The BEST Spinach Artichoke Dip recipe
I made it my mission one year to sample Spinach Artichoke Dips at every restaurant we went to, and I tried about ten other home made recipes. Some of the dips that taste good make you feel guilty later when you find out the ingredients.
This one is THE BEST because it tastes good and itʻs healthy too. Win-win!
The Best Spinach Artichoke Dip
No mayo, low fat, no hype. I made it my mission to taste-test MANY versions of this dip. Trust me when I say this is absolutely the best. Bonus: it makes about 6 cups of dip. You can eat half now and keep the other half handy in the freezer for last minute potlucks, tailgates, or snack cravings.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups milk I use skim or almond milk. You can do a combination of those with a splash of whipping cream, or any 1%, 2% milk.
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- pinch ground nutmeg
- 3/8 tsp hot pepper sauce to your taste
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 cans artichoke hearts drained
- 10-16 oz frozen spinach thawed and well drained. I have used fresh spinach before too and it works fine but frozen is easier to keep on hand when you need it. Young kids may prefer less spinach.
- 2 cups shredded Jarlsberg cheese You could use different cheese, but (in my opinion) the cheese is what makes this The Best.
Instructions
- Are you serving the dip today? Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. You could also microwave a small portion if youʻre in a hurry, but it might not heat evenly.
- First make a white sauce. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour; cook about 1 minute until bubbly. Slowly whisk in milk. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg and hot pepper sauce. Cook and whisk every 1-2 minutes until mixture is very thick. Remove from heat and let cool.
- While the sauce is cooling, process garlic, artichoke hearts and spinach in a food processor until very smooth. Stir into cooled sauce. Reserve 3 tablespoons of shredded cheese. Stir remaining cheese into the mixture. Spoon dip into one or two serving dishes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- For serving: Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until heated through. OR use one of those small 4 cup crockpots. Spoon the dip in there and heat the crockpot on low so the dip stays warm during the whole football game or party.For freezing: Place a piece of plastic wrap over the serving dish. Make sure the plastic touches the dip (this prevents freezer burn). Then cover with aluminum foil. Keeps up to 3 months in the freezer. To prepare, thaw and heat, as above.
Notes
Spinach Artichoke Dip is great with tortilla chips, pretzel chips, slathered on French bread rounds, raw cauliflower or broccoli dippers, as a pizza topping, mixed with rotisserie chicken and spooned over cooked linguini, in quesadillas, stuffed into portabello mushrooms, as a fancy grilled cheese sandwich, stuffed in jalapeno peppers, mixed into mac & cheese, topping for baked potatoes, or for breakfast with scrambled eggs & veggies. So versatile!
Kelly Brakenhoff is an author of eleven books and an ASL interpreter. She divides her writing energy between two series: cozy mysteries set on a college campus and picture books featuring Duke the Deaf Dog. The mother of four young adults and a hunting dog, and grandma to a growing brood of perfectly behaved grandkids, Kelly and her husband call Nebraska home.