If there is one thing you should know about me and my guilty pleasures, it’s that I could honestly eat appetizers all day. I’m not talking tapas; I mean bar. food. appetizers. All day. Some of my favorite are as follows:
- spinach and artichoke dip
- nachos
- wings
- quesadillas
- potato skins
Ok. I’ll just go ahead and stop myself there. I freaking love all SORTS of bar food! I worked at an extremely popular chain restaurant during my first two years of college. Prior to moving to my shiny, new college town, I was a pretty simple girl when it came to flavors: meat and cheese only on EVERYTHING, and the occasional chicken strip basket made its way into my repertoire of meals. Sooo boring, I know. I am actually slightly ashamed to admit that, but I am only doing so because it’s kind of fun to think of ho
w far I’ve come … not that confessing my undying love for terrible bar food is gaining me much credibility, but it is what it is.
Anyway, after starting at that chain restaurant in college, I found myself being introduced to a few new menu items that were extremely popular for said restaurant. Spinach dip was something I was totally unwilling to try for quite some time, but the second I did I was hooked on it. Ever since, I am notorious for ordering it as an app, sometimes an entrée, and I’ve always made it for football Sundays and holiday gatherings. My mom continues to tell me how good my spinach dip is when I make it at Christmas, so I appreciate the support and bring back the glory every year. 🙂
So now that we are really getting to know each other, I have another confession: I can totally respect the wave of popular, healthy recipes with Greek yogurt as a substitute for, like, everything … but I am going to be real here. I love FLAVOR. I get that the-Greek-yogurt-thing can be a valid substitute for texture, but I am not willing to give up the flavor of cream cheese, mayo, and sour cream.
That being said, I have always relied upon Alton Brown’s Spinach and Artichoke Recipe from foodnetwork.com as my go-to for my spinach dip, and it has yet to fail me. I still would like to go a tad bit lighter on some things just to keep it slightly less caloric, so I cut 
the amount of cream cheese down, and I also fully support using a lower fat sour cream to lighten it a little more. (I did not personally do that for this recipe though.)
Last note! PLEASE be aware that I used twice as much crushed red pepper for this recipe! For your notes: if you love some heat, use what the recipes reads. If you would prefer a tamer version, cut the amount listed in half, and add more as you go along if you so wish.
[my additional tips!]:
Actual Prep / cook time: 30 minutes
Clean-up difficulty: 2 [easy stuff.]
Overall difficulty to make: 2.5 [super quick and simple.]
Overall satisfaction: 10 [there. I did it. I gave myself a 10 rating and I mean it.]
What I would change next time? I would change nothing.
For your own version, I recommend:
- I highly suggest boiling the spinach and the artichokes before using them – this is the first time I tried this method, and it makes a WORLD of difference and leaves out any harsh flavors you may typically encounter in the end product!
- PLEASE USE HALF THE AMOUNT OF CRUSHED RED PEPPER TO START! I don’t want you to go through the entire recipe and then hate it at the end because it’s too spicy. 🙁
- be sure to really add each ingredient individually, and stir in completely before going on to the next.
- topping the dish with mozzarella before baking it will give it more of a brownish, crusty topping which is also delicious!
- do not skip on the tomato topping – it is such a delicious attribute to this dish, and I don’t even like raw tomatoes.
- this goes well with pita bread, pita chips, tortilla chips, you name it. Pick as you wish!
© 2015 : a flavor journal : by sara Alvord
Recipe Card love it? rate it!perfect spinach artichoke dip
Servings 2The perfect appetizer to share with a rich, creamy texture and flavor to spare.Ingredients
- 1 cup frozen chopped spinach thawed
- 1 small jar marinated quartered artichokes chopped
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan finely grated
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar or mozzarella
- 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt garnish
- 6 grape tomatoes chopped or thinly sliced
Instructions
Notes
Tomatoes are optional, but really enhance the flavor of this dip. This app can also be served with pita bread, pita chips, tortilla chips, veggies, or really with any vessel of your liking. Enjoy! Adapted from Alton Brown's Hot Spinach and Artichoke DipTried this recipe?
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Comments & Reviews
This looks delicious! I love spinach and my husband loves artichokes so this is the perfect combination!
That sounds perfect! Let me know how you both like it!
LOVE artichokes! Can’t wait to try this!
Can’t wait for you to try it out too, Karissa! Hope you liked it as much as I did! 🙂
I love spinach dip, so I’ll have to give this one a try, too. And, I’ll be sure to include the tomatoes as you recommended. Thanks, Sara!
Completely my pleasure! The tomatoes just add a new level of flavor that I think pairs so well with the dip. Let me know what you think!
One of my favs too . . . I can remember sitting alone watching movies eating a WHOLE CONTAINER of this stuff!!
Haha I am way too good at that, too. Another one of my weaknesses is French onion dip … I’m afraid to even make it because I know it will disappear in SECONDS. I have a dip addiction!
this looks so delish!
Thank you, Kara! I could eat this every. single. day.!
Looks amazing! And I also worked at a chain restaurant in college. I can’t even tell you how many burgers and boneless wings I’ve eaten there.
Right? I feel that was the start of my downward spiral into my love affair with bar food. lol.
Funny, I’m literally eating someone’s spin and artichoke dip right now and wondering how they made it LOL. Great looking recipe!!
Thank you so much! I am a spinach dip fanatic – I just made a new version of it tonight that I will be posting soon, too!
This dip looks amazing! Spinach artichoke is one of my favorites!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Mine too! I hope you get to try it soon – I would love to hear how it turns out for you!