the recipe, starting with the garlic knots. While frozen ones make for the quickest, easiest option, you could always bake them from scratch if you prefer. If you'd like an in-between option, there's also our shortcut garlic knots made with canned biscuit dough. You can switch up the sauce, too, using a meaty bolognese or spicy arrabbiata or adding some Louisiana-style hot sauce to give your pizza dip a Buffalo-type flavor.

Feel free to change the cheeses, as well, using pepper Jack in place of cheddar or provolone as a replacement for mozzarella. (It may be less melty, but you've still got the cream cheese to keep the dip smooth.) If you've gone with the Buffalo sauce option mentioned above, you might also want to add some blue cheese crumbles to the mix. It's also possible to garnish the dip with other pizza-style toppings. You could go subtle with a sprinkling of fresh basil, oregano, or rosemary, or add chopped garlic. You could also amp things up with sliced pepperoni or cooked, crumbled sausage.