Graveyard Taco Dip with Tortilla Tombstones- Amanda's Cookin'

Name: Graveyard Taco Dip
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 2 burrito sized flour tortillas; 2 Tablespoons sour cream; 8 ounces cream cheese (softened at room temperature); 1/2 cup sour cream; 2 Tablespoons taco seasoning mix; 1/2 cup roasted red bell peppers (chopped); 16 ounce can of refried beans; 15 ounces guacamole; 16 ounce can of black refried beans; 1/4 cup chopped chives

Tortilla tombstones perched in a layer of black refried bean “dirt” over creamy, taco seasoned layers in this graveyard taco dip. There’s no meat to brown and the only thing that needs a toast in the oven is the tortilla tombstones, so the whole thing comes together in about 25 minutes!

Graveyard taco dip topped with tortilla tombstones and chive grass, styled with cobwebs and a skeleton hand

Why this recipe works

To set this graveyard taco dip apart from a classic taco dip, Antoine beat the taco seasoning with the cream cheese and folded in chopped roasted red bell peppers. This adds a little crunch and color to the dip underneath. We also swapped regular refried beans with black refried beans as the top layer. It fit the spooky theme really well and looks more like dirt. It was a fun addition to a fall party we recently went to. A few were brave enough to dive in without asking since they knew who brought it!

I should also note, we opted to use a 9×9 dish, not the typical 13×9. The extra depth keeps the tortilla tombstones standing upright instead of slowly slumping over into the guacamole within an hour of serving.

Graveyard taco dip with tortilla tombstones and chives next to a bowl of tortilla chips in a jack-o-lantern bowl

Ingredients you will need

Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.

Ingredients for graveyard taco dip including refried beans, black refried beans, guacamole, cream cheese, sour cream, taco seasoning, roasted red peppers, chives, and flour tortillas

Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions

BLACK REFRIED BEANS – Black refried beans is sort of the star here because it’s what gives the dip the ominous spooky look of a graveyard. I wouldn’t recommend swapping it with whole black beans or regular refried beans. You can find them next to regular refried beans in stores.

REFRIED BEANS – Traditional pinto refried beans form the bottom layer. Note that there’s no ground beef anywhere in this recipe, the beans carry enough substance on their own.

GUACAMOLE – Homemade guacamole is great here if you would rather make your own, otherwise, a 15 ounce premade container works just as well. The guacamole is used in the base of the dip and a small amount is mounded around the base of the tombstones to help keep them upright.

CREAM CHEESE – Use full fat block style cream cheese, softened to room temperature. Whipped or tub style cream cheese has too much air and water in it and the layer won’t hold its shape under the beans that go on top.

SOUR CREAM – Use full fat here as well, since light sour cream is loose enough that your lettering on the tombstones will spread and blur.

TACO SEASONING – You’ll need two tablespoons of a store bought mix or our homemade version, beaten right into the cream cheese and sour cream.

ROASTED RED BELL PEPPERS – The jarred kind packed in water or oil is what I use, drained well and chopped small. They bring a mild sweetness against all that bean and a bright streak of red through the pale cream cheese layer.

FLOUR TORTILLAS – Burrito sized, which gives you enough surface area to cut four or five decent tombstones out of each one. Corn tortillas won’t work for this, they crack along the cut edges before you can get them on the baking sheet.

CHIVES – Chopped chives get sprinkled onto the reserved guacamole at the base of each tombstone so it looks like grass growing over the grave, then whatever is left gets scattered across the rest of the dip. Green onion tops will also work if that’s what you have.

How to Make Graveyard Taco Dip

These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.

To Make the Tombstones

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Cut tortillas into gravestone and/or cross shapes and place on a baking sheet. Toast tortillas for 3-5 minutes, or until edges are browned. Allow to fully cool.
Add 2 tablespoons of sour cream to a sandwich bag. Make a tiny cut in the corner of the bag for piping. Write RIP on the tombstones. Set aside.

To Make the Dip

In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, and taco seasoning until creamy. Use a rubber spatula to mix in the roasted red bell peppers.
Reserve 1/2 cup of the guacamole to use on the top.
In a 9×9 dish, layer the refried beans, remaining 1 1/4 cups guacamole, cream cheese mixture, and black refried beans.
Insert a tombstone into the dip and add some of the reserved guacamole to the base of the tombstone. Sprinkle chopped chives onto the guacamole. Repeat for all tombstones. Sprinkle any remaining chopped chives across the whole dip.
Serve with tortilla chips, crackers, or raw vegetables.

Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips

When should I put the tombstones into the dip?

