Chips, chicken nuggets, crackers, fries—these salty and savory comfort foods need a little help from something sweet, creamy, zesty, or spicy to deliver a big burst of flavor.
That’s a job for dips. A dip can go a long way in creating menu appeal, elevating familiar fare, and bringing people together at the table. Dips also provide opportunities to try out new, interesting ingredients, often with minimal risk and minimal labor. There are no limits to developing dips that are a slam dunk, but we’ll just stick to five tasty trends.
1. Adventurous Add-Ins
Consumers are craving adventure on a plate, but adventurous flavors can add time and labor to the back of the house. Mixing one unexpected ingredient into a traditional sauce is not only a labor-saving solution to putting bolder flavors on the menu, but also offers major appeal to diners. 51 percent of U.S. consumers are interested in trying conventional dips with new flavors.
Mayonnaise, ranch, and mustard are versatile bases for exciting dips. Spicy mayo is one of the fastest-growing dips. Injecting heat into mayonnaise through wasabi, Thai curry paste, or sambal can give this cool condiment an appetizing kick.
2. Nugget Nostalgia
Nostalgia has been a determining factor in what consumers watch, read, listen to, and play. Cravings from yesteryears have influenced how consumers eat as well. Yelp predicted that fast food nostalgia would be a driving force in 2023 food trends.
Nothing brings back childhood like dunking chicken nuggets into a condiment packet. But while the desire for breaded chicken never wanes, consumers’ tastes evolve with age. Going beyond ketchup packets to chili sauce, hot honey, or honey mustard can make chicken nuggets more grown up.
3. A Dip in the Mediterranean
Hummus is one of the oldest foods known to man. Its resilience can be credited to its unique quality of being tasty while still being healthy, vegan, and gluten-free. Just about anyone can indulge in this savory, creamy, versatile Mediterranean staple.
But there’s more ways to dip into the flavors of the Mediterranean and the Levant. Well-known as a gyro ingredient, tzatziki also makes for a zesty dip. Labneh, a strained yogurt from the Middle East topped with herbs and olive oil, serves as a rich, beautiful centerpiece on charcuterie and appetizer platters. Htipiti, a feta dip with peppers, is the perfect mix of creamy and spicy. Chefs can have fun experimenting with spices and bases to make these dips their own.
4. Sweet & Spicy
According to Tastewise, sweet flavors dominate in sauces and dressings, but consumer interest in spicy flavors has seen a 20 percent surge. Dips can bring together the best of both worlds into a sweet and spicy—or “swicy”—concoction.
Swicy dipping sauces have been perfected across the globe, from Thai sweet chili sauce to Mexican mole to South Korean gochujang. Pepper-infused fruit jams pair well with a variety of charcuterie-worthy cheeses, and chili-spiked chocolate sauce serves as an unexpected accompaniment to churros.
5. Loaded Cheese Dip
Fries with cheese or fries with cheese, bacon, onions, sour cream, etc.? When it comes to comfort food, more is more. Taking cheese dip to the next level by loading up on other ingredients is the key to a craveable shareable.
Think skillets of queso fundido with mouth-watering chorizo. Or beer cheese with onions, sausage, and bacon. Or pimento with different pepper varieties, harissa, and—once again—bacon.
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Dips not only give permission to consumers to play with their food but also give chefs the freedom to play with flavors and presentation. Take a dip in our website to explore products for your dip creations.
Dips you don’t want to skip—explore now on our website.