Hot Cheesy Spinach and Roasted Red Pepper Artichoke Dip
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 can artichoke hearts 14 ounces, drained and chopped
- 1 to 1 and 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese or a combination of the two
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 package frozen spinach, thawed, chopped, and well-drained 10 and 1/2 ounces, more or less
- 1 roasted red bell pepper finely diced, drained if from can
Instructions
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Heat oven to 350 F.
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In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise. Mix until combined and smooth.
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Add artichoke hearts, Parmesan cheese, and garlic. Mix until all is equally distributed.
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Mix in spinach and roasted red pepper.
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Place in 8x8 pan (or other 2 quart baking dish). Garnish with a little additional roasted red pepper if desired.
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Cook for 30 minutes, or until top starts to brown and mixture is heated through.
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If desired, turn oven to broil right at end for about 2-3 minutes to brown and crisp the top a little more.
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Serve with crusty bread, crackers, or pita chips!
Recipe Notes
Notes:
If using the spinach it is VERY IMPORTANT to drain off the liquid. I like to squeeze liquid through a strainer or in a cheese cloth. DO NOT use raw spinach. The water will cook out and make it soupy. If you use fresh, you must cook it first and then drain off the excess liquid. This is why we prefer frozen, but it can be done this way with these extra steps.
Change it Up:
In place of the red peppers, use 1 to 2 tablespoons finely diced sun-dried tomatoes.
In addition to the Parmesan/Romano cheese, add 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese if you like stringy cheesy gooey-ness!
Dress it Down:
Keep it simple with straight up artichoke goodness (eliminating the spinach and roasted red pepper).
Lighten it Up (Healthier Version):
Cut back the cream cheese to 6 ounces, or use Neufchatel which is 1/3 lower fat.
Instead of sour cream, use light sour cream or 2% or 4% Greek yogurt.
For the mayonnaise, try using light or olive oil mayo.