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I dare you to find something more popular to bring to potlucks than this vegan seven-layer dip. Creamy, beany, cheesy, fresh AF and just a tolerable amount of spicy, all stacked into a clear glass dish that vanishes within 15 minutes flat, which is legit about as long as the whole thing takes to throw together!
Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
Every layer is wheat-free the way I make it. Using store-bought chorizo crumbles instead of my tofu ones? Check that label hard.
Make every layer up to 4 days ahead and store them separately. Assemble 2-3 hours before the party, with the guac and pico made that day.
Party on a budget? The olives are optional, so skip them, and make the pico and salsa roja from scratch instead of buying tubs.
Swap the guac layer for my avocado mango salsa. Lighter, more fruit and veg, and it's a total banger in there.
Any salsa you've got works for the roja layer. My salsa ranchera is a great call, or go with a tomatillo salsa if you want it mild.
Piping hot queso will obliterate your sour cream layer and turn your beautiful stripes into one tragic smear. Give it 5 minutes. We do not negotiate with volcanic queso.
A spoon works. An offset spatula makes you look neat and competent, even if you are a hot mess dumpster fire bum like me. Spread center outward, light pressure, try not to gasp at yourself.
Push everything edge to edge so the cross-section shows those clean stripes through the glass.
Oodles more tips, step-by-step recipe photos, info on weird ingredients, and FAQs are all still here. I just tucked 'em out of the way so you can start cooking sooner.
During one of the presidential election debates that took place during the pandemic (a mix of boring and embarrassing to watch with my kids), I made a 7-layer dip and invited over my daughter's boyfriend Beef. We called him Beef because BF= boy friend.
Everytime the candidates said something, we made Beef put on another pair of pants, until homeboy had like 30 pairs of pants on. The sucky thing is that halfway through the debate, we realized my 7 layer dip only had 5 layers. So, most likely, you can blame the downfall of human civilization om my inadequate dip that year. Sorry 'bout that.
But the good news is it forced me to level up my vegan 7-layer dip recipe game, so I don't have to pretend that the olives or garnishes count as a layer anymore.
Quick PSA before we get into it: this popular recipe is more of an assembly guide. You will need a bunch of components already made. The best part is, there's two ways you can deal with that: if you want to do things the tastier, more economical, however more time-consuming way, I have recipes on this site for the vegan refried beans, tofu chorizo, salsa roja, vegan queso, pico de gallo, and vegan sour cream.
Otherwise, it's 100% OK to use store-bought for any of those things, which makes throwing together this seven-layer dip something that will literally take you just minutes.
Yum! Party food Vegan style
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🥰 Why you'll adore this vegan seven layer dip recipe
🍳 Barely Any Cooking: The only heat involved is warming the chorizo and queso for about 5 minutes total. Everything else is just spreading and stacking.
⏰ Make-Ahead Friendly: Make each layer the night before, stack it a couple hours before showtime, and chill until guests arrive. Standing ovation-worthy "threw it together last minute" vibes.
✊ Vegan AF & GF: One of the gluten free vegan recipes you can serve at any get-together and watch the non-veg guests hog it all for themselves.
💰 Feeds a Crowd for Cheap: One stack serves 10 to 12 hungry humans for less than one sad restaurant appetizer that comes with 4 corn chips and mad attitude.
Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of my vegan Tex-Mex recipes, I got this bad boy in front of my 1,000+ recipe testers across multiple time zones before it ever hit the blog.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🌶️ What are the Layers in a Vegan 7 Layer Dip?
Refried Beans
My daughter is a vegan tostada and burrito fiend, so I have tried more brands of refried beans than any one person should in a lifetime. Our fave fave FAVE? Goya's Rancheras, which are even labeled vegan (love to see it). Or if you have time, just make my homemade refried beans. They are easy, they've got a hint of lime, and they slap harder than any can can. (Queue that song in your head about "can you do the can can?")
Vegan Chorizo Crumbles
My tofu chorizo recipe is the move here, and if you wanna see exactly how it's made, I demonstrate the whole technique in my free tofu cooking class, highly recommend both. It's a very similar technique to what I do for my tofu tacos, vegan picadillo, and vegan taco salad, so once you've got this technique down you're basically an unstoppable tofu renegade.
Lazy day alternative? Pan-fried bits of seitan or Beyond Meat crumbled up with some taco seasoning works.
Vegan Queso
My vegan queso recipe is rich, creamy, and truly brings this to the next level over using store-bought vegan cheese sauce. My vegan nacho cheese sauce is also incredible here (and is a great alternative if you can't get hatch chilies), and my vegan cotija cheese is a sneaky good swap if you want something a little more crumbly and sharp rather than creamy.
Vegan Sour Cream
The cool creamy layer is NOT the place to skip or phone it in, just so we're clear. My vegan sour cream recipe exists for a reason and that reason is this Mexican dip. If store-bought is more your speed, Tofutti, Forager, and Kite Hill are the ones I like the best.
Salsa
Salsa roja is what most people like in a 7-layer dip. Salsa ranchera is also a great call and it's more authentically Mexican tasting.
For more heat, roasted jalapeño salsa or chile de arbol salsa will absolutely go off here. My habanero salsa is the bomb, but it's a little too thin to work nicely in this layered thingy.
Need to keep it mild? Tomatillo salsa or hatch chile salsa are your peeps.
