Ultra creamy and rich, this cheesy sausage dip is made with zesty pork sausage, rotel, velveeta, and a few extra additions that bulk up the flavor! Great for parties or game day, this dip is slow cooker friendly as well.
This is one of my Dip recipes I know you’ll want to keep on hand!
Does it get much better than a great dip at a party? I don’t know about you guys, but for me, the best part of a party is the food.
Hanging out with great friends gets even more awesome when you’re hanging out around a spread of amazing party food.
I’ve always been a sucker for a great dip. There are SO many flavor combinations!
If there was ever a quintessential dip, it’s the velveeta and rotel dip. Seriously so easy, and so good!
This sausage dip adds tons of extra flavor with ground sausage, diced onions, and minced garlic. Plus it’s easy to make on the stovetop or in the slow cooker.
How to make cheesy sausage dip with rotel?
This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.
- Cook sausage and vegetables. I like to cook this together to save time, but you can cook the sausage first, drain it, then cook the onions and garlic if you’d prefer.
- Add rotel and cheese. Cubing the cheese is important, so that it’ll melt evenly and easily.
- Cook. This is best done on low so the cheese can melt without any burning.
Helpful Tip!
For this recipe, you’ll want to pick up some bulk pork sausage. In my grocery store, it either comes in a 1 lb. roll, or in a tray covered in plastic wrap like ground beef. You can use any flavor, but we like the hot variety, to add some extra spice.
Variations of this recipe
- Sausage – we love using the hot variety for extra spice, but feel free to use mild instead. If your store doesn’t have bulk sausage but has large links, you can slice the side of the casing and peel it away. Then just use the meat inside.
- Other meat – not a sausage fan? Try some browned ground beef or ground turkey instead.
- Other veggies – for more flavor, try adding some diced jalapeños, poblanos, or bell pepper.
- Onion – I love the extra flavor boost from adding the cooked onion, but if you’re not a fan, you can omit it completely. If you are using the onion though, I do recommend cutting them pretty small, so no one takes a big bite of onion.
- Velveeta – this recipe was developed and tested with original velveeta, but please feel free to play around with the other varieties.
- Toppers – try adding some diced green onions, minced cilantro, or a drizzle of hot sauce to liven up the dip!
- Crockpot – I love making this dip in the slow cooker, and the directions are written down below in the recipe card.
FAQ’s
There are a couple of ways to reduce the heat level of this dip. You can use mild sausage, and use mild rotel. If you’d like to make the dip spicier, be sure to use hot sausage, hot or original rotel, or you could add some diced jalapeños or some cayenne pepper.
Yes, this dip can be frozen, in a freezer-safe container, for up to 3 months. Thaw, then reheat as desired. As you’re reheating, make sure to stir the dip really well.
Making sausage dip ahead of time
The great thing about this appetizer is that it can be made ahead of time.
Just assemble it, cover, and refrigerate for a day or two.
Then heat it up per the recipe, and enjoy!
You can also prep this recipe (which is my favorite thing to do!).
Ways to prep ahead for this recipe:
- Sausage – the sausage can be cooked, crumbled, drained, and cooled. Then refrigerate in a container for several days.
- Onion and garlic – these can be diced/minced and kept refrigerated for a couple of days.
- Cheese – the velveeta could be cubed and kept in an airtight container for a couple of days.
Storage
Leftover dip should be refrigerated in an airtight container and enjoyed within 3-5 days.
More Party-Ready Dip Recipes:
My Favorite Skillet!
I definitely prefer either stainless steel or a cast iron skillet, since nonstick doesn’t give a great sear and the coating can come off over time. I just absolutely love the quality of Lodge products (and the fact they’re more affordable than some other big brands), and it’s held up through years of hard use!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 1 lb pork sausage I like to use Tennessee Pride brand, but use your favorite
- 10 oz can rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles UNdrained
- 16 oz package velveeta cheese cut into 1/2" cubes
- 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
Brown sausage and cook vegetables
- Heat a large skillet over MED heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it into crumbles as it cooks. About halfway through the sausage cooking, add onion and garlic and stir together.
- Continue cooking, until sausage is cooked through and the onion is translucent. Drain well, then return to the skillet.
Assemble
- To the skillet with the sausage, onion, and garlic, add the undrained rotel, cubed velveeta cheese, and black pepper.
Cook
- Turn the heat down to LOW and continue to cook, stirring often, until the cheese is melted, and everything is well combined.
Serve
- Serve hot, with some chips or vegetables as dippers. Feel free to garnish with some diced green onions or fresh cilantro if you'd like.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
Chef Tips
- I estimate this recipe will serve approximately 12 people, but the exact serving size and amount will be up to you.
Slow Cooker Directions:
- To make this in the slow cooker you’ll still need to brown and cook the sausage, onion, and garlic.
- Drain it after it’s cooked, then add to the insert of a slow cooker.
- Top with black pepper, rotel, and velveeta.
- Cover and cook on LOW an hour or two (stirring occasionally), or until the cheese is melted and everything is combined.
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
brian c tarrant says
Almost exactly as I make it. I prefer Vidalia onions uncooked. I’ve made this for almost 45 years. I was the first in my circle of friends to add meat …. ground beef for 10 years … sausage and/or a lb of both after that. In Austin TX, a tex-mex restaurant owner clued me in. NOONE back then knew about Rotel
Leslie says
Thank you for this. How is it as a leftover? I’d like to make it the day prior and then just heat the slow cooker the day of. Thank you!
The Chunky Chef says
It should be fine, you may just have to stir it more often while it’s heating.
Leslie says
Thank you so much for the quick response! I will do.
brian c tarrant says
TRY THIS….. make a microwaved “baked” potato and spoon the dip over the top. Add some green onions and your favorite baked potato toppings. Amazing and sooooo easy.
KC says
Thanks for adding the slow cooker instructions!
Cassandra says
We’re trying to have “normal” after hurricane Helene. We have power but no water.
I made this recipe to take to a party with some friends in another city and it came out AMAZING!
I doubled the recipe and used 1 regular ground sausage and 1 hot.
Creamy, filling, and very much appreciated by everyone who hadn’t had hot meals in a while!
Stephanie says
Loved this recipe. We made it to eat while we watched football and it was the perfect thing to snank on. Huge hit.
Becky says
This dip is delicious. To make it more often I replaced the sausage with rinsed black beans and people still love it.
Sandra says
I love how quick and easy it is to make!! Absolutely amazing!
Catalina says
This dip has all the ingredients that I like! Love how this is!
Erin | Dinners, Dishes and Dessert says
Absolutely delicious! Everyone would definitely love this!
Beth says
This is one of my favorite kinds of dips. I can’t wait to try your recipe. All I need now is some corn tortilla chips!