Can you even believe what is going on here? This skillet. This dip. This cheeeeese. This skinny chili cheese dip.
Whoa wait, skinny chili cheese dip? Does that even make any sense?
It does when you mix the cheese with pureed cauliflower, the magical transforming vegetable. I know I know, I was skeptical at first too. But trust me when I tell you that the cauliflower creates a creamy béchamel like base for the cheese to melt into.
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Most recipes that use cauliflower as a base for cream sauces suggest boiling or sautéing it, but I wanted the cauliflower to act not just as a base but to add flavour to the dip too. By roasting the cauliflower until it is very brown, it develops a deep, nutty flavour that works great with the chili spices.
I want you to make me a promise.
Promise me you won't leave the lime out of the recipe. I know it probably sounds a little odd, but it makes the whole dish. It adds a brightness to the dip that makes all the other flavours pop.
I have to give credit to my handsome man for the lime. That man is pure genius.
Let's talk a little about turning veggies into things they're not meant to be. I've been on a bit of a transforming vegetables kick lately. There was the cauliflower fried “rice”, the zucchini noodle spaghetti and then last week the pad thai made from carrot noodles.
I seriously love how versatile veggies can be. I'm mean really, how awesome is it that you can replace an unhealthy part of a dish with a vegetable and hardly know the difference?!!
Typically when you make a cheese sauce, you start with a mixture of butter, flour and milk that is called a béchamel sauce. By cooking then blending cauliflower with a little water, you can create a base that has the same consistency as béchamel.
It's pure awesomeness.
If you make this Skinny Chili Cheese Dip make sure to snap a pic and hashtag #theendlessmeal on Instagram so I can like and comment on it!
- 3 cups chopped cauliflower - about ½ head
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon oil
- ¾ cup water
- 2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese
- 2 teaspoons Mexican chili powder
- ¼ - 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste
- Juice from ½ lime (use fresh lime juice!)
- 1 garlic clove, very finely minced
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup chopped tomatoes (see notes)
- ¼ cup finely chopped onion
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- Extra chili powder (if you want the pretty darker patches in the dip)
- 1 serrano or jalapeño pepper
- Preheat your oven to broil at 420 degrees. Place the oven rack on the top shelf. (If you don't have control over the broil temp on your oven lower the oven rack a shelf or two.)
- Place the cauliflower and onion to a rimmed baking sheet and toss with the oil. Broil for 20 minutes, stirring halfway, until the cauliflower is soft and quite brown.
- Blend the cauliflower on high with the water then pour it into a small skillet over medium-high heat. Heat the cauliflower until it starts to bubble then stir in the cheese. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the Mexican chili powder, cayenne, fresh lime juice, garlic and sea salt. Taste for seasoning then top with the tomatoes, onions, tomato and optional extra chili powder.
Kristen Stevens
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Hi, I’m Kristen! 
Making this tomorrow for company coming. I will roast the Cauliflower in my air fryer. I love the roasted texture and taste. Such a nice dip dor us watching our waistline. I wondered about altering the recipe just a tad with a bit of light cream cheese and a bit less of the cheddar? Experimenting with guests is ill-advised, so I will change it next time. So excited to find this, and you, Kristen.
I bet some cream cheese in here would be lovely! I hope you have a great dinner party tonight!!
It turned out great! I used my food processor for the cauliflower and couldn’t quite get it fluid enough – at least how yours looked. I didn’t want to add too much water, but maybe chicken broth might have been OK. In any event, I added it to the skillet and included my spices. I didn’t have cayenne, so I used Ancho Chile Powder along with the chili. I also added to the top – some salsa fresca I made earlier, some thin sliced radishes and a couple of grates of Mexican Queso Panela cheese. My company went nuts. We had fun hearing them guess the secret ingredient.. lol.
I’m so happy it turned out! So fun to “trick” people into eating healthier food, isn’t it?!
Gah! I’m flippin over this Kristen! OMGeee… I know this is over the top! Please and Thank you!!! Gimme all the cauliflower… it’s a super hero in the vegetable world! Hooray! Delicious work! 😀
Haha thank you so much, girl! Cauliflower is my fav … I love how it makes unhealthy things healthy!
Love !!! Love!!! All kristens reclpes and l will be making this one for sure!!!
Awww … thanks so much, Debbie!
Oh wowww, looks AMAZING. Definitely making this to our house warming party on Sat! I was just wondering if it has to be super hot when served. I mean, it might be sitting on the table for a few hours before being entirely consumed. Do you recommend re-heating in that case?
Hi Essi,
Happy housewarming!!
It actually handles being away from the heat fairly well, much better than dips that are only melty cheese. But … it is better warm so it might be a good idea to serve it in a microwavable dish so you can quickly reheat it if necessary. 🙂
Hope you have a great party!
Wow. This looks so good!
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Thanks, Jamie!
This looks so delicious! And I love the “sneaky” use of cauliflower! Yum!
Thank you so much! I I love sneaking in extra veggies to dishes. 🙂
Love the idea of using cauliflower in here. And this skillet is just so colorful. Your photos are gorgeous. Probably the best looking cheese dip I’ve ever seen!
Thank you so much, Liz! You just put a big smile on my face. 🙂
When do you add the broiled onions?
With the cauliflower and the water?
Sorry that is a bit confusing. Will chance that now. 🙂
You do add the cauliflower and onions together and blend them with the water.