Use this easy "choose your own adventure" recipe to create a delicious seven layer dip in your team's colors! Perfect for Game Day! (Updated with 2023 Superbowl Teams)
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What's the Story on this Bean Dip?
Mr B is a total football fan! He's been following the Cowboys since we were kids; he even has an official Cowboys team jersey with his name on it that he wears every time they play. (This jersey apparently has magical powers, as [I am told] wearing it while watching a game can directly influence the outcome of that game.)
On the other hand, if you catch me watching football, know that I am only there for the game day food and the Budweiser commercials. And speaking of Game Day food (that is why you're here, right?), back in the twenty-tens when the Seahawks made two consecutive trips to the Super Bowl, I created a tasty layered bean dip in celebration of our "hometown" team, complete with team colors.
My Team Colors Bean Dip was so fun and tasty that I decided to expand the idea. I created an easy 5-Step formula that you can use - a sort of "choose your own adventure" recipe - to put together a tasty, colorful 7-layer dip in any team colors.
Not only does this easy, eye-catching layered dip make great football food, but it will work for basketball buffets, baseball barbecues, and even post-soccer game pool parties, too!
What Goes into this Recipe
Primary Ingredients
★ Bean Base: The bean base is the only thing you really need to "cook" for this recipe. It made using refried, pinto, small red, or black beans; plus onions, peppers, aromatics, and seasonings.
You can also just skip the cooking altogether, and sub in canned refried pinto or refried black beans for the bean base.
★ Cheese: Use an aged, semi-hard cheese like cheddar, Monterey Jack, CoJack, or Pepper Jack.
★ Sour cream: Use your favorite variety of sour cream.
Optional Ingredients (Depending on Team Colors)
Optional ingredients are chosen depending on team colors, and can include:
- sliced olives
- whole red or black beans
- crumbled cotija cheese
- chopped onions (red, white, yellow)
- chopped peppers (red, orange, yellow, or green)
- chopped tomatoes
- chili
- pico de gallo
- corn
- salsa (tomato, tomatilla, or salsa verde)
- guacamole
- thinly sliced cabbage
- sliced green onions
- chopped cilantro
- lime slices
- food coloring (for tinting sour cream)
How to Make 7-Layer Dip in Your Team's Colors
Make Bean Base
- Use black beans to make the base for teams that use black, navy, purple, green, teal, aqua, or blue as one of their primary colors.
- Use refried beans, pinto beans, or small red beans to make the base for teams that use red, brown, orange, or burgundy as one of their primary colors.
Fast Prep: Substitute plain canned refried pinto or black beans for the bean base.
To make the bean base, sauté the chopped onion in olive oil until translucent. Add the beans, garlic, and jalapeño and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Transfer to a medium bowl, and add the lime juice and zest. Use an immersion blender to puree the mixture into a smooth bean-dip consistency.
Alternately, you can simply mash them together in a bowl or large mortar and pestle (i.e., molcajete).
The beans can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Choose/ Tint Sour Cream
- Use plain sour cream for teams that use white as one of their colors.
- Use food coloring to tint sour cream to match team color for teams that use blue, aqua, teal, or purple.
- If your team colors include both white and blue, aqua, teal, or purple, you can use both plain and tinted sour cream.
Mix sour cream with a few drops of food coloring, until you achieve the color you want. (We use Wilton Color Right Performance Food Coloring for best results.)
TIP: For further guidance about how to mix the perfect color, try consulting this frosting color guide.
Choose Salsa
- Use red tomato salsa for teams that use red, brown, orange, or burgandy as one of their primary colors.
- Use green chili salsa or salsa verde for teams that use black, navy, purple, green, teal, aqua, or blue as a primary team color.
- Or, use any salsa that you love.
Choose Cheese
- Use grated yellow cheese (i.e., cheddar, etc.) for teams that use yellow, gold, or orange as one of their colors.
- Use grated white cheese (i.e., Monterey Jack, pepper jack, etc.) for teams that use silver, grey, or white, and do not use yellow, gold, or orange as one of their colors.
