Skillet Pizza Dip

Cream cheese, two shredded cheeses, crushed tomatoes, and a hot cast iron. Pizza you can scoop.

Time: 20 min | Yield: 1 8 inch skillets | Difficulty: Easy | Serves: 6 | Published: 2026-07-24

All the flavors of a pizza, in dip form, in one 8-inch cast iron skillet. Cream cheese base, mozzarella and cheddar split half-in half-on-top, a layer of seasoned crushed tomatoes in the middle, baked until golden and bubbling.

The cream cheese has to be soft, room temperature or a 15-20 second microwave, so it mixes with the first half of the shredded cheeses into one smooth base. Cold cream cheese fights you and bakes uneven.

Only have a 12-inch skillet? Multiply everything by 1.5, the recipe says so up front. Bake at 400 until golden, and a finishing broil is fully sanctioned. Serve with toasted baguette, my garlic cheese bread, or chips, whatever floats your boat.

Ingredients

• 1 package cream cheese
• 1 ½ cup shredded low moisture mozzarella
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 1 tbsp italian seasoning
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 - 1 ½ cups of crushed tomatoes
• Parmigiano Reggiano

Directions

1. I'm using an 8 inch cast iron skillet for this recipe. If you only have a 12 inch, multiply the recipe by 1.5.
2. Let the cream cheese come to room temperature or microwave for 15-20 seconds to soften it. Then add to the skillet.
   You'll know it's right: Soft cream cheese is the whole ballgame, it should spread with zero resistance before anything mixes in.
3. Add the 1/2 of the cheeses and mix evenly with the cream cheese. Smooth it out in the skillet.
   You'll know it's right: Mix the first half of the cheeses fully into the cream cheese, one uniform base, smoothed flat.
4. Add your crushed tomatoes and sprinkle the salt and seasoning evenly on top.
5. Add the other half of the cheeses evenly on top.
6. Bake in a preheated oven of 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown as desired. Don't be afraid to broil for a minute or so.
   You'll know it's right: Golden and bubbling at 18-20 minutes. The broil at the end is where the spotty brown top comes from, watch it by the minute.
7. Serve with sliced/toasted baguette, garlic bread, chips, or whatever floats your boat!

Troubleshooting

Lumpy, uneven dip

Cold cream cheese. Room temp or a 15-20 second zap. It should mix like frosting.

Watery layer in the middle

Thin crushed tomatoes. Use a thick crushed tomato, or drain the excess. The tomato layer should spread, not pour.

Pale top

Pulled at 15 minutes, skipped the broil. Golden brown as desired means go darker than you think, the broil is encouraged.

Greasy pool on top

Pre-shredded cheese overload. Hand-shred from blocks and keep the ratios. Anti-caking starch and excess cheddar both leak oil.

Dip seized when cool

Cast iron holds heat, then gives it up. Serve it in the skillet while hot. If it sets, 5 minutes back in a warm oven revives it.

Nutrition (1/6 of the skillet (dip only)): 290 calories, 12g protein, 7g carbs, 24g fat.