If you’ve been looking for an unapologetically cheesy dip that’s been baked until it’s warm and bubbly and perfectly golden brown, your search is over. (Wait. Aren’t we all looking for that? At least at some point in our lives?)

Fonduta is the Italian answer to cheese fondue, but this version takes away any of the hassle or special equipment that cheese fondue might require. It’s a combination of sour cream and three kinds of cheese that are mixed up and then baked in the oven until irresistibly melty. That’s really all there is to it. Simple and easy, and insanely good. It has that soft and gooey quality of a good fondue and the browned, bubbly cheese top of a baked party dip.

Some dried thyme and red pepper flakes (which you totally don’t have to use if you don’t want to) add an extra little kick of flavor, but mainly this is all about the cheesiness. We’ve used mozzarella for it’s divine melting qualities and fontina and parmesan for their unparalleled flavor. Fontina is a buttery, nutty Italian cheese that you should be able to find easily in your grocery store. If you can’t, provolone makes a worthy substitute.

This is an occasion where you don’t want to use bags of pre-shredded cheese. Those are sure convenient, but they can have cornstarch or other additives to keep them from sticking together and those can interfere with melting. And for this dip, you want it to be as melty and ooey-gooey as can be!