Choose Additional Ingredients
Using your team's colors, choose up to 4 additional Ingredients for your layered dip. (You can use black and white options for any team.)
This list is by no means exhaustive; feel free to use your own ideas!
Black: olives, whole black beans, cooked black rice
White: grated Monterey Jack, crumbled cotija, chopped white onions
Red: salsa, pico de gallo, chopped red peppers, chopped tomatoes, whole red beans, chili
Burgundy/Purple: thinly sliced red cabbage, chopped red onion, cooked purple sweet potato (diced or pureed)
Yellow/Gold: grated cheddar, chopped yellow pepper, corn
Orange: grated cheddar, chopped orange pepper, grated carrots, chopped mango, cooked orange sweet potato (diced or pureed)
Green: salsa verde, guacamole/avocado, chopped green pepper, sliced green onions, sliced jalapeños, chopped spinach, edamame, peas, cilantro, lime slices
Dip Assembly
Generally, layer ingredients in this order:
- Bean Base
- Creamy ingredients (e.g., sour cream, guacamole)
- Sauces (e.g., tomato salsa, green chili salsa, mango salsa, etc.)
- Grated cheese
- Fresh chopped vegetables (e.g., chopped onions, peppers, olives, etc.). I like to make a simple fresh salsa using whatever vegetables work with the team colors.
- Chunky ingredients (e.g., chopped tomatoes, sliced olives)
- Leafy ingredients (e.g., chopped cilantro)
To achieve the best visual presentation, keep in mind color combinations, and aim for high contrast transitions between layers.
For easy, controlled distribution of creamy ingredients like guacamole or sour cream, try piping them from a separate resealable plastic bag.
- Buffet or party serving: Layer your chosen ingredients into an 9x9 or 8x12 serving dish.
- Individual servings: For a festive, easy-to-hold option, layer ingredients into clear plastic cups.
Refrigerate for one hour before serving. May be assembled up to 24 hours ahead of time.
Examples: Layered Bean Dip in NFL Team Colors
Here are seven examples of our Team Colors 7-Layer Bean Dip formula in action. Take these only as suggestions though: there are any number of ingredient combination for any particular set of team colors. You can follow our examples to the letter, or simply use them for inspiration.
If your team isn't listed in the examples and you'd like some help choosing what ingredients to use in your layered dip, just ask in the comments and we will be happy to help.
Dallas Cowboys
Team Colors: royal blue, navy blue, silver, metallic silver-green, white
Cowboys Dip (layer bottom to top)
- Black bean base
- Plain sour cream + Royal blue sour cream
- Green chili salsa*
- Grated Monterey Jack cheese
- Green onion + chopped white onions
- Sliced olives
- Cotija (oops, I forgot to put it on the tray!)
Serve with blue and/or white corn chips.
*For the Cowboys Dip, I didn't want the green salsa to show, so I used the back of a spoon to hollow out a small depression in the middle of the sour cream, and then spooned the salsa into the recess. When the cheese is layered on, the green salsa disappears!
Green Bay Packers
Team Colors: dark green, cheddar gold
Packers Dip (layer bottom to top)
- Black bean base
- Plain sour cream
- Guacamole
- Green chili salsa
- Grated cheddar cheese
- Simple salsa: corn + onion + jalapeño
- Chopped cilantro
Serve with yellow corn chips.
San Francisco 49ers
Team Colors: red, metallic gold, white
49ers Dip (layer bottom to top)
- Refried bean base
- Plain sour cream
- Red tomato salsa
- Grated cheddar cheese
- Chopped tomatoes
- Simple salsa: corn + red & yellow peppers)
- Sliced olives
Serve with yellow corn chips.
New Orleans Saints
Team Colors: old gold, black
Saints Dip (layer bottom to top)
- Black bean base
- Plain sour cream
- Green chili salsa
- Grated CoJack cheese
- Simple salsa: chopped white onion + corn + yellow pepper
- Sliced olives
- Crumbled cotija cheese
Serve with yellow corn chips.
