If you’re looking for a crowd-pleasing appetizer, look no further than this Baked Goat Cheese Dip with bacon and herbs and toasted pecans! Watch it disappear in front of your eyes.
Why this recipe works
- The pancetta or bacon adds a smoky and salty flavor
- The toasted pecans are that perfect crunch on top
- Parsley, fresh garlic, and smoked paprika add layers of flavor
- Goat Cheese and cream cheese add that perfect creamy and tangy flavor
- It’s served nice and bubbly right out of the oven
- I love Everything Bagel crackers, but you can serve with breads or raw veggies too
- This is a perfect appetizer for a party (or a party for yourself!)
Start off by coating the pecans in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven at 360 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly toasted.
Meanwhile, cook the chopped bacon pieces in a saute pan until cooked through, remove from the pan and reserve some of the bacon fat. Add the onions and saute over medium heat until the onions have softened. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Then mix the goat cheese, cream cheese, parsley, garlic, smoked paprika, olive oil, and salt and pepper together in a bowl. Fold in the onions. Reserve the bacon for after the goat cheese dip has baked.
Add olive oil to a small ceramic baking dish and spread in the goat cheese dip. You can also use 2-4 ceramic ramekins (depending on the size) to bake the goat cheese dip. This dip serves 4 people.
Bake in a 350 degree oven until golden and bubbly on top, about 20 minutes. Top with toasted pecans and cooked bacon.
Serve with everything bagel crackers (or your favorite crackers), a sliced baguette, or raw veggies!
Can this be made in advance?
Yes! Just make the goat cheese dip in advance, place in the baking dish, and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to one day in advance. Then bake in the oven before serving along with the toasted pecans. I recommend making the bacon fresh so that it stays crispy.
More Goat Cheese Recipes
- Goat Cheese Avocado Toast
- Goat Cheese Guacamole
- Grilled Peach and Goat Cheese Flatbread with Balsamic Glaze
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Bon Appetit Ya’ll,
Leslie O.
Baked Goat Cheese Dip | Bacon and Herbs
Equipment
- 1 Large mixing bowl
- 1 Electric Hand Mixer optional
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Baking Dish
- 2 Sharp knives Can use a grater for the garlic
- 1 Small Skillet
Ingredients
- 8 Oz Goat cheese softened
- 4 Oz Cream Cheese softened
- 1 TBSP Olive Oil
- 1 Clove Garlic Finely Minced
- ¼ cup Onions
- ½ cup Toasted Pecans
- ¼ cup Chopped Bacon Can use pancetta instead of bacon!
- ¼ tsp salt and pepper To taste
- 1 TBSP Parsley (chopped) Optional
- ½ tsp Smoked Paprika Optional
Instructions
For the Toasted Pecans
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Toss the ½ cup pecans in olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Toast the pecans in the oven for about 8-10 minutes, and set aside.
For the Goat Cheese Dip
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Chop up ¼ cup worth of bacon in small pieces. Cook your bacon (or pancetta) in small skillet until cooked through.
- Remove the bacon (or pancetta) from the pan. Use the renderings in the pan to saute ¼ cup onions until are softened, about two minutes.
- Using the hand mixer, cream together the 8 oz goat cheese, 4 oz cream cheese and 1 TBSP olive until well blended.
- Add the cooked onions, 1 clove of chopped garlic, 1 TBSP chopped parsley, ½tsp smoked paprika, and salt and pepper to the mixture.
- Mix together using a spatula and then transfer to a baking dish or individual ceramic ramekins (oven-safe).
- Bake the dip for 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
- Garnish with the toasted pecans and bacon and serve immediately.
Notes
- This dip can be mixed up, covered and placed in the fridge the night before and then baked the following day.
- However, I would make the bacon fresh before serving. If you make the dip in advance, you can saute the onions in olive oil instead of bacon fat.
- I used bacon in this recipe but pancetta would also be amazing!
- Play with any spices or herbs you like for this recipe. Want your dip to be a bit spicy? Add some red pepper flakes!
- If you are allergic to nuts, you can easily leave the pecans off this recipe.
- I paired everything bagel seasoned crackers with this dip, but it would be amazing with other types of crackers, veggies, bagel chips, etc.
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