Let's be real, spinach dip doesn't need a special occasion. It's creamy, cheesy, and guaranteed to disappear the second it hits the table. This easy spinach artichoke dip is a classic and comforting appetizer, the kind of app you'll come back to over and over again.
From a no bake four layer taco dip to a braided cheesy pepperoni pizza, and a barbecue chicken flatbread pizza, you've come to the right place for appetizers that will be sure to wow a crowd.
TL; DR Summary - Spinach Artichoke Dip
- 👩🏼🍳 Cook Level: Easy/Beginner
- ⏱️ Cooking Time: ~25 minutes
- 📖 Dietary Info: Dairy
- 😋 Taste: Creamy, cheesy, savory, salty.
- 💖 Why You'll Love: A classic spinach artichoke dip is an essential party time appetizer or starter for the family before dinner. Cheesy, gooey, and great with veggies or chips.
- 🍽️ Best Paired With: Pair this with a braided three cheese stuffed pizza, a batch of crescent roll mini hot dogs, and make a classic espresso martini as a cocktail!
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Trusted Tips and Reminders
- Squeeze out as much liquid from the thawed chopped spinach. Too much liquid will make the end result a little soupy and thin.
- Be sure to drain the artichokes before chopping and adding to the dip too. Artichokes carry a lot of water as well as spinach.
- Keep the heat on a steady medium as to not overcook any of the ingredients as you sauté.
- Let the cream cheese get to room temperature before adding to the pan. It will melt a lot easier than coming straight from the fridge!
- Bread Bowl - I have very vivid memories of my family making this dip (but not baked, it was cold without the mozzarella on top) and putting the dip in a sourdough or rustic boule, and use some of the bread ripped out from the bowl to place around it as a dipping vessel.
The Main Ingredients
- Shallot - Sautéed shallot adds a beautiful flavor to the overall dish, and man does it smell good when cooking.
- Garlic - Adding sautéed garlic to this dish gives another layer of flavor.
- Chopped frozen spinach - you could also use fresh sautéed baby spinach
- Artichoke hearts - you only really need approximately 3-4 of them, but chopping them up will go a long way.
- Sour Cream - One of the two ingredients to help make the dish creamy and rich.
- Parmesan - Helps thicken the dip and add more flavor.
- Cream cheese - the cream cheese adds richness and creaminess to the overall dip.
- Mozzarella cheese - we top the entire dip with a generous layer of mozzarella cheese and bake in the oven until crispy golden.
Be sure to check out the recipe card at the end of this post for more information about quantities, measurements, and specific cooking instructions.
Recipe Swaps and Substitutions
- Use a plant-based cream cheese instead of dairy. Instead of using sour cream, swap in some greek yogurt or a vegan version.
- If you want to use fresh baby spinach, you can but you'll need at least two bags of the baby spinach because it wilts down and doesn't equate to frozen spinach by the bag.
How to make creamy baked spinach dip
In a large pan, pour in a drizzle of olive oil and sauté the shallot and garlic until fragrant, approximately 2 minutes.
Pour in the chopped spinach and artichokes. Let simmer and cook for 3 minutes.
To the spinach and artichokes, add in the cream cheese and melt into the vegetables, approximately 5 minutes.
Once the cream cheese begins to soften and melt into the spinach, add in the sour cream and parmesan. Stir to combine.
Continue to cook and mix until all ingredients are combined, an additional 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375º.
In an oven-safe baking dish, scoop the spinach dip into the baking dish and spread to evenly distribute across the entire dish.
Top the spinach dip with a generous serving of mozzarella cheese, and an additional pinch of parmesan.
Bake for 15-17 minutes, with the option to broil for 2 minutes to get the cheese crispy and golden on top.
Mistakes I've Made (to avoid!)
- In my very first round of making this spinach dip, I ended up over-mixing the cheese and the cream cheese and somehow, it ended up becoming gummy and inedible. Do your best to not over-mix the ingredients.