Want to really zhuzh it up!?! Try topping off your dip with a few flakes of edible gold leaf!
Chicago Bears
Team Colors: dark navy, red-orange
Bears Dip (layer bottom to top)
- Black bean base
- Plain sour cream (not on tray)
- Navy sour cream
- Green chili salsa
- Grated cheddar cheese + CoJack
- Simple salsa: chopped white onion + orange pepper
- Sliced olives
Serve with yellow, blue, and/or white corn chips.
Seattle Seahawks
Team Colors: college navy, action green, wolf gray
Seahawks Dip (layer bottom to top)
- Black bean base
- Blue + white sour cream
- Guacamole
- Green chili salsa
- Grated Monterey Jack cheese
- Sliced green onions
- Chopped cilantro
Serve with green, blue, and/or white corn chips.
Minnesota Vikings
Team Colors: purple, cheddar gold, white
Vikings Dip (layer bottom to top)
- Black bean base
- Plain sour cream
- Purple sour cream
- Red tomato salsa
- Grated CoJack cheese
- Simple salsa: chopped red & white onions + corn + yellow peppers
- Sliced olives
Note that the ingredient image for this one shows cotija cheese as an ingredient, but I changed my mind during assembly. Just another reminder that you can make your 7-layer dip any way you want!
Serve with yellow, purple, and/or white corn chips.
2023 Superbowl Team 7-Layer Dips
Kansas City Chiefs
Red, yellow, white (This one will look a lot like the 49ers example above.)
- Refried bean base
- Plain sour cream
- Red tomato salsa
- Grated cheddar cheese
- Chopped tomatoes
- Simple salsa: corn + red & yellow peppers)
- Sliced olives
Serve with yellow corn chips.
Philadelphia Eagles
Dark green, grey, white
- Black bean base
- Plain or dark green sour cream
- Green chili salsa
- Grated Monterey Jack cheese
- Simple salsa: chopped white onion + green pepper
- Sliced olives
- Crumbled cotija cheese
Serve with white corn chips.
FAQs & Expert Tips
NFL Team Colors (2022)
American Football Conference (AFC):
- Baltimore Ravens – purple, black, gold
- Buffalo Bills – royal blue, red, white
- Cincinnati Bengals – black, orange
- Cleveland Browns – brown, orange, white
- Denver Broncos – navy, orange, white
- Houston Texans – navy, red
- Indianapolis Colts – royal blue, white
- Jacksonville Jaguars – teal, black, gold
- Kansas City Chiefs – red, yellow, white
- Las Vegas Raiders – grey, black, (formerly, Oakland)
- Los Angeles Chargers – powder blue, gold, white
- Miami Dolphins – aqua, orange, blue
- New England Patriots – navy, red
- New York Jets – green, white
- Pittsburgh Steelers – black, gold
- Tennessee Titans – “Titans” navy, blue, red, silver
National Football Conference (NFC):
- Arizona Cardinals – cardinal red, black, white
- Atlanta Falcons – black, red, silver
- Carolina Panthers – black, Carolina blue, white
- Chicago Bears – navy, orange
- Dallas Cowboys – navy, grey, white
- Detroit Lions – Honolulu blue, silver, black, white
- Green Bay Packers – dark green, gold
- Los Angeles Rams – royal blue, gold
- Minnesota Vikings – purple, gold, white
- New Orleans Saints – black, gold
- New York Giants – royal blue, red, white
- Philadelphia Eagles – dark green, grey, white
- San Francisco 49ers – red, gold
- Seattle Seahawks – navy, lime green, gray
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers – red, grey, black
- Washington Commanders – burgundy, gold
More Game Day Recipes
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Team Colors 7-Layer Dip
Equipment
- 1 Immersion Blender or food processor
- 1 9x13 casserole dish or 16 clear plastic cups (for individual servings)
Ingredients
Bean Base
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion
- 5 cups beans 3 cans; black, pinto, small red, or traditional refried beans
- ⅓ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 small jalapeño seeded and diced
- 1 whole lime juice & zest
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Dip Ingredients
- 1½ cups sour cream
- 16 ounces grated cheese cheddar, Monterey Jack, CoJack, or Pepper Jack
Optional Ingredients (Depending on Team Colors)
- sliced olives
- whole red or black beans
- chopped onions red, white, or yellow
- chopped peppers red, orange, yellow, or green
- chopped tomatoes
- pico de gallo
- salsa tomato, tomatilla, or salsa verde
- guacamole
- thinly sliced cabbage
- sliced green onions
- chopped cilantro
- lime slices
- food coloring as needed to tint sour cream
Instructions
Bean Base
- To make the bean base, sauté the chopped onion in olive oil until translucent. Add the beans, garlic, and jalapeño and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Transfer to a medium bowl, and add the lime juice and zest. Use an immersion blender to puree the mixture into a smooth bean-dip consistency.Alternately, you can simply mash them together in a bowl or large mortar and pestle (i.e., molcajete).
