When it comes to planning a Super Bowl watch party, you’ve got enough on your plate. There’s figuring out the menu, setting up your Super Bowl Squares gamecards, whipping up your famous hot honey chicken wings—you don’t need to craft half a dozen dips from scratch. (And, let’s be honest: The dips are arguably the best part of the spread.) We tested 36 different sauces, spreads and quesos to determine the best store-bought dips out there, no matter your spice tolerance, dietary needs or penchant for cream cheese.
The 13 Best Store-Bought Dips to Stock Up on Ahead of the Super Bowl, Tested & Reviewed
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Published Feb 3, 2023
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The Best Store-Bought Dips at a Glance
- Most Unexpectedly Awesome Dip: Bitchin’ Sauce
- Best French Onion Dip: Heluva Good French Onion Dip
- Best Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip: TGI Fridays Spinach & Artichoke Cheese Dip
- Best Cold Spinach Artichoke Dip: Publix Deli Dip, Artichoke & Spinach
- Best Buffalo Chicken Dip: Good & Gather Buffalo-Style Chicken Dip
- Best Ranch Dip: Heluva Good Buttermilk Ranch Dip
- Best Vegan Ranch Dip: Primal Kitchen Buffalo Ranch Dip
- Best Guacamole: Good & Gather Homestyle Guacamole
- Best Queso: Moe’s Queso Dip
- Best Vegan Queso: Chao Creamery Plant-Based Queso
- Best Mild Salsa: Good & Gather Sweet Onion Salsa
- Best Salsa Verde: Good Foods Avocado Salsa
- Best Dip for Crudité: Tabitha Brown Vegan Spicy Jalapeño Cilantro Garlic Spread
How We Determined Our Picks
At least two people taste-tested each category of dip, rating it in four key areas: value, quality, flavor and texture. Then, we added a wildcard: crave-ability. How likely were you to go back for seconds? Thirds? To eschew all other apps and turn this into a meal, no matter how much you may regret it later?
Each dip was tested on its own, and with a lightly salted potato chip, a corn tortilla chip and crudité (carrots, sugar snap peas, etc.).
What Are the Best Snacks to Serve with It?
Tia Lupita’s Grain-Free Cactus Tortilla Chips are hearty enough to withstand most dips without crumbling, cucumbers and sugar snap peas can be a refreshing break from all the salt, and pigs in a blanket have been the most unexpected crowd-pleaser we’ve seen.
The Best Store-Bought Dips of 2023
- Value: 18/20
- Quality: 20/20
- Flavor: 19/20
- Texture: 19/20
- Crave-ability: 20/20
TOTAL: 96/100
This is the dip no one will see coming, but they won’t be able to stop talking about all night long (and may ask you to bring it to every get-together). It’s low-carb, keto-friendly (at 2 net carbs per serving, according to the brand), vegan and gluten-free, but don’t think for a second that = bland. Ground almonds give it texture and a slight nuttiness, which is rounded out by the tang of lemon juice, the salt of soy sauce, a “cheesiness” of nutritional yeast and a little jolt of garlic. It makes for an umami-rich dip that’s a little cheesy—yet never overpowering—and pretty much goes with everything.
- Value: 20/20
- Quality: 17/20
- Flavor: 19/20
- Texture: 20/20
- Crave-ability: 19/20
TOTAL: 95/100
With a name like ‘Heluva Good,’ the brand’s got a lot to live up to, and thankfully, it delivers. Onion flavor hits you right away, yet it’s immediately mellowed by the sour cream-like base, which is rich and fluffy. We tried about half a dozen riffs on French Onion, and this tasted like a fresher take on the classic you made with Lipton Soup Mix.
- Value: 19/20
- Quality: 18/20
- Flavor: 19/20
- Texture: 18/20
- Crave-ability: 20/20
TOTAL: 94/100
The dip that was practically its own food group in college deserves a spot in your fridge to this day. It’s cheesy, it’s gooey, it’s tangy and salty—and it has just enough greens to make you trick yourself into thinking you’re getting some kind of nutrition as you inhale it by the tablespoon atop pita crisps.
- Value: 17/20
- Quality: 18/20
- Flavor: 19/20
- Texture: 16/20
- Crave-ability: 17/20
TOTAL: 87/100
We get it: Some people like hot spinach artichoke dip, some people prefer cold. If you’re in the latter camp, race to your nearest Publix (apologies in advance if that requires a cross-country road trip, but…worth it for this and the Pub Subs). Found in the deli section, this dip gets its saltiness from asiago cheese, and it’s so loaded with spinach and artichoke hearts you’ll practically think you’re eating a chopped salad. One that’s heavy on a cream-based dressing, but still. STILL.
