Pulled Pork Dip
Smoky, cheesy, and ready for the oven in about 15 minutes, this pulled pork dip turns leftover pulled pork into a bubbling skillet of cream cheese, cheddar, and mozzarella. The secret to its scoopable, stringy-cheese texture? It’s all in the mixing, baby!
Craving The Recipe Details?
What it is: A baked pulled pork cheese dip made with packaged or leftover pulled pork, cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar, and mozzarella. It comes together in one bowl and bakes in a cast iron skillet, baking dish, or foil tray.
Why you’ll love it: It’s creamy, smoky, and loaded with melty cheese. Plus it uses up leftovers, takes only 15 minutes of prep, makes ahead, and freezes beautifully. Oh, and everyone will be asking for the recipe.
How to make it: Beat the pulled pork with cream cheese, sour cream, BBQ sauce, garlic, and cheddar. Spread in a skillet, top with mozzarella and jalapenos, bake, then broil until bubbling.
We are hooked on our Traeger. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but when you open my stand-up freezer and see that stash of vacuum-sealed smoked leftovers, it kinda catches you off guard!
One way I’ve been combatting the leftover overload is to create recipes using the pre-cooked proteins we’ve already got. Like brisket stuffed Texas twinkies, or my smoked queso dip.
My BBQ pulled pork dip is no different. It’s a real party hit, especially when served with tortilla chips, crackers, sliced baguette, pita chips, or veggie sticks.
This pulled pork dip recipe is dedicated to the leftover makeover.
Jump to:
Key Ingredients
Pulled pork: Use leftover or packaged pulled (shredded) pork. I’m all about repurposing leftovers these days, and this recipe is certainly great at using up leftover smoked pork butt! I don’t personally sauce my pulled pork, so I add the BBQ sauce to the dip. If you’re using pre-sauced pork, omit the BBQ sauce.
Cream cheese: Listen, you can’t have a hot cheesy BBQ dip without cream cheese. You just can’t. I prefer Philadelphia cream cheese, the full fat stuff 🙂
BBQ sauce: Use your favorite. It’s the sweet, smoky backbone of the dip. I love a sweet, mildly spicy sauce for this recipe.
Variations + Substitutions
- Swap the cheese: Use Monterey Jack, fontina, gouda, or any other melty, delicious cheese you can think of.
- Skip the pulled pork: Try this recipe with pulled smoked brisket point or smoked chicken breast.
- Smoky without the grill: Amp up the smoke flavor by using smoked garlic and home smoked cheese.
How To Make Pulled Pork Dip
- Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F. Add 2 cups of pulled pork to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle beater.
- Step 2: Beat the pork on medium-high speed to break up the pork. This is particularly important if your pork is in larger chunks or longer strips, to make it more dip-friendly!
- Step 3: Add 1 cup shredded cheddar, 8oz softened cream cheese, ½ cup sour cream, ¼ cup BBQ sauce, 2 minced garlic cloves.
- Step 4: Beat until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Step 5: Transfer the pulled pork dip to an 8″ cast iron skillet or 8×8-inch baking dish and smooth the surface.
- Step 6: Top with 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese and 1 minced jalapeño.
- Step 7: Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes, until the dip is hot and the edges are starting to brown.
- Step 8: Broil the dip on High for 2-3 minutes, or until the mozzarella has completely melted and is bubbling.
Watch carefully, this step can go from real good to real bad in a real hurry!
- Step 9: Remove from the oven and serve warm with tortilla chips, crackers, sliced baguette, pita chips or veggies.
Expert Tips
- Beat it down. Don’t skip the mixer step. Big chunks and long strips of pork make for a dip that’s hard to scoop, breaks your chips, and isn’t as fun to eat. So to avoid chip recon missions, give your pork a good beating until it’s in small pieces before anything else goes into the bowl.
- Use cast iron. Hot dips served in a cast iron skillet stay hot longer, which means there’s even more time to enjoy the gooey, stringy, cheesy deliciousness.
- Don’t walk away from the broiler. That last 2-3 minutes is what gets you a bubbling golden top, there’s a fine line between bubbling and burnt. Set a timer, stick close, and watch it. Ask me how I know…
- To sauce or not to sauce. Taste your pork, if you have packaged pork from the store, it may not need added BBQ sauce. When I package my pulled pork, I omit the sauce because I find the leftovers more versatile that way, so I add it here.
Why This Recipe Works
Leftovers do the heavy lifting. The pork is already cooked and flavorful, so there’s no cooking from scratch here. Everything just gets combined and heated through.
Cream cheese and sour cream make it velvety. Together they give the dip a creamy base that holds the pork and cheddar together to make a pulled pork cream cheese dip that stays scoopable, all without velveeta!
Two cheeses, two jobs. Cheddar in the dip brings tang and flavor while mozzarella goes on top for the melty, cheese-pull finish!
