The Border Table · Source Edition
South Texas Layered Dip
A generous layered party dip with beans, sour cream, picante, avocado and Cheddar.
The owner’s 2021 South Texas table version has olives and tomato on top.
Cook it
The owner’s 2021 South Texas table version has olives and tomato on top.
- Make the base. Spread the refried beans over the bottom of a wide casserole dish. Mix the sour cream with the package of taco seasoning, then spread that mixture over the beans.
- Layer the middle. Spread the picante sauce over the sour cream. Mash the avocados with the lemon or lime juice and spread them over the picante.
- Finish and chill. Chop the tomatoes and green onions, grate the Cheddar and drain and slice the ripe olives. Layer them over the avocado in that order. Cover, chill and serve with tortilla chips.
Serve it
Set out tortilla chips and keep the dip chilled before and after serving. For a mixed group, offer extra hot salsa on the side rather than changing the picante amount in the recorded layers.
Understand it
What makes this version work
Use a broad dish rather than a deep bowl so one chip can reach several layers at once. Keep each spread level and gentle; pushing too hard mixes the colors. The avocado layer sits above the red picante, while tomato, onion, cheese and olives remain visible on top. The archived card does not state a minimum chill duration, so chill until ready to serve rather than inventing a precise wait.
Know it
The recorded recipe and its place at the table
The owner’s 2021 archive labels this South Texas Layered Dip. That title records the owner’s association, not a documented origin for all layered dips. It differs from the simpler Layered Avocado Dip elsewhere on the site: here refried beans form the base, taco-seasoned sour cream supplies another layer, and tomatoes and olives finish the top. The exact eleven-item combination is the source record, not a claim that every border household makes it alike.
Sources and method
About this version
The ingredient proportions and core method come from the owner’s 2021 Authentic Tex-Mex Recipes card. The Border Table has clarified the instructions for readers without claiming an undocumented inventor or origin for the exact formula. The external source gives broader culinary context; it does not authenticate the owner’s private recipe.
- Texas State Historical Association, Tex-Mex Foods.
- FoodSafety.gov, Four Steps to Food Safety — refrigeration and safe handling guidance where relevant.
See our corrections policy to suggest an update.
