A couple times a year my family makes dinner comprised entirely of appetizers.
Like breakfast for dinner, these appetizers-turned-main-courses are some of our favorite meals. Christmas Eve is always a meal of little bites that everyone looks forward to, and just for the fun of it, a couple weeks ago at my parents’ house we decided to do the same thing.
Everyone’s favorites were in abundance (like a cheese and cracker tray, spinach-artichoke dip, crudités, and homemade chicken wings), but this bean dip was the complete star of the show.
And I had no problem making it the star of my meal.
Pacific Foods was kind enough to recently send me a sampling of their baked and refried beans (thank-you, Pacific!). The vegetarian organic refried pinto beans in particular were fantastic, especially in this dip…I also think refried black beans would be delish.
What is your favorite appetizer to make into a full meal?
- 1 (13.6 oz/385 g) container Pacific Foods Vegetarian Organic Refried Pinto Beans
- 4 oz (115 g) cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup (115 g) plain, low-fat yogurt
- ½ medium onion, finely diced
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 6 oz (170 g) sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded (or use a full 8 oz/225 g if you want!)
- 1 cup (150 g) cherry tomatoes, chopped
- ½ cup (60 g) pitted black olives, sliced
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves, for garnish (optional)
- Tortilla chips, for serving
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Stir the refried beans and spread them in the bottom of a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.
- Stir together the cream cheese, yogurt, onion, cumin, chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and ⅔ of the shredded cheese (reserving ⅓ of the shredded cheese for topping). Spread the cheese mixture on top of the refried beans.
- Spread the tomatoes on top of the cheese mixture, and then sprinkle the olives on top. Top with the reserved ⅓ of the shredded cheese.
- Bake until bubbling in the center, about 20 minutes. If you want it more browned on top, run it under the broiler for a couple minutes (stay with it, because it will brown quickly under the broiler!).
- Sprinkle the parsley on top; serve warm with tortilla chips for dipping.
Disclaimer: I received samples of baked and refried beans for free from Pacific Foods. I was under no obligation to review this product, and as always, opinions stated are my own.
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
i would park myself in front of this and not get up until i was absolutely miserable and disgusted with myself. :)
I love the idea of a dinner comprised entirely of appetizers. You can get lots of delicious little nibbles on your plate without having to commit to a whole meal. And vegetarian refried beans? Definitely on my tastebuds’ favourites list :)
I would definitely eat this for a meal! Dips are my favorite thing ever and many times I’ve traded in entire meals so I could eat a huge portion – lol! Esp guacamole and Mexican corn dip. Yummo. There’s also this fresh veggie pizza appetizer that you use crescent roll dough as the crust, bake it, smear dill dip on top, then top with fresh broccoli, green onion, olive, cheddar cheese, tomato, etc. So good! I eat that as a meal too.
G’day Faith!
Your photo and recipe makes me want to dive right in, true!
What a GREAT recipe for entertaining too!
Cheers! Joanne
I could see myself eating this entire pan of dip within a one night span…
Yes please, I could easily turn this dip into dinner!
i love appetizer spread on dinner parties- you eat all night long :P these bean dip would be totoally awesome to have
Bean dips are addictive and this one looks awesome. Seems perfect for the cool, somewhat rainy day we are having here today!
Appetizers for dinner is THE BEST. So so good. And bean dip is always a hit- totally comforting. YUM!
I don’t throw enough parties to make all the appetizers I want to try so I’m always turning them into main meal for dinner! This bean dip looks absurdly fabulous. There’s no way I’d be able to stop at an appetizer sized portion!
This bean dip is my jam! Love all the good stuff in there!
Terrific! This dip looks really appetizing.
Cheers,
Rosa
I love anything that I can dip chips into, and this looks so amazing! Love the yogurt layer too–who needs sour cream anymore?
Perfect for a weekend Happy Hour.
Appetizers are always my favorite part of a meal, so I would be all over that little feast of yours! This bean dip looks super good.