Bake then broil. Baking heats the dip through and browns the edges, and a quick broil takes the mozzarella to an 11 out of 10.
Pulled Pork Dip FAQs
Yes. Assemble the dip exactly as written, with the mozzarella and jalapenos piled on top in an 8″ cast iron skillet or foil pan placed directly on the grill grate. Smoke at 225°F for 40 minutes to build flavor, then increase the temperature to 350°F for 20 minutes to heat through. Skip the broiler: the mozzarella melts on the grill and the top comes out melty and smoky!
I use Lumberjack Competition Pellet Blend for this one.
Yes, the most important thing the mixer does is beat the pork into fine shreds. You can do this by hand with two forks, then use a hand mixer or sturdy spoon to combine everything else.
Leftover pulled pork dip keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container. Reheat it in the microwave until warmed through.
Yes! Beat the dip as directed, then transfer to the crockpot and cook on high for about an hour, stirring every 20 minutes to ensure it heats evenly. Once the dip is fully melted, top with the mozzarella and jalapeños, then cover and cook another 10-15 minutes, or until the mozzarella is melted. Because there’s no broiler, the top won’t brown and bubble, but it’s still going to be delicious.
Tortilla chips, crackers, sliced baguette, pita chips, and veggie sticks like celery are great companions to this leftover pulled pork dip. Something sturdy is best, since this dip is thick!
Make Ahead Pulled Pork Dip
If you know me, you know I love a make-ahead-friendly recipe. In fact, I’m always trying to figure out how to pre-make stuff for easy serving later on. This pulled pork dip is perfect for making ahead: it goes from freezer to oven to table without any changes in flavor or texture.
In the fridge: Assemble the dip as directed, then cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days before baking. You’ll have to increase the baking time by at least 10 minutes.
In the freezer: Transfer the dip to a freezer-friendly container (I love tin foil containers for make-ahead dips) and freeze for up to 3 months. To bake, let dip thaw for 1-2 hours at room temperature, then bake as directed, adding an extra 10-15 minutes.
Recommended Equipment
Cast iron: I LOVE a good cast iron skillet. I purchased a set of KitchenAid cast iron skillets a decade ago and they are still kickin’! I’ve not seen the KitchenAid cast iron since, but any quality cast iron skillet will do!
Stand mixer: My KitchenAid mixer is one of my most used tools in the kitchen, I believe every home cook should have one!
More Dip Recipes To Love
If you tried this Creamy Pulled Pork Dip recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
📖 Printable Recipe
Pulled Pork Dip
Ingredients
- 2 cups pulled pork, leftover or store bought
- 8 oz block cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup your favorite BBQ sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1 jalapeno, minced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Add 2 cups leftover pulled pork to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle beater. Beat the pork on medium-high speed to break up the pork into smaller pieces.
- Add 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 8 oz cream cheese, ½ cup sour cream, ¼ cup your favorite BBQ sauce, and 2 cloves minced garlic. Beat until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as required.
- Transfer the pulled pork dip to an 8" cast iron skillet or 8 x 8" baking dish, and top with 1 cup shredded mozzarella and 1 jalapeno.
- Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes, until the dip is hot and the edges are starting to brown.
- Broil the dip on High for 2-3 minutes, or until the mozzarella has completely melted and is bubbling.
- Remove from the oven and serve with tortilla chips, crackers, sliced baguette, pita chips or veggies!
Notes
Expert Tips
- Beat it down. Don't skip the mixer step. Big chunks and long strips of pork make for a dip that's hard to scoop, breaks your chips, and isn't as fun to eat. So to avoid chip recon missions, give your pork a good beating until it's in small pieces before anything else goes into the bowl.
- Use cast iron. Hot dips served in a cast iron skillet stay hot longer, which means there's even more time to enjoy the gooey, stringy, cheesy deliciousness.
- Don't walk away from the broiler. That last 2-3 minutes is what gets you a bubbling golden top, there's a fine line between bubbling and burnt. Set a timer, stick close, and watch it. Ask me how I know…
- To sauce or not to sauce. Taste your pork, if you have packaged pork from the store, it may not need added BBQ sauce. When I package my pulled pork, I omit the sauce because I find the leftovers more versatile that way, so I add it here.
Make ahead
Fridge: Assemble the dip, cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 days before baking, adding at least 10 minutes to the baking time.Freezer: Transfer unbaked dip to a freezer-friendly container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for 1-2 hours, then bake, adding 10-15 minutes.
Easy to make and a true fan favourite.
I made this today with pulled pork I had in the freezer. This recipe is great. Dip was delicious and full of flavor. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
So happy to hear that Sandra! It’s one of my favorites too!
OMG this stuff is AAAhhhhmaaazing!!!!! Make it, you will NOT regret it!!!!!
Love it! So glad you liked it!!
Can this be made in a crockpot?
You bet! You may want to wait to put the cheese on till the remainder of the dip is fully melted so you can stir it. I’m not sure but probably an hour on high would do?