Kentucky Hot Brown Dip
When you want the ultimate in Kentucky Derby appetizers, dig in to this melty, cheesy Kentucky Hot Brown Dip. With all the best parts of the classic sandwich made famous at the Brown Hotel, it’s loaded with turkey, bacon, tomatoes, and, of course, plenty of cheese. From a Derby Day food idea to a game day snack, this is the hot appetizer you need to add to your party menu!
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: American
- Primary Cooking Method: Oven
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free
- Skill Level: Easy
This Kentucky Hot Brown Dip recipe takes the best parts of that traditional open-faced sandwich – turkey, bacon, creamy goodness, and a few tomatoes for a fresh and acidic balance – and combines it all into one ooey-gooey appetizer.
Of course, it’s the perfect Kentucky Derby appetizer to add to your Derby Day menu. But it’s also great for game day, whether you are cheering on those Kentucky Wildcats in basketball or football, or any other team you love. And don’t forget about it when you have leftover roast turkey from Thanksgiving or Christmas! Really, it’s a delicious addition to any occasion. In fact, it just may be one of the best hot dip recipes you’ll ever make.
Kentucky Hot Brown Dip – the Best Kentucky Derby Party Food!
Here’s why you’ll love it…
- Balanced and crave-worthy. You can keep reading for more about the origin of the hot brown sandwich, but just know that it brings together a combination of savory, smoky, salty, creamy, and fresh flavors and textures into the perfect bite that keeps your tastebuds excited.
- Naturally gluten free. Unlike the flour and butter-based Mornay sauce, you’ll get the velvety texture with light cream cheese and Greek yogurt, and lots of flavor from sharp cheddar cheese.
- Dipping options for everyone. While you can certainly dip regular bread or crackers, you can also choose gluten free options for either, and even add veggies to the party platter. Scooping it up with something like bell peppers or cucumbers keeps it low carb.
What is a Hot Brown?
The Hot Brown Sandwich, also known as a Kentucky Hot Brown or Louisville Hot Brown, by Frank Schmidt in 1926 at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. The story, which may or may not be mostly legend, is that it was dreamed up as an alternative to the late-night ham and egg sandwiches usually served to the hotel guests after an evening of dinner dances.
At that time, it was an open-faced sandwich consisting of toasted bread topped with slices of roasted turkey, creamy Mornay sauce, and a sprinkling of Pecorino Romano cheese. Then it was broiled until golden and bubbly. Eventually, the tomatoes and bacon that are now a quintessential part of the recipe were likely added later.
In fact, today there are many variations. Some people add cheddar cheese instead of Gruyere to the Mornay sauce, while others make it with ham instead of bacon. It can be topped with a fried egg or even transformed into a Kentucky Hot Brown Grilled Cheese.
The Hot Brown has also given rise to other non-sandwich copycats, like Kentucky Hot Brown Quiche, Hot Brown Baked Potatoes, and this cheesy dip!
Recipe Ingredients
A deliciously simple list of ingredients comes together to make this amazing Kentucky Derby appetizer! Here is some information about the ingredients, but the amounts and full instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Cream cheese: Let it soften to room temperature so it is easy to mix. You can use regular or light, but do not use fat free. It has a weird consistency when baked in the oven.
- Plain Greek yogurt: This helps make the dip nice and creamy. You can use nonfat, low fat, or whole milk varieties.
- Grated nutmeg: The tiniest bit is used to enhance the flavor of many cream sauces.
- Shredded white cheddar cheese: While the Mornay Sauce in a Hot Brown is usually made with Gruyere cheese, the cheddar adds a nice bit of sharpness when making it into a dip. You can use yellow cheddar, but the white cheddar cheese keeps it more like the traditional color.
- Turkey: Use some leftover cooked turkey that’s been chopped. If you can’t get any turkey, leftover chicken will do.
- Tomato: Slice it in half to squeeze out the seeds and liquid, then chop it up.
- Bacon: Cooked bacon that is nice and crispy, crumbled
- Grated pecorino romano cheese: This is traditional, but Parmesan cheese is a fine substitute.
You’ll want to use a glass or ceramic baking dish that is about 1.5- to 2-quarts. I like to use a decorative stoneware dish or my Corning French White casserole dish, but a glass 11×7-inch baking pan works fine too.
If you are going to a party and don’t want to worry about getting your dish back, a disposable aluminum pan will work just fine, but place it on a cookie sheet and check it a few minutes early to make sure it isn’t getting overcooked.
How to Make Kentucky Hot Brown Dip
It is super simple to make. Start by getting all of your preparations done. Pull your cream cheese out of the fridge to soften and preheat your oven to 350°F. In the meantime, chop your turkey and tomato, cook and crumble the bacon, and shred the cheese.
- Make the dip mixture. Stir together the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, nutmeg, some of the cheddar cheese, and turkey. Then spread it all into a glass or ceramic baking dish.
- Add the toppings. Sprinkle the chopped tomato, crumbled bacon, remaining cheddar cheese, and the pecorino romano cheese evenly over the top of the dip.
