{"title":"How to Make an American Flag Taco Dip","canonicalUrl":"https://www.showmestepbystep.com/cooking/how-to-make-american-flag-taco-dip","category":{"slug":"cooking","name":"Cooking"},"creator":{"name":"Miss Annie's Home and Kitchen","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnXGzruQ0NGW6aIkv9iDOVw","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wHbzlMPNC0"},"tldr":"A no-bake American flag taco dip for Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. Cream cheese base topped with red peppers, white cheese, and blue corn chips.","totalDurationSeconds":311,"difficulty":"easy","tools":[],"materials":[],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Step 1: Combine the Cream Cheese Base","text":"Drop both blocks of cream cheese into a large mixing bowl. Pour the full jar of salsa over the top, scrape in the sour cream tub, dump the shredded Mexican cheese, and add about half a cup of diced green onions. The salsa adds the heat and the green onions add a fresh bite, so don't skip them even if they sound optional. Watch at 0:30."},{"number":2,"title":"Step 2: Mix With a Hand Mixer Until Smooth","text":"Run the hand mixer through the bowl on medium speed for about a minute. You're looking for an even, slightly fluffy texture with no visible white streaks of cream cheese. Watch at 1:05. If you don't own a hand mixer, a sturdy rubber spatula and a few minutes of arm work gets you most of the way there."},{"number":3,"title":"Step 3: Spread the Mixture in a 9x13 Pan","text":"Scrape the whole bowl into a 9x13 baking dish or any roughly rectangular serving platter. Push the mixture out to the corners with a spatula and smooth the top so it sits in an even layer about half an inch thick. Watch at 1:20. A flat top makes the flag pattern in step five look sharp instead of bumpy."},{"number":4,"title":"Step 4: Prep the Red, White, and Blue Toppings","text":"Dice the red bell pepper small and halve a handful of red grape tomatoes for the red stripes. Shred the Monterey Jack block on the large holes of a box grater for the white stripes. Press a small star cookie cutter into a thicker slice of the Monterey Jack and pop out five little cheese stars for the blue field. Watch at 2:05. Crush a handful of blue corn chips into rough quarter-inch pieces for the blue corner. Keep the four piles separate so you can grab them in order during assembly."},{"number":5,"title":"Step 5: Assemble the American Flag Pattern","text":"Mark the blue corner first. Spread the crushed blue chips into a rectangle in the upper-left third of the pan, covering roughly the top-left third in height. Arrange the five cheese stars across the blue field. Now build the stripes across the rest. Start with red at the top edge of the empty area, then white, then red, alternating until you reach the bottom. Use the grape tomatoes and diced peppers together for the red stripes and the shredded Monterey Jack for the white ones. Watch at 2:45. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 30 minutes before serving so the toppings settle."}],"recipe":{"servings":"Serves 12 as an appetizer","prepMinutes":15,"cookMinutes":0,"cuisine":"American","ingredients":[{"name":"cream cheese","notes":"softened to room temperature","amount":"16 oz (2 blocks)"},{"name":"chunky salsa","notes":"any heat level","amount":"16 oz jar"},{"name":"sour cream","amount":"8 oz tub"},{"name":"shredded Mexican blend cheese","amount":"8 oz bag"},{"name":"green onions","notes":"diced fine","amount":"0.5 cup"},{"name":"red bell pepper","notes":"diced small for the red stripes","amount":"1 medium"},{"name":"red grape tomatoes","notes":"halved for the red stripes","amount":"0.5 pint"},{"name":"Monterey Jack cheese block","notes":"shredded for white stripes plus 5 stars cut with a small cookie cutter","amount":"8 oz"},{"name":"blue corn tortilla chips","notes":"crushed for the blue field, more whole chips for dipping","amount":"1 small bag"}]},"lastUpdated":"2026-05-20T13:36:32.121Z","published":"2026-05-14T18:13:35.462Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}