Hot spinach artichoke dip
- Preparation 25 min
- Cooking 35 min
- Servings 6 to 8
- Freezing Absolutely
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🥄 My mother’s spinach dip, with something extra
My mother made a seriously good spinach dip. That’s where this one comes from. I’m the one who decided to throw artichokes in there, because they’re delicious and because they give some bite to something that would otherwise stay soft and rich from the first bite to the last.
The rest I kept the way she made it. The two cheeses, the cream cheese. The smoked paprika is hers too.
🌿 Fresh spinach, never frozen
Just about every spinach dip out there starts with a frozen block you have to wring out in a towel. Not mine. Frozen spinach comes out wet and mushy, and you taste it. Raw baby spinach melts on its own in the heat of the cheese, keeps a bit of texture, and honestly doesn’t give off that much water. It’s the one thing in this recipe I won’t budge on.
🎉 The dish you bring to your friends’ place
A party, a potluck, a dinner where everyone brings something. That’s where this dip belongs. You can assemble it the day before, it travels in its own baking dish, it comes out of the oven and goes straight to the table, same as my pizza-style hot dip. There’s never any left.
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🔥 The broil is where this dip is won
Thirty-five minutes in the oven gives you a dip that bubbles. Two more minutes under the broiler gives you a golden top speckled with brown and cheese that stretches when you dig a crouton into it. Not the same thing at all.
Rack in the middle of the oven, never right up against the element, or the top burns before the rest has a chance to colour. And stay at the oven door. Two minutes goes by fast. Three can already be too much.
🌿 Forget the frozen spinach
Every other recipe tells you to thaw a block and squeeze it dry in a tea towel. I don’t do that. Raw baby spinach, packed into the measuring cup, melts on its own in the heat of the cheese and keeps some texture. Frozen comes out wet and limp, and you can taste it.
🧀 If you can’t find Mont Jacob
Any sharp semi-soft cheese does the job. It’s the flavour you’re after, not the name on the label.
📅 Make it ahead
The whole thing can be assembled the night before. Mix, pour into the baking dish, cover, refrigerate. The next day, pull the dish out about twenty minutes before you turn the oven on, scatter the remaining cheese over the top and bake. Add five minutes if it goes in cold.
That’s exactly why I make this one when people are coming over. On the day of the party there’s one button left to press.
🍽️ Oven to table
I serve it in the glass baking dish it cooked in. It holds the heat for ages, and nobody wants to transfer a boiling hot dip into a serving bowl. Same idea as my cheesy dip with beer caramelized onions : the baking dish is the serving dish.
❄️ It keeps, and it reheats
Three to four days in the fridge, covered or in an airtight container. It reheats beautifully the next day: 350°F oven for about fifteen minutes until it bubbles again, then one last pass under the broiler. Nobody will know.
✅ What to serve with my hot spinach artichoke dip
Thick-cut baguette, croutons, pita chips, celery and pepper sticks. My parmesan croutons beat any box of crackers, and they bake while the dip is in the oven.
On a party table I always put something cold beside it: my bruschetta dip for bread or my feta dip with roasted red peppers and grilled artichokes. Two hot dips side by side is heavy going. One hot, one fresh, and people keep coming back.
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Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml or about 200 g) grated Mont Jacob cheese (or other semi-soft ripened cheese)
- 1 cup (250 ml or about 150 g) finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 jars (340 ml) artichokes in oil, drained and coarsely chopped
- 4 oz (half a package) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup (250 ml) compact baby spinach
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons (15 ml) milk
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) Italian spices
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
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Preparation
- Preheat oven to 400 °F (200 °C). Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- In a large bowl, place half of the Parmesan and Mont Jacob cheese, followed by the remaining ingredients, season with pepper to taste and mix well, crushing the cheese.
- Pour the mixture into a baking dish, spread well and then spread the remaining cheese.
- Place the baking dish on the baking sheet (to avoid spilling into the bottom of your oven), place in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the mixture bubbles. BROIL for 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving with bread, vegetables and your favourite crackers!
Fresh, raw, always. Frozen spinach comes out wet and mushy and you taste it in the finished dip. Raw baby spinach melts on its own in the heat of the cheese and doesn’t release nearly as much water as people think. If frozen is truly all you have, thaw it and wring it out hard, but it won’t be my recipe anymore.
Two things. Fresh spinach instead of frozen, so the base never turns watery. And the broil at the end: two minutes with the rack in the middle of the oven turns a dip that merely bubbles into one with a browned, blistered top and cheese that stretches. Most recipes stop at the bake. That’s the step people remember.
Grated Mont Jacob and Parmesan, cream cheese, mayonnaise, a splash of milk, marinated artichokes, raw baby spinach, yellow onion, fresh garlic, smoked paprika, garlic salt and Italian herbs. No canned soup, no dressing packet, no cream. The smoked paprika is the one that surprises people.
Yes, and that’s how I do it when I’m hosting. Mix everything, pour it into the baking dish, cover and refrigerate overnight. Take the dish out about twenty minutes before you heat the oven, add the cheese on top and bake, giving it an extra five minutes if it went in straight from the fridge.
Thick slices of baguette, croutons, pita chips, celery and bell pepper sticks. It travels well to a potluck in its baking dish, and on a party table it works best beside something cold and sharp rather than a second hot dip.
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