This savory appetizer is colorful and tasty— flavored with a tortilla chip crust, chilies, and cheeses. It feeds a bunch and can be made ahead of time.
Serve it with tortilla chips, Fritos, or celery sticks. The only catch is you need a 9-inch spring-form pan so if you don’t have one go borrow from your neighbor. It’s worth the effort, and a big crowd-pleaser for your next potluck!
Southwestern Cheesecake
Author: Tonja Engen
Ingredients
- 1 cup finely crushed tortilla chips
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 2 eggs
- 1 (8 ounce) package shredded colby-monterey jack cheese
- 2 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup chopped yellow bell peppers or 1 cup orange bell peppers or 1 cup red bell pepper ( or a combo of all 3)
- ½ cup chopped green onion
- ¼ cup sliced black olives
- ⅓ cup chopped tomato
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325.
- Stir together chips and margarine and press into a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
- Beat cream cheese and eggs in large bowl until well blended. Stir in the co-jack cheese and the chilis and pour over crust.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Cool completely in the refrigerator.
- Spread sour cream over cheesecake and sprinkle on toppings. Chill 1-2 hours. Remove from cake pan after chilling. Let sit out to"soften" before serving or you'll break your tortilla chips!
Tonja- you should tag some of these recipes as “GF” gluten Free….like this one….there are a bunch of us out there digging for delicious recipes that do not contain wheat, spelt, rye, or other grains that contain gluten. I might grill some chicken and make this for dinner!!!