Bacon And Cheese Cob Loaf

🤍 Recipe Highlights

I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about this warm dip recipe in the points below:

• Simple ingredients: whilst these are not so much 'everyday ingredients', they are all simple and easy to find at your local grocery store. The cream cheese has the shortest shelf life, usually a block will have an expiry date that is within one month of the purchase. The green onions will also dry out and brown if not used within a few days. This is something to keep an eye on if you are trying to be super prepared in advance for an occasion.
• Back to basics: this is an easy dip to make. We combine the dip ingredients, dig a hole in the bread, fill the hole with the dip and oven bake it. The recipe is suitable to be cooked across all ranges of abilities from beginners to advanced.
• Bacon cob loaf: mmmmmm hmmm, you know 😂👌👍
• Comfort food: there is the bacon...and the sour cream...and the cream cheese...and the colby cheese....and did I mention that there is bacon in this bread bowl dip 👌😂.
• Taste and texture: bacon and green onions are a winning combination any day of the week. Add a cob loaf, some cheese and you have a home run.
• Freezer friendly: you can make this easy recipe and freeze as a whole for serving at a later date when you simply have to cook it in the oven. Or make and cook the day before, then simply reheat and let them eat the day of the gathering.

🥗 Ingredients

The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.

As you can see the recipe calls for:

• Olive oil: we use a little bit of olive oil around the top of the cut bread. This helps it crisp and toast nicely in the oven.
• Salt and pepper: we use salt and a little bit of black pepper to season the creamy dip filling.
• Dried chives: we add the dried chives to the dip filling. These add extra flavor and texture.
• Garlic powder: an excellent pantry staple that adds flavour without peeling and mincing garlic cloves.
• Onion powder: complimentary to the garlic powder above, these 2 go hand in hand.
• Bacon: we want to use diced bacon for the recipe. You can get this already diced from the supermarket, saving a little bit of time and effort in cutting the bacon yourself.
• Cheese: as much as we use cream cheese in the recipe we also want a savory cheese to pair with it. I recommend colby cheese or cheddar, freshly grated using a hand held or box grater.
• Green onions: spring onions or scallions. These add both taste and texture to the dip. We remove the roots and tips and then finely slice them. Then we fry them off when cooking the bacon to soften them.
• Sour cream: a great ingredient to use for homemade dips. It has a smooth, thick consistency and a little tang to it.
• Cream cheese: we need 1 regular block of this. You will find it easiest to combine if it is at room temperature. So grab it out and let it sit so that it can soften before you begin to mix it with the other ingredients.
• Cob loaf: you will be able to get this with or without sesame seeds. Available both from the supermarket and your local bakery.

Top Tip: I like to provide you with a number of substitutions and variations giving you an array of options when making my recipes. If in doubt of any of the above ingredients, or wanting alternatives, read this section (further below) before jumping into the instructions on how to make the recipe which are coming next 😉👌.

🍳 Instructions

Here are the step by step instructions to make the bacon cob loaf dip . We start by frying off the bacon and green onions.

• Cook the bacon and green onions (Photo 1)
• Add the cream cheese to a large bowl (Photo 2)
• Then add the sour cream (Photo 3)
• Add the colby cheese (Photo 4)

👩‍🍳 How to Make Bacon And Cheese Cob Loaf

We want to start the recipe by cooking the bacon and green onions. To do this place a large frying pan on the stove top, turn the heat to high and add the bacon and sliced green onions.

Fry these, using a wooden spoon to stir and combine as you go. They will take 3-4 minutes to cook. During which time the bacon will get a little crispy and the onions soften and wilt.

Next get started on the creamy cheese dip by adding the cream cheese to a large mixing bowl, followed by the sour cream and colby cheese.

Step by step instructions 5 to 8

• Add the dried chives (Photo 5)
• Add the onion powder (Photo 6)
• Then add the garlic powder (Photo 7)
• Add the salt and pepper (Photo 8)

Once the sour cream and cheeses are in the mixing bowl, start to season the dip by adding the dried chives, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. You can see me doing these steps in the photos above 😉👍.

• Cut the top off the cob loaf (Photo 9)
• Then make a hole and cuts around the top (Photo 10)
• Spread olive oil over the cut bread (Photo 11)
• Cut extra bread to serve the dip (Photo 12)

🧀 Cheese And Bacon Cob Loaf

Next cut the top off the cob loaf and make a hole by pulling the soft filling out like you see in the photo above.

Next make small cuts around the cut surface of the bread and then use a pastry brush to coat this surface in a little bit of olive oil.

Once done, cut the inside soft bread and additional bread so that you can use these pieces for dipping and dunking later on.

• Reserve some of the cooked bacon mixture (Photo 13)
• Stir to combine (Photo 14)
• Add bacon and green onions (Photo 15)
• Transfer combined dip into the bread (Photo 16)

Next scoop out some of the bacon mixture and set this aside. Then stir the sour cream, cream cheese and colby to combine.