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Fast Prep: Substitute plain canned refried pinto or black beans for the bean base.
Sour Cream
- If you need to tint the sour cream, mix it with a few drops of food coloring, until you achieve the color you want.
Dip Assembly
- After adding the bean base, you can add the ingredients in any order that you'd like. To achieve the best visual presentation, keep in mind color combinations, and aim for high contrast transitions between layers.Generally, layer ingredients in this order:Fresh chopped vegetables (e.g., chopped onions, peppers, olives, etc.). I like to make a simple fresh salsa using whatever vegetables work with the team colors.Chunky ingredients (e.g., chopped tomatoes, sliced olives)Leafy ingredients (e.g., chopped cilantro)a. Bean Baseb. Creamy ingredients (e.g., sour cream, guacamole)c. Sauces (e.g., tomato salsa, green chili salsa, mango salsa, etc.)d. Grated Cheesef. Fresh chopped vegetables (e.g., chopped onions, peppers, olives, etc.). I like to make a simple fresh salsa using whatever vegetables work with the team colors.g. Chunky ingredients (e.g., chopped tomatoes, sliced olives)h. Leafy ingredients (e.g., chopped cilantro)
- For easy, controlled distribution of creamy ingredients like guacamole or sour cream, try piping them from a separate resealable plastic bag.• Buffet or party serving: Layer your chosen ingredients into an 9x9 or 8x12 serving dish.• Individual servings: For a festive, easy-to-hold option, layer ingredients into clear plastic cups.
- Refrigerate for one hour. May be assembled up to 24 hours before serving.
Notes
Bean Base
- Use Black Bean Base (recipe on card) for teams that use black, navy, purple, green, teal, aqua, or blue as one of their primary colors.
- Use Refried Bean Base (recipe on card) for teams that use red, brown, orange, or burgundy as one of their primary colors.
Sour Cream
- Use plain sour cream for teams that use white as one of their colors.
- Use food coloring to tint sour cream to match team color for teams that use blue, aqua, teal, or purple.
- If your team colors include both white and blue, aqua, teal, or purple, you can use both plain and tinted sour cream.
Salsa
- Use red tomato salsa for teams that use red, brown, orange, or burgandy as one of their primary colors.
- Use green chili salsa or salsa verde for teams that use black, navy, purple, green, teal, aqua, or blue as a primary team color.
Cheese
- Use grated yellow cheese (i.e., cheddar, etc.) for teams that use yellow, gold, or orange as one of their colors.
- Use grated white cheese (i.e., Monterey Jack, pepper jack, etc.) for teams that use silver, grey, or white, and do not use yellow, gold, or orange as one of their colors.
