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This layered seafood dip has been one of my favorite things to add to any grazing table for any get together especially over the holidays. It has been such a crowd pleaser that I am actually surprised that I have neglected to add it to my website for this long.

i almost want to apologize for not sharing it sooner.

This dip is so easy to make and is fairly cost effective. You can use the crab meat or shrimp if both are not in your budget. Or you can also omit the seafood all together. The dip alone without the added seafood is also delicious.

It is a great alternative if you are over the layered salsa type dip but are looking for something to take its place.

What you will need

Cream cheese
Mayonnaise
Dill
Smoked paprika
Cumin
Salt and pepper
Seafood sauce – use your favourite kind as this will be the main flavour of the dish. You can also decide weather of not you want to use a spicy or non spicy sauce.
Cocktail shrimp – this is optional
Crab meat – these are optional
Cheddar cheese

How to make this seafood layered dip

1. Mix first layer

in a large bowl add room temperature cream cheese, Mayonnaise, and seasonings.

using a hand mixer beat all the ingredients until creamy. make sure you do not have any clumps of cream cheese left over.

2. add layer to the dish

in either an 8×8 or 8×5 baking dish add the cream cheese mixture and spread it out evenly to create the bottom layer.

3. add sauce

open the seafood sauce and pour a small layer to cover the cream cheese layer by about ½ and inch.

4. add seafood

open and drain the liquid from the can of cocktail shrimp and sprinkle over the seafood sauce gently not disturb the layer too much.

open a can of crab drain the liquid and sprinkle over the shrimp layer carefully again to make sure you do not disturb the previous layer

5. add cheese

using the small side of the cheese grater grate sharp cheddar cheese to cover the whole dish

6. Chill

cover and chill in the fridge for 1 hour or over night

remove from fridge 20 min before serving if you have chosen to chill over night.

Seafood layered dip

This dip is savory with a delicious tangy seafood sauce over a cream cheese base and topped with cheese.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Chill 30

Total Time 45

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Ingredients

1 pkg cream cheese room temp
3 tbsp mayonnaise
½ tbsp dill
½ tbsp smoked paprika
½ tbsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 jar your favorite seafood sauce
1 can cocktail shrimp
1 can crab meat
⅓ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

in a large bowl add cream cheese, Mayonnaise, and seasonings.
using a hand mixer beat all the ingredients until creamy.
in either an 8×8 or 8×5 baking dish add the cream cheese mixture and spread it out evenly to create the bottom layer.
open the seafood sauce and pour a small layer to cover the cream cheese layer by about ½ and inch.
open and drain the liquid from the can of cocktail shrimp and sprinkle over the seafood sauce gently not disturb the layer too much.
open a can of crab drain the liquid and sprinkle over the shrimp layer carefully again to make sure you do not disturb the previous layer
using the small side of the cheese grater grate sharp cheddar cheese to cover the whole dish
cover and chill in the fridge for 1 hour or over night
remove from fridge 20 min before serving if you have chosen to chill over night.

Notes

shrimp and crab are optional you can do one or the other or both as I like to do

use your favourite cocktail sauce as it is the main flavour you will taste in the dip. you can also customize the flavour by choosing different spice levels to suit your taste.

Keyword cheese, crab, seafood, shrimp

Layered Seafood Dip