Guacamole
Homemade or store-bought are both fine to use for the guacamole layer. Mango salsa with avocado as a swap is a total banger here too if you don't mind the extra sweetness. Or just smash some large avocados with lime and salt if halftime is fast approaching and you need a shortcut.
Pico de Gallo
My pico de gallo recipe is a pretty darn reliable one to use for good reason. Diced tomatoes, onion, cilantro, lime. The ratio has been tested and loved by over 1,000 home cooks.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
📖 How to make vegan 7 layer dip
Got friends arriving in 30 minutes and zero plan? I gotcha, honey. The printable recipe card is parked at the bottom of the page for emergency speed runs, but the full step-by-step walkthrough below has every tip you need to make this dip the MVP of the night.
Step One
LL. Beans:
Evenly distribute the refried beans across the base layer of a large serving dish or shallow platter.
Step Two
Crumble in the Bronx:
If you're using store-bought vegan chorizo crumbles instead of my tofu chorizo recipe, set a skillet over medium heat and add the crumbles. Cook them for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until heated through and lightly browned. Let them cool for 5 minutes then spread evenly over the refried beans.
Step Three
Queso Closed:
Heat the vegan queso in a saucepan over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until smooth and pourable. If the consistency feels too thick to spread, thin it out with a small amount of plant-based milk or water.
Spread it evenly over the chorizo layer.
Step Four
Man of the Sour:
Carefully spread the sour cream over the queso in an even layer.
Step Five
Roja De Niro:
Spread on an even layer of salsa roja.
Step Six
Guac to the Future:
Spoon the creamy guacamole evenly over the salsa layer.
Step Seven
Pico Suave:
Add an even layer of pico de gallo on top of the guacamole.
Step Eight
Buried Olive:
Finish with the optional black olives, jalapeño slices, and cilantro leaves. Serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to 2 hours before serving.
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👉Top tips
- Let the Queso Cool Before Stacking: Piping hot queso will obliterate your sour cream layer and turn your beautiful stripes into one tragic smear. Give it 5 minutes. We do not negotiate with volcanic queso.
- Use an Offset Spatula for Clean Layers: A spoon works. An offset spatula makes you look neat and competent, even if you are a hot mess dumpster fire bum like me. Spread center outward, light pressure, try not to gasp at yourself.
- Push Each Layer to the Edges: That side view of perfect colorful stripes is the whole point and you will NOT be robbing yourself of it. Push everything edge to edge so the cross-section shows those clean stripes through the glass. Wipe down smudges with a clean kitchen cloth if they happen, so everything full of great sparkles with no goose dust or doorknob grease in sight.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Some folks mix everything up. In my world, I call this "the holiday mix" and it grosses me the heck out and makes me a little mad. I mean, you do you, I guess. But really, try not to bring shame unto the 7-layer-dip Gods by stirring everything together into a big brown nightmare. Just sayin'.
So here's the deal, some people like to serve the best vegan 7-layer bean dip hot, and some like to serve it cool or at room temp.
To make it easier for all people to serve it that way, the things that can potentially be made hot (the beans, chorizo, and queso) are at the bottom. That way, if you heat up those layers, you don't heat up the things which should NEVER be warm (the salsa, sour cream, pico, and guacamole).
A 3-4 inch glass dish or wide serving platter works best so each layer stays visible and easy to scoop. Bowls that are rounded on the bottom instead of flat make it hard to have even layers, and that means by the time most of it is eaten, there's usually still a lot of beans at the bottom with no other fun stuff to eat it with.
🧊 Refrigerating
Keep the individual components in a separate airtight container for up to 4 days. The guac and pico should be made fresh on the day you want to serve everything.
🔥 Stovetop reheating
If serving this hot, reheat only the chorizo, beans and queso in separate saucepans before layering them, and adding the cold layers on top.
🥵 Oven Reheating: Layer the beans, chorizo, and queso in your dish, cover with foil, and reheat at 375°F (190°C) for 20-24 minutes until hot throughout. Pull it out, uncover, and add all the cold layers on top to serve.
✌️You'll also love these vegan Tex-Mex recipes
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Vegan 7 Layer Dip Recipe
Equipment
- large glass serving dish
Ingredients
The Seven Layers:
- 3 cups refried beans (or 2X 16 oz. cans)
- 3 cups vegan chorizo crumbles
- 2 cups vegan queso
- 2 cups vegan sour cream
- 2 cups salsa roja
- 2 cups guacamole
- 2 cups pico de Gallo
Optional Garnishes:
- ½ cup sliced black olives
- ½ jalapeño thinly sliced
- Cilantro leaves to garnish
Instructions
- Spread the refried beans evenly across the bottom of a large serving dish or shallow platter.
- If you aren't using my tofu chorizo crumbles and need to cook store-bought ones, place a skillet over medium heat and add the vegan chorizo crumbles. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until heated through and lightly browned. Let cool for 5 minutes, then spread evenly over the refried beans.
- Warm the vegan queso in a saucepan over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until smooth and pourable. If it feels too thick to spread, add a small amount of plant-based milk or water. Spread evenly over the chorizo layer.
- Carefully spread the sour cream over the queso in an even layer, followed by the salsa.
- Spoon the guacamole evenly over the salsa layer.
- Add an even layer of pico de gallo.
- Top with black olives, jalapeño slices, and cilantro leaves if using. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 hours before serving.
Notes
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Cathy says
Yum! Party food Vegan style