How to easily turn average dip into fun Triceratops dip

This super easy dinosaur dip is a great snack and is so easy, your little dinosaur aficionado can do all the work. Read on to find out how to make our fun Triceratops dip.

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Rex’s Recipe Rundown

• Title: Triceratops Dip
• Food: Guacamole or bean dip with nachos and a three-horned face
• Dinosaur: Triceratops
• Best for: Dinosaur-themed birthday parties, watching football, Taco Tuesday and even as a Thanksgiving snack
• Ease: 5 out of 5 – Our little dinosaur aficionado did all the work

About the Triceratops

The Triceratops is one of the best-known dinosaurs and one of Miss M’s (many) favourites. The name means “three-horned face” because of the three horns it had – one on the top of its nose and one above each eye. This is one element we needed to showcase on our dinosaur dip.

Triceratops are herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaurs that lived in the late Cretaceous period (about 68 million years ago).

The second easily recognisable trait of a Triceratops is their large bony “frill”. Paleontologists speculate that this was used for combat and courtship. All ceratopsians have a similar boney frill – and many are even more ornate (hello Cosmoceratops!). The frill must also feature in our Triceratops dip.

As a plant eater, it makes sense that our Triceratops dip uses guacamole as a base.

Tips for the base

As a plant eater, it makes sense that our Triceratops dip uses guacamole as a base. You can use whatever dip you like, but I think a vegetarian or vegan dip is a nice nod to the herbivore. I imagine a bean dip would be quite good too.

It does not matter whether you use a packet mix or pre-prepared guacamole (or a different dip). The focus here is on the decoration, not on the recipe. Why make things more complicated than they have to be? Use your favourite or easiest standard dip.

Our guacamole recipe is very easy. The most important thing is to have ripe (but not overripe) avocados. Fortunately, they were in season and available at our supermarket on special.

Tip: If your avocados need a bit more ripening (or softening), put them in a paper bag with an apple or kiwifruit for a couple of days, or just put them in your fruit bowl with your other fruit. Apples contain ethylene, a plant hormone that triggers the ripening process. Red or golden delicious apples are best!

Our guacamole recipe

This recipe is really simple and quick to make and very smooth.

Ingredients

• 3 ripe avocados
• Juice of one lime (or equivalent)
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• A good pinch of salt

You can, of course, add other things to your guacamole as you prefer. Finely chopped tomatoes, spring onions and coriander (cilantro) can work well. In this case, I wanted a smoother texture for my Triceratops guacamole.

Directions

1. Halve each avocado and remove the pits, then use a spoon to remove the flesh. Place it in a medium-sized bowl. Using a fork, gently mash the avocado until nice and creamy.
2. Add the lime juice (make sure you catch all the seeds if you’re using a fresh lime!), garlic and salt and mix well. Taste test to see if you need to adjust your acid or salt levels.

Turn your plain dip into Triceratops dip!

This is so easy to do – our little dinosaur aficionado did all the work.

The frill

Critical for the Triceratops are the nachos for the frill. Small crackers or even crustless pieces of toast cut into triangles would also work. Pick whatever works with your dip (obviously for guacamole, we chose nachos).

The horns

The other important element is, of course, the three horns. We found a packet of nacho cheese Bugles – perfect little horns!

Tip: Bugles would also make great raptor claws for a birthday party.

If you can’t find Bugles, try three baby carrots – cut them to the right length to be horns. No carrots? Just use some nachos for slightly wider horns.

The eyes

The eyes are spoonfuls of sour cream with a kidney bean on top. You can definitely forego the sour cream if you wish.

The mouth

We/Our LDA (Little Dinosaur Aficionado) used capsicum (peppers) for the mouth. She decided yellow worked well with the nacho chips (“Look, Mummy, they match!”).

She was also very particular about trying to create a ‘beak’ for the mouth. Our LDA even went and grabbed one of her (many) dinosaur books to ensure the beak was the right shape.

Using the drawing as a guide, we cut the capsicum in a shape resembling the beak. Our LDA does have a knife to use for cooking, but she is not very proficient yet. I was allowed to assist.

Feel free to cut you capsicum to just look like a smiling mouth on your Triceratops guacamole. Our LDA assures me that all herbivorous dinosaurs were friendly.

How to serve your dinosaur dip

Of course, you need to serve your Triceratops dip in a flat bowl to make the most of the space to present your Triceratops face.

You will also need to serve it with some additional nacho chips (yep, the chips in the frill will not suffice).

Serve some extra nacho chips in a (matching) bowl on the side. If you want your little dinosaur aficionado to really love it, grab this fun Nachosaurus!

Make some Triceratops dip with your little dinosaur lover

Just a few extras is all it takes to turn regular guacamole into Triceratops dip. This simple but fun dinosaur dip is bound to be a hit with your little dinosaur lover. The best bit is that they can even make most of it themselves!

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