Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Dip -- The Recipe That Has Everyone Saying "You Should Sell This"

Memorial Day. The third Memorial Day of this... era. Year one: cookout with Terrence, Mama's potato salad, the grill. Year two: George Foreman in the apartment, pandemic, alone. Year three: IN PERSON. Outside. With people. The apartment complex grill was cleaned (by me, not by Terrence — the grill cleaner has changed but the grill remains), burgers were grilled (by me, with confidence that has grown from observation into competence), and the potato salad was Mama's (because some things are non-negotiable and Lorraine Mitchell's potato salad is the constitution of this family).

Oliver and Danielle came. Wanda came. Brian from work came with his wife. The grill was uneven (still — the grill has been uneven since 2019 and I've stopped trying to fix it and started working with it, which is a metaphor for my entire life). Jayden ran circles. Chloe read in a lawn chair. Elijah toddled between legs, stealing food off plates with the stealth of a tiny professional thief. Mama sat in a chair and directed operations: "Sarah, the burgers are burning." They weren't burning. They were caramelizing. But Lorraine Mitchell does not recognize the difference between burning and caramelizing, and arguing the point is futile.

Terrence called. He couldn't come for Memorial Day — work, a big project at Horizon, a gospel album release that required his presence in the studio. He sounded tired. The good tired. The I'm-building-something tired. He asked about Elijah: "Is he talking more?" He is. He says: mama, no, da, mo (more), mine, go, and — this week — "uh-oh," which he says after deliberately throwing food off the high chair tray. The throwing is intentional. The "uh-oh" is performative. He throws food and says "uh-oh" as if the gravity surprised him, which it did not, and we all know it did not, but the performance is committed and I can't help but laugh. The boy is a comedian. The boy has timing.

Summer. The first real summer of three kids. The summer of: Chloe reading in every room, Jayden running in every hallway, Elijah toddling into every object. The apartment is a obstacle course of books, fire trucks, and a walking baby who thinks everything is edible and everything is his. The summer energy is chaotic, beautiful, and exactly what I asked for when I prayed in the bathroom at Harmony Dental over a positive pregnancy test. I asked for this. I got this. This, with all its chaos and volume and Cheerios on the floor, is the answer to the prayer.

I made pulled pork — slow cooker, Dr Pepper, the Memorial Day tradition. The pulled pork that Terrence ate at the first Memorial Day, that Brian's wife tasted and said "you should do this for a living." She said it again this year. "Sarah, SERIOUSLY, you should sell this." I smiled. I said: "Maybe someday." Maybe someday. The word is getting closer. The maybe is getting smaller. The someday is getting sooner. The idea composting for years is almost soil.

The slow cooker was already going with the pulled pork when I threw this together, because that’s the kind of Memorial Day energy we had—multiple things running at once, kids circling the table, Mama issuing instructions from her chair. The Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Dip went out as an appetizer while we waited on the main event, and it was the first thing to disappear. Brian’s wife, the same one who told me to sell the pulled pork, pointed at the empty bowl and said, “That too.” So here it is—the other thing people kept asking about, the one I almost forgot to mention because the afternoon was so full.

Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Dip

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 2 hours | Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef (80/20)
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened and cubed
• 1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Tortilla chips, crackers, or slider rolls for serving

Instructions

1. Brown the beef. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef until no longer pink, about 7—8 minutes, breaking it up as it cooks. Drain excess fat and season lightly with salt and pepper.
2. Build the dip. Transfer drained beef to a 3- to 4-quart slow cooker. Add cream cheese, drained diced tomatoes, 1 cup of the shredded cheddar, sour cream, mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika. Stir to combine as best you can — it will come together as it heats.
3. Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or on HIGH for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring once or twice during cooking until the cream cheese is fully melted and the dip is smooth and cohesive.
4. Finish and hold. Stir well, then top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar. Replace the lid for 5 minutes to let the cheese melt. Switch the slow cooker to WARM for serving—it will hold beautifully for up to 2 hours.
5. Serve. Serve directly from the slow cooker with tortilla chips, sturdy crackers, or toasted slider rolls alongside.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 17g | Fat: 24g | Carbs: 5g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 430mg