Reuben Dip
This Reuben Dip transforms the hearty, savory flavors of the classic Reuben sandwich into the ultimate warm and shareable appetizer – Perfect for St Patrick’s Day! It’s incredibly easy to make, combining corned beef, Swiss cheese, and sauerkraut into a creamy, bubbly bake that’s irresistible on toast or sturdy crackers.
If you love a classic Reuben Sandwich, you’re going to adore this dip. It’s a fun, shareable twist that I love to make with deli corned beef. After all, there’s no need to cook a whole roast from scratch! That said, this dip is also fantastic to whip up as a way to use up any leftover corned beef you have from any previous dinners.
Whether you’re feeding a hungry St. Patrick’s Day crowd or simply craving a savory snack, serve this dip hot from the oven with toasted rye bread for the perfect pairing.
What is Reuben dip?
This Reuben Dip captures the popular flavors of the classic sandwich – corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian (or Thousand Island) dressing, transformed into a warm, shareable appetizer.
Simply mix the ingredients, transfer to a baking dish, and bake until hot and bubbly. Serve it with toasted rye bread (for authenticity) or with sturdy chips, crackers, and pretzels.
Given its ingredients are staples in Irish-American cuisine, this creamy, cheesy dip is the perfect crowd-pleasing choice for your St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
Why you’ll love Reuben dip
- Simply combine all the ingredients and let your oven do the work – effortless, no-fuss, and no mess!
- This is the perfect shareable snack for St. Patrick’s Day, but its appeal is so universal, you’ll want to make it all year round.
- Use leftover or deli corned beef for an easy shortcut, letting you spend less time cooking and more time celebrating.
- Incredibly creamy, cheesy, and packed with the hearty, savory flavor of corned beef, it’s utterly irresistible.
Ingredients needed to make Reuben dip
- Corned beef: Sliced and diced. I like to buy deli corned beef for the convenience of making this dip, but you can also use leftover home cooked corned beef.
- Swiss cheese: For the best flavor and melt, grate from a block of the cheese yourself.
- Sauerkraut: Drained with ALL liquid pressed out to prevent a soggy dip.
- Mayonnaise: Boosts richness and helps bind the dip.
- Cream cheese: Adds tangy creaminess to this dip. Make sure it is very soft for easy mixing and no lumps.
- Dill pickles: Finely chopped, adding that tangy element that’s essential to a Reuben-inspired dish.
- Thousand Island dressing: Use store-bought or homemade Thousand Island dressing.
- Freshly ground black pepper: Adds subtle warmth.
- Green onion: For a mild oniony bite.
- For serving: Enjoy this Reuben dip with rye bread, pumpernickel, or sourdough. For crackers, we used King’s Hawaiian Soft Pretzel Bites (so good), plus Trader Joe’s Pita Bike Crackers. We also added to the “board” Milton’s Gluten Free Crispy Sea Salt Crackers.
How do you make Reuben dip?
Combine the dip ingredients:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and spray a 10-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together the chopped corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, mayonnaise, very soft cream cheese, finely chopped dill pickles, Thousand Island dressing, and black pepper.
Bake:
- Transfer the dip to the prepared dish and spread into an even layer.
- Bake for 28 – 30 minutes, or until the dip is hot and bubbly.
Rest and garnish:
- Remove the dip from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle it with black cracked pepper and sliced green onions.
- Serve the hot dip with a selection of rye crackers, bagel chips, big pretzel crackers, or toasted bread (rye, pumpernickel or sour dough bread).
Serving
This Reuben dip is best served hot with a choice of rye crackers, bagel chips, big pretzel crackers, or toasted bread (rye, pumpernickel or sour dough bread). These sturdy options make scooping up the hot dip easy.
We used King’s Hawaiian Soft Pretzel Bites (so good), plus Trader Joe’s Pita Bike Crackers. We also added to the “board” Milton’s Gluten Free Crispy Sea Salt Crackers (for the GF folks!)
Any leftover Reuben dip would be equally delicious when combined with pasta to make a pasta bake or loaded into corned beef sliders.
If you’re serving this Reuben dip for your St Patrick’s Day celebrations, consider enjoying it alongside other Irish-inspired snacks and appetizers, such as this St. Patrick’s Day Charcuterie Board, Irish Slaw Dip, or Potato Cheese Bread.
Sandy’s tips and substitutions:
- Storage: Store leftover Reuben dip in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. I don’t recommend freezing this dip as the creamy texture is likely to change. Always place the dip back into the fridge when not using it for an extended time due to its creamy base.
- Make ahead: You can add all of the ingredients to the baking dish the day before, covered and stored in the fridge. Add an extra 15 minutes of cooking time when ready to bake the dip as everything will be cold.
- Rest the dip: Let the freshly baked dip rest for 5 minutes to allow it to settle and thicken for the ideal texture and consistency.
- Serve hot: Even after resting, this dip should still be served hot. Don’t bake it too far ahead of serving to your family or guests.
- Soften cream cheese: The cream cheese needs to be very soft to avoid lumps in your dip. If you’re in a rush and have forgotten to leave the cream cheese out to soften, remove it from its foil packaging and microwave for 15 seconds if needed.
Variations:
- Lighter version: Substitute Greek yogurt for mayo as a lighter version.
- Cheesy topping: Sprinkle a little extra shredded cheese on top during the last 10 minutes of cooking. This creates a beautifully melted, slightly textured cheesy top layer.
- Mix-ins: Caramelized onions or crispy chopped bacon can be folded into this dip for delicious texture and depth of sweet and savory flavor.
- Gluten-free: The dip itself is gluten-free. That said, you should make sure that any of the dippers you decide to serve with your Reuben dip are gluten-free.
If you love effortless dips and want more inspiration for your St Patrick’s appetizers, check out this Guinness Cheese Dip for Pretzels, Irish Pub Cream Cheese, and Irish Slaw Dip.
Ways to use leftover corned beef you may want to try:
Get the Recipe:
Reuben Dip
Ingredients
- 1 pound thinly sliced corned beef, diced (we buy deli corned beef)
- 8 ounces shredded Swiss cheese
- 1 can, 14 ounces sauerkraut, drained and ALL liquid pressed out
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 4 Tbsp cream cheese, very soft
- 2 Tbsp finely chopped dill pickles
- ½ cup Thousand Island dressing
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/8 cup sliced green onion
Serving:
- King’s Hawaiian Soft Pretzel Bites
- Trader Joe’s Pita Bike Crackers.
- Milton’s Gluten Free Crispy Sea Salt Crackers, gluten-free
Equipment
- Baking dish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and spray a 10-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together the chopped corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, mayonnaise, very soft cream cheese, finely chopped dill pickles, Thousand Island dressing, and black pepper.
- Transfer the dip to the prepared dish and spread into an even layer.
- Bake for 28 – 30 minutes, or until the dip is hot and bubbly.
- Remove the dip from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle it with black cracked pepper and sliced green onions.
- Serve the hot dip with a selection of rye crackers, bagel chips, big pretzel crackers, or toasted bread (rye, pumpernickel or sour dough bread). For crackers, use King’s Hawaiian Soft Pretzel Bites (so good), plus Trader Joe’s Pita Bike Crackers. Also Milton’s Gluten Free Crispy Sea Salt Crackers (gluten-free).
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
