Dirty Martini Dip takes everything you love about the classic cocktail and turns it into a creamy, irresistible appetizer. Made with cream cheese, briny olives, bold blue cheese and a splash of vodka, it delivers the perfect mix of tangy, salty and savory flavors. It's an easy party dip that feels a little fancy but is actually effortless to make.
History time. Martinis have been around since the late 1800s. Since then, countless variations have emerged from dirty martinis to dry martinis to flavored martinis. And, of course, James Bond made shaken, not stirred martinis famous. But, let's focus on dirty martinis. A dirty martini is simply a martini with olive brine added, which gives it that cloudy, 'dirty' look and a salty, savory flavor. And sometime in the late 20th century, olives stuffed with blue cheeses became a favorite garnish for the dirty martini, adding a bold and tangy flavor. All together, it's such a great combination of flavors, that it doesn't have to stop at martinis. Making a dirty martini into a dip is the modern, 21st century twist.
Ingredients
- Castelvetrano olives and olive brine
- Cream cheese
- Blue cheese
- Vodka (or gin and vermouth)
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
- Gluten free - this recipe is naturally gluten free, so no substitutions are needed.
- Vegan - for a vegan dip, use vegan blue cheese and vegan cream cheese or tofu. If you need instructions on whipping tofu, see my whipped tofu with garlic truffle bread recipe.
- Castelvetrano olives - Castelvetrano olives are traditionally used for dirty martinis, but you can substitute another olive in their place.
- Vodka - if you want to use gin or a combo of vodka or gin with vermouth, that will work too! Or you can skip the alcohol entirely if you want an alcohol-free dip.
- Cream cheese - cream cheese is mild, slightly tangy and a cheaper cheese so it works well for dip. However, you can substitute another soft cheese like ricotta or mascarpone for the cream cheese.
- Blue cheese - not everyone loves blue cheese, so you can leave it out. Or if you have Gorgonzola cheese in the fridge, that would work too. Or if you're looking for another cheese for a layer of flavor, goat cheese or feta would work well too.
Equipment
A food processor or blender is helpful to make this dirty martini dip.
Storage
Store any leftover dirty martini dip in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days.
Next Level Tips
- Serve with veggies, crackers or your favorite hearty chips. My current favorite chips are salt and pepper flavored kettle chips. They're sooooo good and perfect for this dip.
- This is a quick dip to make. I always have cream cheese on hand for cheesecakes, so this is a super easy dip to throw together at the last minute. But, ricotta is also easy to whip like in my white truffle garlic bread with whipped ricotta recipe if you have extra ricotta on hand.
- I love to garnish Dirty Martini Dip with a few cut olive pieces. If you're taking the dip to a get together, it gives people a great clue on what taste to expect. Not everyone likes olives.
- There's no salt in this recipe as olives and olive brine can be salty on their own. Also, you might be serving this dip with salted chips or crackers. However, if you are serving this dip with veggies, add a bit of salt (to taste) to the dip.
FAQ
No, just use the salty juice from the olive jar. If you have a special olive brine cocktail mixer, you can certainly use it. But, I would not buy special olive brine for this dip when you could just use the juice from the olive jar.
Related
Looking for other dip recipes? Try these:
Dirty Martini Dip
Equipment
- 1 food processor or blender
Ingredients
- 1 block cream cheese (8 ounce)
- 2 tablespoons blue cheese
- 1 tablespoon vodka or gin
- 1 tablespoon olive brine
- ½ cup Castelvetrano olives finely chopped
Instructions
- Add the cream cheese and blue cheese to a food processor and blend until creamy and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the sides as needed.
- Add the vodka and olive brine, then blend again until fully mixed.
- Transfer the whipped cheese mixture to a bowl and fold in the chopped olives.
- Garnish with some extra olives pieces and chill for a minimum of 30 minutes to let the flavors meld. Serve with chips, crackers or veggies.
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