Additional Ingredients
Using your team's colors, choose up to more 3 Ingredients in addition to the beans, sour cream and cheese for your layered dip. You can use black and white ingredient options for any team.- Black: olives, whole black beans
- White: grated Monterey Jack, crumbled cotija, chopped white onions
- Red: salsa, pico de gallo, chopped red peppers, chopped tomatoes, whole red beans, chili
- Burgundy/Purple: thinly sliced red cabbage, chopped red onion
- Yellow/Gold: grated cheddar, chopped yellow pepper
- Orange: grated cheddar, chopped orange pepper, chopped mango
- Green: salsa verde, guacamole, chopped green pepper, sliced green onions, cilantro, lime slices
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
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Originally posted January 31, 2014. This post has been updated with new content, images, and recipes instructions to improve reader experience.
Jill says
I love football!! Cincinnati Bengals are my team. Looking forward to making some seven layer cups in black and orange colors.
Renée B. says
Yay!! Here's a possible lineup for a Cincinnati Bengals 7-Layer Dip:
1. Black bean base
2. Plain sour cream
3. Red Tomato Salsa
4. Grated CoJack cheese
5. Simple salsa: chopped white onion + orange pepper
6. Chopped mango
7. Sliced black olives
Nikki says
I really love these individual, portable, team color dips. They are a perfect game day snack.
Luci Petlack says
Oooo. I love this! Such a creative game day appetizer.
Sara Welch says
Served these on game day and they were an absolute hit! Fun and festive; looking forward to serving these again and again this season!
Gail Montero says
Such a creative and very tasty appetizer for game day! I love that this is customizable - that's brilliant!
Renée B. says
Thank you!
Michelle @ The Complete Savorist says
Great Dip, love the blue. Go Hawks!
Jameson Fink says
Though a life-long Chicago Bears fan (who has been living in Seattle for the past decade), I can appreciate the creative spin on the 7-layer dip. I have a lot of friends who would go nuts for this! If my Bears ever return to the Super Bowl I will hire you as my 7-layer consultant.
Renée ♥ says
Thanks so much for your enthusiastic words! I've never considered "7-Layer Dip Consultant" as a career path before, but now I will have to give it some thought!
Karen @ Karen's Kitchen Stories says
That is so clever!!! Go Seahawks!
Jen says
Ooh, that dip looks delicious! Can't wait to try some of these recipes - thanks for sharing our free printables - the cupcake toppers turned out so cute!
Marlynn @UrbanBlissLife says
I love how you have individual servings of this dip. And it looks delicious! This reminds me that I had better figure out what I'm making for tomorrow's Superbowl festivities... nothing like the last minute for me, but this 7-layer dip is a contender!
Sarah M. says
Individual cups is a fabulous idea! Thank you for including some of my recipes. 🙂
Renée ♥ says
You're welcome, Sarah! I'm planning to make some of your chili-spiced nuts this weekend. (Sadly, I can't use hazelnuts: they are my only food allergy - one I developed, ironically, while living in the middle of a cluster of hazelnut orchards)
Renée ♥ says
You've done some outstanding work on your "Bee" series. I encourage everyone to read it!
Bee says
That blue sour cream is just too fun! Great post--there's few things I love more than a 7-layer dip for the big game!
Kristina says
the blue cream is awesome - Go Seahawks!
I love layer dip, and having single portions is a fantastic idea. have a great weekend!
Renée ♥ says
I love a good 7-layer dip too! And I can honestly say I'm OK leaving off the Tillamook on this one - the cotija is the perfect complement to the tomatilla sauce!
Sia Hills says
This turned out great - love it!!
Renée ♥ says
Thank you! Mr. B and I tasted-tested it all last night, and it is a delicious combination. The homemade tomatillo salsa really makes it pop! (This is the first time I've ever made tomatillo salsa myself - I had no idea how easy it is!!)
Pech says
Thanks for including me in your linkies, and I love the idea of individual size 7 layer dip so I can use more of those adorable printables!
Renée ♥ says
I love the idea of the individual cups because I can keep track of how much I eat - it is so easy to stand there and dip yourself through half a dish!