Warm the hearts and fill the bellies of your family by serving a festive Christmas appetizer. When you pull this Skillet Dip Snowman out of the oven everyone will "ooh" and "ahh," before ripping off pieces of salty bread so they can scoop up the creamy chicken dip in the middle.
Making cute Christmas appetizers can really enhance your guest's experience, but I know many of you just don't have a lot of time to devote to creating complicated edible crafts.
Well, this recipe is for you.
The hot chicken dip surrounded by a ring of salty dinner rolls can be whipped up in about 15 minutes, popped into the oven while you get ready for your guests to arrive, and decorated in a snap before they do.
NOTE: This holiday appetizer recipe was originally written and published at Christmastime in 2015. I realize many of my readers will not be celebrating the holidays with party guests in 2020, but I wanted to update this Christmas themed appetizer recipe because it makes a wonderful snack or meal to share with your immediate family.
Be sure to check out all my fun Christmas Recipes!
To keep this recipe super simple, I used store-bought bread dough and a 5-ingredient chicken dip, then decorated it using a carrot and some black olives.
Being snowmen are white, I needed a dip that was white too.
Fortunately, my family's favorite dip worked perfectly. It's a hot chicken dip that's simply made by blending together shredded chicken breast, cream cheese, Miracle Whip, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce.
Arrange bread dough in skillet.
- You must use a 10-inch oven-safe non-stick skillet to make this dip. The handle of the skillet must be able to withstand high heat.
- To make the ring of salty bread, simply cut a tube of French Bread dough into 12 equal pieces.
- Roll the pieces into balls, pinching the seams together as needed then arrange them around the edge of the pan.
What else can I use?
- You can use a homemade pizza crust recipe instead if you prefer the flavor of homemade bread. Just roll the dough into balls and arrange them in the skillet. You can ever stuff some cheese inside the pizza crust if you like.
- You can also use store-bought tubes of pizza dough. It's basically the same thing as the French Bread in a tube.
- If you have frozen dinner roll dough you can use that as well.
Chicken Dip
- Spoon the chicken dip in the center of the skillet and spread out so it touches the bread dough.
- Bake it until the bread is baked through for about 32-38 minutes.
- The dip will be slightly browned when you remove it from the oven. I wanted my dip to look white, so I stirred it up so that the browned bits get mixed in.
Decorate the Christmas Dip
- To decorate the snowman you'll need two whole extra-large olives, one small tip of a carrot for the nose, and 7 small round pieces of olive for the snowman's smile. You can cut the olives using a round plunger cutter or simply slice off round pieces from the sides of the olives.
- Add the decorations to the top of the dip and serve while it's hot.
If you prefer you could make this fun Christmas appetizer using a skillet pizza dip. Just be sure to top it with lots of Mozzarella cheese.
VIDEO
Be sure to watch the video to see how easy it is to create this cute Christmas appetizer.
Printable Recipe
Creamy chicken dip surrounded by puffs of French bread decorated with olives and a carrot to look like a cute snowman. This Skillet Dip Snowman is the perfect appetizer for any Christmas party.
- SKILLET DIP SNOWMAN
- 1 tube Pillsbury French Bread dough or 11-14 ounces of your favorite bread dough
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- sea salt or kosher salt
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup Miracle Whip
- 12 ounces shredded chicken 1 large can
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 6 extra-large black olives
- 1 carrot
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Brush some butter on the inside of a 10-inch skillet.
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Cut bread dough into 12 slices.
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Roll each slice into balls.
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Arrange the balls around the edge of the skillet.
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Brush with melted butter and sprinkle on some salt.
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Combine the cream cheese, shredded chicken, Miracle Whip, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce in a large mixing bowl.
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Beat with an electric mixer until well blended.
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Spoon dip into the center of the skillet.
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Spread it into an even layer so that it touches the edge of the bread balls.
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Bake for 32-38 minutes until the bread is baked through and lightly brown.
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Meanwhile, cut 7 round slices from 4 of the black olives.
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Cut the carrot into a 3-4 inch pointed piece.
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Remove the skillet from the oven and brush more butter over the bread pieces.
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Decorate the dip with 2 whole black olive eyes, one carrot nose, and 7 black olive buttons in the smile.
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Serve and enjoy.
If you enjoy this dip you might like these other Christmas appetizer ideas...
Cheese Ball Reindeer
What Christmas party would be complete without a cheese ball? Make your's extra special by decorating it to look like Rudolph.
You can stuff these Christmas calzones with your family's favorite pizza toppings and lots of cheese.
Mozzarella Cheese Bite Snowmen
This Christmas snack is super easy to make using Mozzarella Cheese Bites and a black and orange food coloring marker. Your kids will love these cute and easy snowman appetizers.
You might also like to make some of these fun Christmas and New Year's Eve appetizers.
Mini Melting Snowman Cheese Balls • Spinach Artichoke Fritatta Trees
Green Pesto Crescent Roll Christmas Trees • Parmesan Artichoke Cheesecake Countdown Clock
Cheese Filled Fried Won Ton Clocks • Mediterranean Pinwheels
Be sure to let me know what your family thinks of this hot bubbly Skillet Snowman Dip in the comments below.