Then add the cooked bacon mixture to the hollowed bread bowl as shown in the photo above.

• Oven bake (Photo 17)

🥓 Cheese And Bacon Cob Loaf Recipe

Next you want to place the dip filled cob loaf onto a silicon mat on a baking tray. Then place the additional bread pieces beside it.

Place the baking tray into the preheated oven and let the bread cook. After 10 minutes, use oven mitts to remove the tray and place it on a heat proof surface.

Then remove the toasted bread pieces from the tray.

Next return the cob loaf to the oven and let it cook for an additional 30 minutes.

• Sprinkle the reserved bacon mixture on top of the dip (Photo 18)

After the further 30 minutes of cooking time is up, use oven mitts to remove the baking tray and place it onto a heat proof surface.

Then transfer the cooked bacon cob loaf to a serving platter, place the toasted bread pieces around the base of the dip and then push the reserved bacon mixture over the golden brown surface of the dip.

Now that all of the hard work is done, your dip is ready to go 😉👍!

🍽 Serving Suggestions

The simplest, fastest and easiest way to serve this dip is to use a second cob loaf, torn into pieces and toasted. These pieces of toasted bread can then be dunked into the dip.

If you want to go to a little more effort you can prepare some celery sticks, peeled and cut carrot sticks, broccoli florets and cherry tomatoes. This combination is commonly paired with cob loafs. It is good as it offers a balance between the creamy cheesy dip and some 'healthy stuff'.

You won't want or need a side or salad to go with it. This ain't that kind of 👍 food more so it is Christmas party food, neighbourhood gathering food, friends dropping in food or a few people smashing this out together at the end of year office party as no one is counting calories in December.

👍 How to Guide

How to Store

Store leftovers (I doubt you will have any 😂👌) in a sealed airtight container in the fridge. They can be kept for 2 days.

How to Freeze

You can make the dip, put the top back on and freeze it in the original plastic bag that the bread came in if you wish too.

Then when needed remove it from the freezer and oven bake until it is heated through.

It is not recommended however, to freeze leftovers of the cooked dip.

How to Reheat

Place leftovers of the cob loaf dip into the oven and reheat for 5 to 10 minutes until warmed through.

😉 Substitutions and Variations

Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:

• If you want to make the cob loaf without sour cream, you can use the equivalent amount of Greek yogurt as a substitute.
• You can use fresh chives in place of the dried ones if you would like to.
• Streaky bacon or thin bacon is a bit too thin for this recipe so is not recommended. We want the texture of the chunks of bacon, which is why diced bacon is perfect.
• Cheddar, mozzarella cheese or tasty cheese can be used in place of the colby if you want to make this switch.
• If you want to add an extra vegetable, you can add some drained and rinsed corn kernels to the bacon and green onions as you fry them off in the pan.
• Or serve the dip with vegetable sticks in addition to the toasted bread pieces.

💡 Tasty Tips

Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:

• We don't want to cut into the base of the cob loaf as the dip would drip out this/these holes. So cut only into the soft fluffy bread instead 😉👌.
• After you have reserved some of the cooked bacon mixture, place this small bowl into the fridge. Otherwise it will sit on the bench for up to 30 minutes whilst the dip cooks.
• It is really important to make sure that the dip is warmed through from top to bottom before removing it from the oven. To test this, use a skewer in the centre of the dip and push it till you feel the base, then pull it out again. Then use a finger tip to feel the dip on the skewer. If it is warm, the dip is ready, if it is cold, leave the dip in the oven for a little bit longer.
• When you are transferring the cooked dip to a serving platter, have the 2 side by side (closely). Then use oven mitts on either side of the dip and pick it up and place it onto the serving plate. We don't want to lift it to high or throw it around as the dip is heavy in the base and we want it to stay in the loaf.

🤓 Frequently Asked Questions

Is cob loaf an Australian thing?

The actual round cob loaf bread came from the United Kingdom originally. However the cob loaf dip is a hugely popular Australian recipe involving dip being stuffed into a hollowed cob loaf and oven baked.
What is the best way to start a party?

Having a selection of drinks and appetizers ready to go when the guests arrive is the best way to start a party.

What can you mix sour cream with?

Sour cream can be mixed with cream cheese, cheddar cheese, dried herbs and spices or salt and pepper for a well seasoned and flavorsome dip.

😍 More Easy Appetizer Recipes

Whilst dips are delicious and easy to make it can be handy to have an array of recipes up your sleeve so that you can serve an assortment of party foods. Here are some more ideas to inspire you:

• Chicken Ribs
• Olive Platter
• Mini Croissant Sandwiches
• Cream Cheese Bacon Dip
• Mini Hot Dogs
• Cocktail Meatballs
• Cocktail Sausages
• Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks

It is time to get our bacon and cheese combo on my friend! You can also find all of my dips and spreads recipes or appetizers in the one spot.

Adrianne

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