Place the tombstones on right before you set the dip out. The tombstones are toasted tortillas, and toasted tortillas sitting in a wet bean and guacamole layer go soft fast.
You can still prep them ahead, though! Cut and toast the tortillas up to two days in advance and store them flat and unlettered in an airtight container at room temperature. The lettering is sour cream, so pipe it the day you’re serving and keep the lettered tombstones in the refrigerator until they go into the dip. The dip itself can be assembled a day ahead as well. Just keep the two apart until you’re carrying the dish to the table.

Why does my dip look so shallow and my tombstones keep falling over?

This is almost certainly because of the size of the dish. A 13×9 spreads eight cups of dip to roughly one inch deep, which gives a tortilla nothing to grip. The 9×9 we call for puts the same volume closer to an inch and a half, which is ideal for the tortilla chip to hang on to. If a 13×9 is what you have, add a layer of salsa, shredded cheese, and shredded lettuce to build the height back up. Salsa carries a lot of liquid that will run down through the layers and loosen everything, so drain it well before it goes in.

Can I use an edible marker or black decorator gel for the lettering instead?

You can, but edible markers give mixed results on a toasted tortilla, since the surface is uneven and slightly oily and the ink skips. Black decorator gel writes easily but it’s sweetened and typically used on desserts. Sour cream keeps everything edible and savory.

What should I write on the tombstones?

RIP is a classic but you can write whatever you want! We piped BOO on a couple of them and put four digit years on the crosses, 1710, 1734, and 1812, which makes the graveyard look like it has been there a while. Other short options are family names, initials, or the name of whoever hosted last year. Sour cream piped from a snipped bag lays down a thick line, so keep it to three or four characters.

Do I have to toast the tortillas, or can I use store bought chips?

A regular tortilla chip won’t work. It’s too small to cut into a tombstone shape and too brittle to push down through four layers of dip without snapping. Cutting your own from burrito sized flour tortillas and toasting them at 400 degrees is what gives you a piece sturdy enough to shape, letter, and stand upright.
If you want to skip the cutting and toasting entirely, opt for a sturdy rectangular cracker instead. Club crackers, Wheat Thins, and Triscuits are all firm enough to stand in the dip and wide enough to pipe on.

Can I add ground beef to this dip?

You can easily add ground beef if you want! Brown a pound of ground beef with an extra tablespoon of taco seasoning and drain it well. Let it cool completely before it goes anywhere near the dish, because warm beef will melt the cream cheese layer and slump the whole stack. Once it’s cool, spread it across the bottom of the dish and put the refried beans on top of it.

The beef adds close to two cups, which will overfill a 9×9, so move up to a 13×9 and accept that the tombstones will sit lower.

Storage and Freezing Information

Cover leftover dip tightly with plastic wrap pressed down onto the surface, or snap a lid on the dish, and refrigerate for up to three days. Pull the tombstones out before you store it, since they will be soft by then. The guacamole layer sitting under the black beans stays green longer than you would expect because the bean layer seals it off from the air.
Leftover tombstones that were never lettered keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to two days. Any that are piped with sour cream lettering go in the refrigerator instead, though they’ll soften within a day.
This dip doesn’t freeze. Sour cream and cream cheese separate and turn grainy after thawing, and guacamole goes dark and watery. Make it the day of or the day before instead.

Serving Suggestions

Set this out at room temperature or lightly chilled with a bowl of tortilla chips, a stack of crackers, and a platter of raw vegetables alongside. Carrot sticks, celery, and bell pepper strips are all sturdy enough to handle the thick layers without snapping.

It also travels well to a costume party or a neighborhood trick or treat gathering. Carry the dish covered with the tombstones laid flat in a separate container, and push them in once you have set the dish down.

More Halloween Party Appetizers

This fun dip belongs on a Halloween party spread, a pumpkin painting party, or a fall potluck where it will be the dish people ask about. If you want the same flavors without building a whole cemetery, our spider web taco dip is fun with a piped sour cream web in a shallow pie plate instead. Put this one next to our Halloween eyeball salsa and a tray of jalapeno popper mummies for a savory Halloween themed table. Add cheese and pretzel broomsticks for kids to snack on! For the adults, a Frankenstein margarita is always a fun addition, and Halloween dirt cups are a sweet dessert everyone loves. If you’re building a whole menu, our Halloween food ideas roundup has the full spread.

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Amanda Davis

President at Amanda's Creative Studio, Inc.

I’m Amanda Davis, recipe developer, baking enthusiast, and founder of Amanda’s Cookin’. I’ve been cooking, baking, and creating trusted recipes for over 30 years. We create recipes for every cooking and baking level, because great food should be approachable and delicious. We hope you love our recipes as much as we do!

Graveyard Taco Dip