Sizzling Spinach-Artichoke Dip Recipe

Wealthy creamy dips are one in all life’s best pleasures, and the previous occasion stalwart, spinach-artichoke dip, is among the many finest. As a baby of the 90s, I’ve loved numerous bowls of spinach dip at events, in addition to my fair proportion of scorching forged iron skillets of the long-lasting dip at chain eating places like TGI Fridays. It’s a bonafide crowd pleaser and edible proof that the one factor higher than plain mayonnaise is mayonnaise effervescent with cheese and chunks of savory spinach and chopped artichoke hearts.

Whereas it’s a beloved restaurant staple, I’d argue that the perfect model of spinach-artichoke dip is loved recent out of the oven at residence, the place you have got whole management over the elements. And that ratio of elements must be good: There’s nothing worse than scooping up a chew of dip and winding up with an excessive amount of spinach, not sufficient artichoke, or worse, a dip with a grainy or greasy texture. Our recipe nails the right proportions of spinach to artichokes and makes use of a mix of cream cheese, mayo, and bitter cream with a mix of cheese to create the final word creamy texture and balanced taste. For those who’re seeking to good this occasion dip on your subsequent gathering or game-day unfold, and even only a cozy evening in, right here’s what it’s essential know to get it proper.

Ideas for Wealthy Creamy Spinach Artichoke Dip

Use a trifecta of creamy elements for the richest dip potential. Many variations of spinach-artichoke dip name for only one creamy ingredient (typically mayonnaise or cream cheese) to fold into the cheese combination earlier than baking. However we didn’t maintain again right here: This recipe requires mayonnaise, bitter cream, and cream cheese for the richest, creamiest dip potential. On prime of the silky texture every of those three elements has, they every add a barely completely different tangy observe for a taste that’s each nuanced and cohesive.

Double down on cheese. Monterey jack cheese or a light white cheddar cheese soften simply into the dip when baked, and their delicate taste is balanced by sharp, nutty, and assertive Parmesan cheese.

Add lemon zest, garlic, and Dijon mustard to steadiness the wealthy, creamy base. This dip is wealthy, there’s no skirting round it. However it wants a couple of vivid additions to steadiness it out, so that you’ll wish to eat chew after chew. A small quantity of lemon zest, recent garlic, and Dijon mustard perk it up properly. We additionally love the savory enchantment that one tablespoon of white miso provides to the dip, however be happy to omit it should you don’t have miso readily available. 

Persist with frozen spinach however be certain its the best reduce. We began testing the recipe with recent spinach, as we assumed the previous adage “recent is finest” would ring true right here. However whereas we liked the concept and the look of the dip made with vibrant inexperienced recent spinach, the added steps of chopping, cooking, and wringing out the surplus moisture from the spinach was not well worth the effort. The flavour of the recent spinach versus frozen was nearly indistinguishable as soon as combined into the cheese-laden dip. Make certain to make use of frozen spinach labeled “cut-leaf” and never “chopped.” Frozen chopped spinach is simply too finely chopped and creates a mealy texture within the dip. In the meantime, frozen cut-leaf spinach is the right measurement for scooping onto veggies and chips. 

Go together with canned artichokes. The result was related when evaluating recent artichokes to canned artichokes on this recipe. It was foolish to take the time and labor to prep recent artichokes simply to masks their taste in a tacky dip. Fresh artichokes are superb and have their time and place, however this dip is just not one in all them. So keep on with canned artichokes, rinse them effectively to take away extra salt, and chop them into bite-size, scoopable bits.

Bake at a gentle reasonable warmth. When trying to bake and soften a considerable amount of cheese and cream right into a cohesive combination, you wish to keep away from heating the combination too rapidly or at to too excessive a temperature. This will trigger the cheese and dairy to separate, leaving you with swimming pools of leached fats swimming on prime of the dip. To keep away from this greasy mess, bake the dip at a gentle reasonable temperature. Don’t be tempted to hurry up the baking course of by elevating the oven temperature.

Skip the forged iron. One other approach to keep away from an disagreeable separated dip is to decide on the best pan for baking. When seasoned recipe developer Julia Levy was growing this recipe within the take a look at kitchen, she began by baking the dip in a forged iron skillet. She assumed the forged iron’s nice warmth retention properties would preserve the dip heat for longer when disregarded to take pleasure in (which it did). However she discovered that the forged iron skillet’s warmth retention overheated the dip, even when baked at a reasonable temperature, inflicting the dip to interrupt. We wished that wasn’t the case since, as Julia famous, the skillet was additionally simply so cute! However as a result of we right here at Critical Eats are agency believers {that a} sensible, foolproof recipe is extra essential than a cute “‘gram-worthy” presentation, we advocate baking it in a regular glass or ceramic baking dish.