- Another round of testing, my chopped spinach was not fully thawed and it caused the entire dip to be excessively runny. Be sure you drain as much of the liquid as you can. A fun party trick is to use a salad spinner to drain the excess fluid.
Hot Spinach Dip
This recipe does really well stored in an airtight container and in the fridge for up to five days.
To freeze this dip, wrap it in the dish it's made in with cling wrap, then aluminum foil, and placed into the freezer for up to one month. Thaw in the fridge before baking, then bake at 350º until the top gets golden brown, or simply warm until the cheese bubbles.
I would prep ahead of time the night before, and bake the day of, so maybe 24-48 hours TOPS. I would hold off on adding the mozzarella cheese to it until you're ready to bake it.
You can! Add all of the ingredients into the crockpot, except for the mozzarella cheese on top. Cook on low for 2 hours. After one hour, open the lid to stir the ingredients together, then top with the mozzarella cheese and close for the last hour. If you are making this in the crockpot, be sure to season it well with salt and pepper, and sauté the garlic and shallot ahead of time. That's an important step!
Looking for other appetizers like this? Try these:
Did you love this recipe? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you're just as in love with this recipe as I am, please share a comment below and rate it! Better yet, share this recipe with family and friends!! Thank you!
Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Equipment
- large skillet or frying pan
- wooden spoon
- mesh sieve or cheese cloth to squeeze out the liquid from the spinach, you can also use a paper towel or your hands.
- medium mixing bowl
- baking dish
- spatula to spread the dip across the baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 pkg frozen chopped spinach
- 4 medium artichoke hearts chopped
- 1 large shallot minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 8 oz sour cream
- 8 oz cream cheese
- ¼ cup parmesan
- salt
- pepper
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese grated
Instructions
- In a large pan, pour in a drizzle of olive oil and sauté the shallot and garlic until fragrant, approximately 2 minutes.
- Pour in the chopped spinach and artichokes. Let simmer and cook for 3 minutes then add in the cream cheese.
- Continue to cook and stir until the cream cheese begins into the spinach, then add in the sour cream and parmesan. Stir to combine.
- Continue to stir until all ingredients are combined, an additional 5 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375º.
- In an oven-safe baking dish, scoop the spinach dip into the baking dish and spread to evenly distribute across the entire dish.
- Top the spinach dip with a generous serving of mozzarella cheese, and an additional pinch of parmesan. Bake for 15-17 minutes, with the option to broil for 2 minutes to get the cheese crispy and golden on top.
- Serve warm with chips or fresh cut vegetables.
Notes
- Squeeze out as much liquid from the thawed chopped spinach. Too much liquid will make the end result a little soupy and thin.
- Be sure to drain the artichokes before chopping and adding to the dip too. Artichokes carry a lot of water as well as spinach.
- Keep the heat on a steady medium as to not overcook any of the ingredients as you sauté.
- Let the cream cheese get to room temperature before adding to the pan. It will melt a lot easier than coming straight from the fridge!
- Bread Bowl - I have very vivid memories of my family making this dip (but not baked, it was cold without the mozzarella on top) and putting the dip in a sourdough or rustic boule, and use some of the bread ripped out from the bowl to place around it as a dipping vessel.
Sha Peace says
why buy store made when you can make your own. you control the ingredients and spices plus it's easy to make and it's delicious
Andy says
This was a hit with my family for July 4, so I'm definitly going to make this for this coming weekend and for football sundays. It was very very good!!
Morgan Peaceman says
Such a great recipe for all those events!
Michelle Rosa says
I made this dip for Super Bowl. It was not only easy but sooooo delicious. I ate the whole thing up in a few hours!
Louise M says
Tested this out for a SuperBowl party we are throwing. Absolutely amazing! 10/10!
Steve says
All I can say about this spinach dip recipe is WOW. We devoured it. I made it for NYE for a small group of friends and everyone loved it. Can't wait to make to again for football sunday.
Bre says
So I’ve only ever tried one other spinach artichoke dip recipe but this one was soooo much better! The shallots really give an amazing flavor and it’s perfectly creamy and cheesy! The whole family loved it