A few things stand out year after year on the Christmas table. This classic cream cheese holiday dip with olives and pepperoni is one of them. Everyone loves this dip’s smooth, creamy deliciousness infused with briny olive juice and savory pepperoni flavor. Mix up a batch for your family and enjoy for the week of Christmas!
The best part of this dip is that it is relatively inexpensive and goes a long way. It uses a whole brick of cream cheese and can be altered with other add-ins for increased flavor.
Spread on crackers or dip your favorite raw veggies into this quintessential holiday dip.
I love the holidays, but working solo in the kitchen can wear a momma out! I have to thank my mother for coming up with this dip. Year after year, we’ve enjoyed this dip. It’s perfect for your tree trimming party, Christmas or Boxing Day snack buffet, or as a valuable addition to your New Year’s Eve party fare.
I generally buy a few boxes of crackers to go with this delicious dip, but we’ve also been known to dip a carrot or two into the festive-flavored dip.

What You Will Love About This Dip
It is so quick. In minutes, you can make this creamy dip up and move on to bigger, more challenging cooking tasks.
It’s not overly expensive. This dip can be a cost-effective holiday table addition with just four ingredients. I look for what’s on sale during the holiday season, and cream cheese and pepperoni are generally on sale this time of year.
It’s versatile. If you don’t like pepperoni, you can use pepperettes or add onions instead.
The dip lasts for days! Cover and refrigerate for up to five days!
How do we make this legendary cream cheese holiday dip?
The first thing you need to do for yourself is get that cream cheese to room temperature or soften it slightly in the microwave. Two minutes in the microwave will work set to the regular temperature setting. Working with cold cream cheese bricks can get messy when the mixer comes into play. Believe me; I have covered a few walls in that goopy white cheese over the years.
Next up is the bowl. A mid-size mixing bowl will do. Now, you can blend this dip by hand; it will be more work that way. Or you can get out the mixer.
Although I haven’t personally tried it, you likely can even get away with tossing the cheese into the blender with the mayo. That’s what we are adding next.


This recipe calls for one whole cup of Miracle Whip mayonnaise. If you want the dip to be more spreadable and less soft, reduce the amount of mayo you add to the recipe to half a cup.
Blend the cream cheese and the mayo with whatever method suits you. Be sure to whip it up so no lumps of cream cheese remain. This is why if you do it by hand, using a fork will work best to break up cheese lumps as the mixture passes through the tines.
When you have that mixed, you can add the olives and the pepperoni. I used to use whole olives because the red pimento looked festive, and I miss it occasionally. But I switched to sliced olives without pimento when working in a pinch, as it saves time.


The sliced olives mean you can measure and add without any extra chopping. If you wish to use whole olives, be sure to chop them up. The vinegar in the olive brine cuts through the richness of the cream cheese, and the longer the dip is allowed to sit, the more its overall flavor increases.
Next, chop the pepperoni. This recipe uses a pepperoni stick, which means you want to cut the stick into quarters and then into even smaller pieces. We are adding flavor to the dip with the bits of pepperoni. The more tiny bits dispersed in the dip, the more each mouthful will be a savory surprise.
If you don’t like the texture of pepperoni sticks, I recommend using pepperettes, the dry kind. These can be cut up much the same way, and since the pepperoni is being measured with a cup, just be sure to add the same volume of pepperettes if using it instead.
Mix the whole mixture, cover, and chill in the fridge. Because it makes a large dip mixture, ration it out as needed. For smaller gatherings, a small dip dish will likely do.
If you make this at Christmas, it will last right through the week after Christmas, so you always have a little something special to pull out when the company stops by.
Ingredients:
Cream Cheese: Comes in regular and light varieties. It’s for Christmas, so don’t think about dieting and get the full fat for this dip. The full-fat variety has a deeper cheesy flavor, vs the lower-fat option.
Mayonnaise: Using mayonnaise in this dip lightens the heaviness of the cream cheese and makes the spread more dip-like. If you reduce the mayonnaise in the recipe, the result will be more of a spread. Either is tasty!
Green Olives: Jarred green olives have a brine that adds a saltiness to this cheese dip.
Pepperoni: Adds a smokiness to the dip, which balances the overall dip with the saltiness of the olives and the creaminess of the cheese.

Substitutions and Add-Ins for The Cream Cheese Holiday Dip:
Mayonnaise: I used Miracle Whip for this year’s dip, but I have used all mayo over the years. I particularly like the flavor of Heinz’s Seriously Good Mayo, but it’s been hard to find this year.
Green Olives: Sliced works when you want to avoid added work. However, you can also use whole olives with pimentos. Be sure to slice them into smaller pieces. Don’t use deli olives, though, as they don’t have the proper vinegar brine for this recipe.
Pepperoni: A simple pepperoni stick works for this recipe, and finding an economical one will make your pocketbook happier. But if you want to switch it up, pepperettes like Pillers or Schnieders work as well.
If you want to be adventurous, add a little finely diced onion. But I caution not to use too much as it can overpower the cream cheese flavor.
Also, you can try adding some fresh herbs like flat-leaf parsley or basil. Remember that each add-in will change the flavor profile of the dip.
Expert Tips and Serving Suggestions:
Tip #1: Use room temperature or slightly softened cream cheese. It makes mixing and blending with the mayonnaise easier.
Tip #2: Cream the cheese and mayo entirely to remove lumps. The result is more luxuriant and creamy.
Tips #3: Only put the entire dip dish out for guests if you have a large gathering, as a little goes a long way. The dip is made with ingredients that will go bad if left out over the course of a long party, so putting out a little at a time makes less waste.
Tips#4 Cover, cover, cover. When the dip is being stored in the fridge, cover it. It is imperative to avoid picking up fridge odors or drying out at all.

Classic Cream Cheese Holiday Dip with Olives & Pepperoni
Equipment
- 1 mixing bowl
- knife For cutting pepperoni
- Mixing Tool
- Serving Dish
Ingredients
- 1 8oz Brick of Cream Cheese 226 gram
- 1 Cup Mayonnaise 8oz
- ½ Cup Sliced Olives
- ½ Cup Chopped Pepperoni
Instructions
- Soften the cream cheese and add to mixing bowl.
- Add in the mayonnaise and blend until no lumps of cream cheese remain.
- Measure and add the olives and chopped pepperoni.
- Cover and store in fridge for up to one week.
- Serve in a small dip container with crackers or raw vegetables.