This smoked cheese dip is a slightly lower calorie dip option and super easy to make. It combines your choice of pulled or shredded chicken with reduced fat cream cheese, jack cheese, cowboy caviar, fire roasted corn, and a little milk or cream.
The end result is a cheesy, creamy chicken dip that’s great with tortilla chips, crackers, grilled bread, or just about anything you can dream up. And if you don’t have a Traeger grill or pellet smoker, I have you covered with instructions on making this cheesy chicken dip in an oven in the recipe card’s notes section below.
This recipe was adapted from my original cheesy cowboy chicken dip, which was adapted from Trader Joe’s kickin’ corn dip.
Smoked Cheese Dip Ingredient Notes
Here’s a quick rundown of everything you’ll need with a few tips for substitutions:
- Pulled Chicken – Rotisserie chicken works great, but you can use any cooked and shredded, pulled, or chopped chicken. Try our Traeger grilled chicken breast or Dutch oven pulled chicken for a Tex-Mex spin. And be sure to check out our smoked chicken thighs cook off for the BEST recipe out there.
- Colby-Monterey Jack Cheese – This is a blend of the two, but you could use half and half. You can also use other cheeses (a list of the best melting cheeses).
- Reduced Fat Cream Cheese – If you can find fat free, this cheese dip becomes even more macro friendly.
- Cowboy Caviar – A Trader Joe’s salsa worth stocking up on, you can make your own cowboy or Texas caviar. Though traditional caviars are made with black-eyed peas, and I like the black bean, corn, and pepper salsa style of TJ’s.
- Fire Roasted Corn – If the cheese and chicken are MJ and Pippen in this cheese dip, the corn is Rodman. I use frozen from Trader Joe’s, but you can find this canned or even make your own Traeger grilled corn.
- Milk or Cream – Chicken broth, water, or any liquid will get the job done.
Those notes, along with the recipe card below, should have you grilling in no time. If you have a question I didn’t answer, drop it in the comments below. And if you try this smoked cheese dip and fall in love, we always appreciate recipe reviews!
Oh, and if you’re looking for the second dip in the featured image, that’s our Traeger smoked queso. You can throw it on the smoker right beside this cheese dip if you’re feeding a crowd. Both dips also work great as Traeger nachos.
Update July 2023: We conducted a recipe showdown to develop the best smoked queso on the internet. Check it out!
Smoked Cheesy Chicken Dip
Cowboy caviar and two types of cheese come together with pulled chicken and fire roasted corn on a Traeger pellet smoker to make a smoky, cheesy dip that's perfect for any occasion.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Pulled Rotisserie Chicken (or any cooked and shredded chicken)
- 8 oz Colby-Monterey Jack Cheese (or a blend of the two)
- 8 oz Reduced Fat Cream Cheese
- 13 oz jar Cowboy Caviar*
- 1/2 cup Fire Roasted Corn
- 1/2 to 1 cup Milk, to desired consistency
Instructions
- Preheat your Traeger to 250ºF** with the lid closed.
- Cut the cheese into smaller cubes and add to a large aluminum grill pan, cast iron skillet, or smoker-safe dish along with all the other ingredients. Start with 1/2 cup milk and add another 1/2 cup during the cook if needed.
- Place the pan directly on the grill grates and cook for 30-40 minutes until the cheese begins to melt and you can stir everything together. Once stirred, smoked for an additional 15-20 minutes until the dip begins to brown around the edges. (To make this dip in an oven, add everything to a baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes in a 400ºF oven. Stir everything together about halfway through.)
- Garnish with sliced green onion or cilantro and serve with tortilla chips.
Notes
*I used Trader Joe's Cowboy Caviar, but any cowboy or Texas caviar works here. Other options include black bean and corn salsa, a mixture of black and pinto beans with more fire roasted corn, or diced tomatoes and green chiles (RO-TEL) with beans.
**You can increase the temperature to 300ºF for a faster cook and/or to pick up less smoke flavor. You can also cut the cheese into smaller pieces so they'll melt faster.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: about 1/2 cup (120g)Amount Per Serving: Calories: 255Total Fat: 13gCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 16g