- Value: 18/20
- Quality: 19/20
- Flavor: 19/20
- Texture: 18/20
- Crave-ability: 19/20
TOTAL: 93/100
You don’t need another excuse to go to Target, but…we’re giving you one anyway. This riff on the slow cooker classic has just the right level of cheese and spice, and it’s chock full of shredded, white meat chicken. Some store-bought Buffalo chicken dips can taste mostly like spicy sour cream, but this could be a stand-in for homemade. Just note that it’s studded with blue cheese crumbles, which may be polarizing. (If so, consider Publix’s Buffalo-Style Deli Chicken Dip.)
- Value: 20/20
- Quality: 17/20
- Flavor: 18/20
- Texture: 19/20
- Crave-ability: 16/20
TOTAL: 90/100
What goes with pretty much everything at a party? Ranch. Heluva Good’s dip is ultra-thick, creating a great coating for carrots, celery and the like, but we especially love dunking hot wings into it—it instantly cools things down, complementing the flavor without overtaking it. Heluva Good’s blend had a mellow ranch flavor, but it was the smooth, not gloppy, texture that really won tasters over. (Psst: If you prefer ranch with a little kick—or something that’s easier for drizzling—check out our saucy runner-up, below.)
- Value: 17/20
- Quality: 18/20
- Flavor: 18/20
- Texture: 16/20
- Crave-ability: 17/20
TOTAL: 86/100
OK, so you invited over a friend who’s on Whole30, another who’s gone keto, another who can’t have sugar and another who’s lactose intolerant? This is the dip to serve. Primal Kitchen’s Buffalo Ranch Dip has the buttery, mild spice of Buffalo sauce, tempered by a strong ranch flavor on the backend—and yet it’s totally dairy-free (not to mention checks the other aforementioned dietary needs boxes). It has a more sauce-like consistency, but you could easily use leftovers to drizzle on a salad the next day.
- Value: 18/20
- Quality: 19/20
- Flavor: 18/20
- Texture: 19/20
- Crave-ability: 19/20
TOTAL: 93/100
We’ve all gotten store-bought guac that was really more of a green spread—uniform, a little gelatinous, occasionally containing a red fleck that might pass for a pepper. It’s enough to make you swear off the premade stuff…until you try Good & Gather’s line. The Homestyle Guacamole lives up to its name, with chunks of avocado, tomato and onion throughout. It tastes fresh (and backs that up by browning quickly), and if you spritz a little lime on top and serve it in your own bowl, no one will know you didn’t make it yourself (with the help of a really good recipe, of course).
- Value: 18/20
- Quality: 20/20
- Flavor: 20/20
- Texture: 20/20
- Crave-ability: 20/20
TOTAL: 98/100
After sampling *so* much salty queso, we’re going to tell you to skip the grocery store and head to Moe’s. The Southwest chain sells bowls of queso—including full Nachos kits that come with two bowls of cheese sauce—you can order up to five days in advance, and they’re worth the extra shopping trip. The thick, gooey, cheesy-but-not-too-salty delight is made with three kinds of cheeses and seasoned with diced jalapeños, just to keep things from tasting one-note. You’ll want to drink it. We did.
- Value: 17/20
- Quality: 18/20
- Flavor:18/20
- Texture: 17/20
- Crave-ability: 17/20
TOTAL: 87/100
Fact: Plant-based queso can look a little gelatinous straight out of the tub but microwave it in 30-second intervals and—at least in Chao Creamery’s case—it soon turns into silky, liquid gold. It’s hard to believe this queso is dairy-free, but that’s because it gets its smoothness from fermented tofu instead of nuts. Bell peppers and paprika give it a little somethin’ extra, making the flavor a bit more complex than straight cheese.
- Value: 19/20
- Quality: 19/20
- Flavor: 19/20
- Texture: 18/20
- Crave-ability: 17/20
TOTAL: 92/100
Jarred, unrefrigerated salsa made in New York City?! You can do better than that. Found in the produce section at Target, this Sweet Onion Salsa is exactly that—tangy, with a lingering sweetness instead of heat that’s refreshing. It’s a more uniformly pureed salsa, and it’s free of the eight major food allergens, making it a pretty solid crowd-pleaser.
- Value: 18/20
- Quality: 19/20
- Flavor: 20/20
- Texture: 18/20
- Crave-ability: 19/20
TOTAL: 94/100
Across the board, salsa verde tends to be pretty good. We just didn’t realize how quickly it’d disappear once you add avocado to the mix. This salsa makes for another great gluten-free, vegan option for your table, with a mild-to-medium spice level (the avocados tone down the kick of the tomatillos).
- Value: 18/20
- Quality: 17/20
- Flavor: 18/20
- Texture: 16/20
- Crave-ability: 17/20
TOTAL: 86/100
This spread is so many things—there’s the spice of the jalapeños, the robust garlicky flavor, the coolness of the cilantro—and it all works together well. As a dip, it’s on the runnier side (more like the consistency of a creamy salad dressing), but it’s a great way to enhance just about any veggies you have on hand. It might even convince the cilantro-averse to give the herb another shot.
