How To Make A Two-Ingredient Dip Out Of Any Sauce Or Marinade

Whether at a riotous frat party, sophisticated gallery opening, or just you on your couch with a new season of your favorite show, the perfect snack for almost any affair involves dip. Served with any crunchy chip or eaten straight from the spoon, dips give intense flavor hits that elevate the moment.

There seem to be two schools of thought when it comes to making dip: Combine onion soup mix with sour cream (a perennial favorite), or lovingly make it from scratch, like this warm butternut squash dip or chicken and spinach dip. While there's absolutely nothing wrong with either route, what if you could have the ease of the former's preparation work with the variety and flavor punch of the latter?

Well, you can, and you only need two ingredients for it which you may already have in your pantry: a readymade sauce or marinade and a creamy component. Mix the two in a bowl, and voila! Your very own personalized dip.

What sort of readymade sauces or marinades are we talking about? Literally anything. Teriyaki, mojo, bulgogi, jerk, tikka masala, and any hot sauce will do. Or try powdered seasoning packets beyond onion soup mix, like taco, meatloaf, or ramen. How about the creamy component? Yogurt (any kind, even coconut), cream cheese, sour cream, or hummus and guacamole for something plant-based.

The combination possibilities are almost infinite. Barbecue sauce with Greek yogurt. Jarred chunky salsa with cream cheese. Peanut sauce with coconut cream. Stroll through the sauce aisle of your local supermarket and see what catches your eye. You could even make a matrix chart of preferred flavors and experiment with every permutation to find the perfect pairings.

The beauty of this two-ingredient method is that it allows multiple dips to be served at the party without putting in too much extra work. Just open some containers, mix to your ideal ratio, and serve.

You could rummage through your pantry if you don't have time to go to the grocery store. You're almost guaranteed to find a bottle or two of various sauces languishing at the back of your fridge, still perfectly edible (though sadly neglected). Turn them into dips and breathe new life into them.

To vary this method even further, you can experiment with the items being dipped. Different crunchy vegetables, crackers, or crisps. Have you ever tried dipping a puffed corn snack? You should. We all know that this part is just a vehicle to get dip into your mouth, anyway. Use a spoon if you want to; no one's judging.

Try a sweet variation if nothing savory sparks your interest. Honey and butter are fantastic with potato chips. Applesauce with yogurt served with graham crackers is a lo-fi nod to this slow cooker caramel apple dip. Take your imagination anywhere. The sky (or the bottom of the bowl) is the limit.