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11 creamy Super Bowl dips for any and all chips (or crudités)

11 Recipes
Smoky eggplant dip with ginger and tomato chutney with colorful crudites
(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Onion dip, spinach dip and other game-day favorite recipes are revamped with fresh ingredients and vibrant flavors. Try one for your Super Bowl party!

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Creamy and seductive, dips are among the best of snacking pleasures — and are in high demand on Super Bowl Sunday. Assorted crudités and chips are the obvious accompaniments, and hunks of crusty bread, flatbreads and sliced baguettes work well too.

Lipton Onion Dip

This is the classic Lipton onion dip made with just 2 ingredients: Lipton onion soup mix and sour cream. This appetizer is perfect for parties.
Time 5 minutes
Yields Makes 2 cups dip

This easily assembled dip, a brainchild of the 1950s, was part of almost every appetizer spread in its heyday. As food columnist Jenn Harris will attest, its fans are die-hards who will shun any attempt at making onion dip from scratch, with fresh ingredients or other trendy alteration.

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Homemade Sour Cream and Onion Dip

This homemade classic sour cream and onion dip is made even more delicious with fresh sautéed onions. Perfect as an appetizer for a party or potluck.
Time 15 minutes
Yields Makes about 1 1/4 cups

For those not wed to the mother of all onion dips, former cooking editor Genevieve Ko’s from-scratch version uses fresh onions, kosher salt and some vegetable oil in place of the soup mix. Once caramelized, they are mixed with sour cream and, voilà, it is onion dip — no additives, sulfites or flavor enhancers (though it will taste better if chilled overnight).

Fried Onion-Chili Crisp Dip

Chili crisp adds heat and texture to classic fried onion dip in this easy appetizer recipe that's great for parties.
Time 30 minutes, plus chilling overnight
Yields Makes 2 ½ cups
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For onion dip with a little more kick, food columnist Ben Mims starts out with onions in the pan and then adds spicy Sichuan chile crisp to the mix. The Sichuan peppers are optional, but if you have access to them, they do add a unique, tongue-tingling dimension.

Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip

This homemade vegan artichoke dip is light and refreshing for spring, yet creamy and satisfying. Perfect as an appetizer for a party or potluck.
Time 15 minutes
Yields Serves 6 to 8

A revamp of the classic made with mayonnaise, cream cheese, sour cream and both mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, this version uses a creamy purée of ground Marcona almonds as the base for the vegetables in place of the mayo and all of that dairy. The vegans in the crowd will love it and, unless you tell them, the non-vegans may well not know the difference.

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Spinach-Bacon Dip

Fresh spinach, smoky bacon and toasted pecans pack texture, flavor and crunch while pickled jalapenos provide a touch of heat in this revamp of the old-school Knorr spinach dip.
Time 35 minutes
Yields Serves 32

The popular spinach dip in the latter half of the 20th century was made with Knorr dehydrated vegetable soup mix, frozen spinach, water chestnuts and the requisite mayonnaise and sour cream. Here, fresh spinach brings more flavor, and smoky bacon and chopped pecans bring the crunch. Pickled jalapenos add brightness and a kick for a more contemporary take on the old-school classic.

Pimento Queso Dip

Pimento cheese meets queso dip in this homemade spin on a classic game day appetizer. Quick and easy to prepare, making it perfect for a party or potluck.
Time 20 minutes
Yields Makes 3 cups
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This Southern spin on Mexican queso makes no apologies for using processed cheese. Velveeta will ensure the silky smoothness of the finished product, and jarred pimento or roasted red peppers make for no-fuss preparation.

Guacamole

This homemade guacamole recipe features fresh white onion, cilantro, serrano chiles and salt that are ground to a paste in a molcajete before adding avocados and tomatoes.
Time 10 minutes
Yields Makes 2 cups

If you want a break from mayo, cheese and sour cream, guacamole is silky and refreshing and typically lands in the top 10 most popular Super Bowl snacks. Although a molcajete is the traditional vessel in which to prepare it, a potato masher or even a large fork will get the job done.

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Sweet Potato and Chickpea Dip

Nigella Lawson classifies her recipe for this dip made by puréeing roasted sweet potatoes and garlic and chickpeas as a "picky bit."
Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Yields Serves 10 to 12

Not quite hummus and not quite not hummus, this vibrant dip also happens to be vegan (but don’t tell the carnivores!). Earthy and rich, it is simple to prepare and adds a nice pop of color to the table.

Smoky Eggplant Dip With Ginger and Tomato Chutney

Grated, raw ginger adds a fresh, surprising heat to this baba ghanouj-inspired smoky eggplant dip. A tomato chutney adds richness and coconut yogurt adds creaminess.
Time 30 minutes
Yields Makes 3 cups
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This dip veers from the traditional smoky Middle Eastern eggplant purée with a generous dose of grated, fresh ginger, and the complex tomato chutney takes it in an entirely different direction. And this too is vegan.

Green Goddess Dip

This green goddess dip is the most amazing blend of fresh herbs, herb-flavored vinegar, mayonnaise and a whole tin of anchovies.
Time 15 minutes
Yields Serves about 28

Harking back to the 1920s salad dressing, this dip involves blending plentiful fresh herbs, herb-flavored vinegar and mayonnaise with a full tin of anchovies. The result is so creamy and full-flavored that you can’t stop eating.

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Lemon Pepper Chicken Dip

Lemon pepper flavors this spin on Buffalo chicken dip, a game day staple. It's ready in 45 minutes, making it a quick and easy appetizer for parties.
Time 45 minutes
Yields Serves 4 to 6

An homage to hot Buffalo chicken dip, this variation is zipped up with lemon zest, freshly ground black pepper and red chile flakes. If you have leftover chicken to make it with, great. If not, pick up a cooked rotisserie chicken from your grocery store and shred the breast meat for the dip.