Baked spinach artichoke dip
Hot, creamy and bubbling under a golden cheese top, and it waits in the fridge for up to a day before it goes in the oven.
- 45 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 10
- About $1.28 a serving
- 360 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. Whatever’s left keeps for tomorrow.
Ingredients
For 10 servings.
- 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 1 can artichoke hearts, drained
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 10 oz tortilla chips, for dipping
From your pantry
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
Each serving has about 360 calories, 10 g protein, 25 g carbs and 25 g fat, and costs about $1.28 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
- No shredded mozzarella? Provolone slices work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 375°F and set the cream cheese on the counter to .
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Softened. For vegetables it means cooked until they bend and lose their crunch; for butter, left out until it dents easily. Soft onions taste sweet, and soft butter mixes in smoothly.
How you’ll know: Onions squash easily against the pan with your spoon, and butter dents under a finger without looking greasy.
Squeeze the thawed spinach by the handful over the sink until no more water drips out.
Dolly’s tip: Thaw it overnight in the fridge, or in a strainer under cold running water. Squeeze hard, because wet spinach makes a watery dip.the artichoke hearts and the garlic.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
In a large bowl, the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, Parmesan, ½ cup of the mozzarella, salt and pepper until smooth.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
the spinach, artichokes, garlic and pepper flakes, and spread it in a 9-inch pie dish or small baking dish.
Fold. Folding means mixing gently by scooping from the bottom and turning it over the top, instead of stirring hard. It keeps light mixtures airy and soft things like berries or herbs in one piece.
How you’ll know: You use slow, wide strokes and stop as soon as there are no streaks left.
Dolly’s tip: Make it to this point up to a day ahead, cover and chill. Add 10 minutes to the baking time.Scatter the rest of the mozzarella on top and 20 to 25 minutes, until bubbling at the edges and in spots.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 22 min
Let it sit 5 minutes, then serve hot with the chips.
Timer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: It’s good out for up to 2 hours. To keep it longer, hold it in a small slow cooker on Warm.Food safety: Put leftovers in the fridge within 2 hours and eat them within 3 to 4 days. Reheat until steaming hot, 165°F.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
When you host a dinner, Dollop builds the menu around your guests’ allergies, works out a cooking timeline back from when everyone sits down, and puts it all on one grocery list.