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Ostine Watts says
This Snowman Dip completed "melted" away! It was gone in mere minutes! Will definitely make it again!
Beth Klosterboer says
That is great to hear! I'm glad you liked the dip.
natalie zimmer says
I don’t have a skillet , can i use a glass pan , oven safe?
Beth says
Yes, make the chicken dip in a pie plate or round oven-safe dish all the time and it turns out great.
Carol C says
I'm taking this to my Bunco group! Could I cut the 12 dough balls in half to make 24 smaller balls?
Beth says
I think that should work out fine. Just be sure to keep an eye on the bread near the end of baking time. I'm not sure if it would need less time in the oven or not. I hope everyone at Bunco enjoys the dip.
Donna says
Can I do this in a crockpot?
Beth says
Hi Donna,
I have not yet made this in a crockpot but I have made it in a chafing dish, so I'm sure you can. I'd probably heat it on low. I'd guess it would take an hour or so to heat it up.
Rebecca says
I plan to make for a softball “dip party” with sliced red peppers arranged like stitches on softball instead of snowman face. Do you typically make extra rolls (available on the side) to finish up dip? Or are the rolls baked with the dip enough to use up the dip?
Beth Klosterboer says
What a fun idea!!!! I love it. I usually serve some crackers because some people prefer the dip on a cracker. The amount of excess dip will depend on how much each person eats with their rolls. Extra rolls is always a good thing! Have fun and enjoy the dip.
lori says
Hello! None of the stores in my area carry the Pillsbury French Bread, but I'd love to make this adorable and tasty-sounding dish for our Christmas potluck--have you ever just baked the dip? If so, what timing would you recommend? Thanks in advance...
Beth says
Yes Lori, I make this dip all the time without the bread around the edge. It's our family's favorite appetizer and we have it at almost every family function. You can spread it into a pie plate or an 8 inch round ceramic dish and bake it for about 20 minutes just until it's hot. You can even microwave it, but I personally love that the dip browns slightly in the oven. I think it tastes better when it's baked.
If you still want to use the skillet you can use pizza dough to create the balls (you can even stuff them with cheese) or use frozen dinner rolls (they are a bit larger than the balls I created using the Pillsbury dough). Here's a link to a pizza skillet dip that I made using pizza dough so you can see how it works - https://hungryhappenings.com/skillet-pizza-dip-countdown-clock-new-years-appetizer/
Enjoy and have a Merry Christmas.
lori says
Thank you so much for your speedy reply! Merry Christmas to you and yours...
lori says
I just thought I'd come back and report that the dip was a big hit! I ended up mounding the dip in the center of a 12" baking dish, got it started in the oven for 7 minutes, surrounded it with French bread warm-and-serve rolls to retain that nice crusty bite, and had everything bake together for another 15 minutes. The cute snowman face was added, and it all turned out perfectly. Thanks again for a great addition to my holiday recipe collection. <=)
Beth says
I am so happy to hear the snowman dip turned out so well and I'm glad your family enjoyed it. Adding the warm and serve roll around the outside was a great idea. I'll have to give that a try.
I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and that you have a happy new year too!
Ostine Watts says
I used Pillsbury Original Breadsticks.
Colleen Tanner says
Do you have to use miracle whip can you use mayonnaise instead
Beth says
If you use mayonnaise you might want to add 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard powder, and 3 teaspoons white vinegar to make the mayo taste more like Miracle Whip. Otherwise the chicken dip might taste a bit bland.
Vicky says
Would cast iron work???
Beth says
Absolutely!
Erin Hewett says
The description mentions Miracle Whip, but the recipe doesn't mention it. Is it supposed to have it?
Beth says
Oh, my. I'm so glad you asked the question. I can't believe I missed that.
Use 1 cup of Miracle Whip in the recipe. I added it to the ingredients and instructions.
Mimi says
You show miracle whip in the video,but not on the ingredients list. How much do you use?
Beth says
Oh, my. I’m so glad you asked the question. I can’t believe I missed that.
Use 1 cup of Miracle Whip in the recipe. I added it to the ingredients and instructions.
L. Morrow says
Could I use real shredded chicken instead of the canned chicken? This is a really cute idea!!
Beth says
Absolutely! If I have extra chicken in my fridge I like to use that instead of the can. It tastes great.
Tami says
Nice!! I just love how simple and yet how cute! Serving this little guy at our Christmas brunch!
Beth says
Oh, that is so great to hear. I hope everyone enjoys it! Merry Christmas.
Jo and Sue says
This is sooooo cute. Definitely adding this to our Christmas appie list 🙂
Beth says
I can't wait to see what you do with this recipe. I always love seeing your interpretation of my food crafts.
the patiologist says
My family would love if I made a savory dish this year. The snowman appetizer dip might just be what they're looking for - Sooooo cute!
Beth says
My family is always surprised when I bring something savory to a family function. Like you, I usually bring desserts.