One of my favorite things to bring to a pitch-in is seven layer dip. I tried to find a photo of the finished product to share with you, but once it is completely assembled and set out for the masses, it simply disappears. This photo is the make-ahead part with the first five ingredients, all that is left is to add shredded lettuce and then top with shredded cheese. There is really no wrong way to do it and if you Google to find a recipe you will find many different variations of the recipes to choose from. There is really no wrong way to do it, and it doesn’t have to have exactly seven layers, but it works out nicely that way. The layers shown below break one of my own personal rules, and that is not to put two like-colored layers right next to each other. In the photo, the five layers are re-fried beans (vegan), green onions, guacamole (or maybe just avocado), sour cream (usually low-fat or fat-free) and salsa.

A few of the variations we found called for seasoning the re-fried beans with taco seasoning mix, or using black olives as one of the layers. I also saw where one recipe said in order to make it gluten-free, you should shred the cheese fresh as pre-shredded packaged cheeses often include gluten to keep the cheese from clumping. I figure you can be creative. I usually make enough to fill two of these large rectangle containers. I like these because they are deep enough to give a little definition to the various layers.

This recipe is good as a tortilla chip dip or as filling for a wrap or on top of baked potatoes. It is really a balanced meal in itself. Do you make a version of this? How is yours different?