For the Love of Food

Mardi Gras Muffuletta Dip #SundaySupper

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This is our 5th year living in Louisiana and that means that my foodie family and I have eaten our fair share of Cajun food! My daughters love gator, crawfish, catfish, and jambalaya, just to name a few! During Mardi Gras season we love making Cajun themed meals at home to celebrate. My husband’s favorite is the Muffuletta sandwich. I shared my recipe on the blog a few years ago and today I wanted to share a delicious dip inspired by my husband’s favorite Cajun delight: Mardi Gras Muffuletta Dip !
This decadent cheesy dip is baked in a hollowed out bread bowl and blended with not only three types of cheese but also olive salad, ham, salami, and spicy capicola. Serve with crusty garlic bread for dipping and you have got the perfect Mardi Gras appetizer to share with friends this Fat Tuesday! 
 
I am excited to be participating in my first Sunday Supper blog post! Please scroll down to see all the Easy Mardi Gras Recipes shared this week from Sunday Supper bloggers. 

Muffuletta Dip in a Bread Bowl
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Mardi Gras Muffuletta Dip

Makes 2 bread bowls of dip and feeds a crowd!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cup olive salad drained and divided {I like the Boscoli Family brand}
  • 2 cups Italian blend cheese shredded
  • 1/4 lb deli ham diced
  • 1/4 lb deli salami diced
  • 1/4 lb capicola {or substitute mortadella} diced
  • 8 oz container Olive cream cheese spread
  • 2 -10 inch round Muffuletta bread loaves {or sub another bread bowl like Sourdough or Italian}
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • olive oil for drizzling

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Cut the top off the bread bowls and remove the center leaving a ¾" shell.
  • Cut the top and the insides of loaf into bite sized squares for dipping. Spread on a baking sheet and set aside.
  • Add cream cheese, 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese, olive salad {drained}, and all 3 diced meats to a large bowl.
  • Stir well until combined.
  • Spread mixture into the bread bowls {or an 8X8 baking dish}.
  • Top with remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese.
  • Bake for 20 minutes until melted and heated through {see step below about covering dip}.
  • Meanwhile, sprinkle garlic powder and drizzle olive oil over the cubed bread.
  • When the dip has 5 minutes of bake time remaining, remove and cover with aluminum foil so the cheese does not get too brown and add the tray of bread to toast in the oven.
  • Remove from oven and add bread bowls to a platter with toasted bread cubes on the side for dipping.
  • Garnish with a couple tbsp of olive salad {be sure to drain the extra oil} on top of each bread bowl and serve hot with toasted bread for dipping.
Did you make this Recipe?Tag @flchefnicole or hashtag #fortheloveoffoodblog

For The Love of Food Blog

 
I use two large bread bowls or loaves for holding my dip.
If you can find Muffuletta bread, like in the top picture, that is my top choice.
If not any bread will do like Italian or Sourdough, like the bottom picture. 
Cut the top off the bread bowls and remove the center leaving a ¾” shell.
Cut the top and the insides of loaf into bite sized squares for dipping. 
Spread on a baking sheet and set aside.  
 For this dip I use the traditional meats found in a Muffuletta sandwich:  ham, salami, and capicola. 
I bought all of these at my local deli counter.
 Dice all the meats. 
 You can use regular softened cream cheese but I found this olive cream cheese spread and knew it would be perfect for this dip!
 A Muffuletta comes with provolone and mozzarella cheese so I used a shredded Italian blend featuring both cheeses. 
  The ingredient that makes a Muffuletta is the olive salad. 
Here’s my recipe to make your own or use a store bought brand like this one. 
I use 1 cup of olive salad in the dip. Be sue to drain it first 
or you will have a lot of oil in your dip!
 Add cream cheese, 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese, olive salad {drained}, 
and all 3 diced meats to a large bowl.
 Stir well until combined. 
 Spread mixture into the bread bowls {or an 8X8 baking dish}. 
Top with remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese and bake for 
20 minutes at 350 degrees until melted and heated through.
 Meanwhile, sprinkle garlic powder and drizzle olive oil over the cubed bread. 
When the dip has 5 minutes of bake time remaining add the tray of bread to toast in the oven.
 Remove from oven and add bread bowls to a platter with toasted bread cubes on the side for dipping. 
 Garnish with a couple tbsp of olive salad {be sure to drain the extra oil} on top of each bread bowl.
Serve the Mardi Gras Muffuletta Dip hot with toasted bread for dipping. 

Check out these Easy Mardi Gras Recipes from Sunday Supper bloggers!

Appetizers

Main Dishes

Sides

Desserts

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Comments

  4. Evolve With Mary

    I’ve heard of muffuletta sandwich, but I’ve never had muffuletta dip. I love New Orleans. I usually visit a few times a year; I can’t get enough to the Cajun food, it's too good to pass up. Great Recipe Nicole.

    Reply

  14. Chad

    Fantastic!! This dip was a complete homerun. It is so good, and cooking the bread like giant croutons is a great idea. I will do that with other dips.. I didn’t want to go to the store so I made a couple of alterations by using Boursin onion cream cheese, and I only had ham and salami, so I just used more of each and used only mozzarella. Looking forward to making it again.
    Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

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