- Bake and serve. Pop it into the oven and bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes, until it is hot, golden-brown, and melty.
How to Serve Kentucky Hot Brown Dip
Just like all of your favorite hot, cheesy dips, you’ll want to serve it with any of your favorite items for dipping and scooping.
- Scoop up with bread. To make it more like the sandwich, you can spread it on slices of regular or gluten free baguette.
- Dig in with crackers or chips. Regular or gluten free crackers work great, too, as well as tortilla chips.
- Dip your veggies. You can also choose vegetables like cucumbers or peppers. This also makes it a great low-carb option.
Make it a Kentucky Derby Party
If you need some Kentucky Derby food ideas, here is what I recommend adding to your party menu.
- Serve Southern classics. Whip up Air Fryer Fried Chicken with some Gluten Free Biscuits.
- Have apps and snacks. It’s a party with Mini Hot Brown Sliders (made on Gluten Free Hawaiian Rolls, if needed). Then get some inspiration from a Kentucky staple, and snack on Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Popcorn.
- Don’t forget Derby Day desserts. Enjoy classics like Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake or a rich and creamy Gluten Free Bread Pudding. And it isn’t the Run for the Roses without a Gluten Free Chocoate Chip Cookie Pie inspired by the classic Derby Pie!
Kentucky Hot Brown Dip
Ingredients
- 8 oz. cream cheese , softened to room temperature (regular or light)
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (can use nonfat, low fat, or whole milk varieties)
- 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese , divided (about 6 oz.)
- 2 cups cooked and chopped turkey
- one small tomato , seeded and chopped
- 6 slices bacon , cooked until crispy and crumbled
- 1/4 cup grated pecorino romano cheese (or parmesan)
- crackers, sliced baguette, and vegetables for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a bowl, stir together 8 oz. cream cheese, 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg, 1 cups shredded white cheddar cheese,, and 2 cups cooked and chopped turkey until thoroughly combined.
- Transfer to a glass or ceramic 1.-5 to 2 quart glass baking dish baking dish and spread evenly.
- Top with one small tomato, seeded and chopped, 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, the remaining 0.5 cups shredded white cheddar cheese,, and 1/4 cup grated pecorino romano cheese.
- Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly, and lightly browned.
- Serve with crackers, sliced baguette, and vegetables for dipping.
Notes
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Can you freeze this? Or would the tomato get yucky?
I would not recommend freezing it. Dishes with this much dairy don’t always freeze and thaw well, and can tend to get watery with a strange texture.
What size baking dish are you using here? I’m terribly at calculating quantities. I tried another, much more complicated, recipe for this dip at Derby and while it was good, it ended up in a too-deep dish.
I’d like to try this recipe for Thanksgiving…seems like the perfect opportunity to serve this to guests in Louisville, KY.
About a 1 1/2 quart casserole or square baking dish would be fine. If you double it, then probably 2 quarts or about a 11×7 inch baking dish.
Such a hit at a Kentucky Derby party today! I doubled it and it went so fast. People were asking for the recipe as soon as it was served. Took longer than 10 minutes to assemble. Only reason for 4 stars not 5. Thank you!!!
I’m so glad that everyone enjoyed the dip, Sue! Thank you for your comment and for rating the recipe.
what size dish did you use, esp after doubling.
About a 1 1/2 quart casserole or square baking dish would be fine. If you double it, then probably 2 quarts or about a 11×7 inch baking dish.
Is the bacon on top pre-cooked? Or does it just cook on top of the casserole since it’s in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes?
Susanne, it needs to be cooked and crumbled.
May I bake this in a toss away aluminum pan instead of glass baking dish, will it alter anything? My condo clubhouse requests disposable items at our functions… ie: our Kentucky derby party, condo rules kinda suck 🙁
I’m so sorry that I missed seeing this comment until AFTER the Kentucky Derby! I truly hope you made it (in a disposable pan) and loved it!
I know you couldn’t call it Kentucky Hot Brown dip…but have you ever tried with shredded chicken instead of turkey?
Hi Morgan!
I haven’t tried the dip with shredded chicken, but I can’t think of a single reason that it would anything but delicious! I mean, chicken, bacon, and cheese go together like peanut butter and jelly! 🙂
What could I use instead of nutmeg? Thanks
Janis, if you like the flavor of nutmeg but don’t have any on hand, you can use pumpkin pie spice or mace. If you’re trying to avoid the flavor of nutmeg, you can use cinnamon or ginger in place of the nutmeg.
Love this, I need to make it for the holidays!
Would this work for the crock pot? If so, what the instructions be? And do you think it could also be made ahead and baked the day of? Thanks–it’s going to be perfect for my daughter’s derby party!
You can definitely make it ahead, but I have not tried it in the crock pot.
This may be a silly question but what exactly do you mean by chopped cooked turkey? Is this ground turkey or something different? Thanks!
I used leftovers from a turkey breast I has roasted, but you could probably use the precooked turkey breasts from the grocery store, or even get deli turkey cut thick so you can chop it into cubes.