Baked Spinach Dip
Served in a cast iron skillet, this Baked Spinach Dip is always a crowd-pleaser in our house. It’s the perfect appetizer for gamedays!
This Baked Spinach Dip post is sponsored by Cabot Creamery, but the recipe and opinions are entirely my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Spiced!
There’s just something about using a cast iron skillet as a serving dish. It might be the rustic nature of cast iron. Or maybe it’s the communal nature of pulling the skillet out of the oven and setting it down for everything to share. Maybe it’s the simple fact that there’s one less dish to clean – hah! Whatever the reason, I love using cast iron as serveware for casual gatherings.
With the holidays behind us, it’s time to hunker down for winter. While it might be cold and dreary outside, we try not to let that dampen the mood indoors. One of our favorite winter activities is inviting friends and neighbors over for casual football and basketball watching parties on the weekends. It doesn’t even matter who is playing – the point is it’s an excuse to hang out with friends.
Baked Spinach Dip
This Baked Spinach Dip makes regular appearances in our house. A good spinach artichoke dip is hard to beat, and this one is fantastic! I’ve literally made this recipe probably 3 dozen times over the years. Not kidding!
The secret behind this dip? Cabot cheese. Instead of using the traditional mozzarella cheese, I use Cabot’s Monterey Jack cheese. Their Monterey Jack is a staple cheese in our house – it melts fantastically well and it’s packed with flavor.
Don’t just take my word for it, though. Cabot’s Monterey Jack won 1st place at the 2018 World Championship Cheese Contest. Yup, 1st place. It’s that good! I’m still trying to get Laura to let me plan a trip to the World Championship Cheese Contest – talk about the best bucket list item for anyone who loves cheese!
Back to this Baked Spinach Dip recipe. While Monterey Jack forms the base of the dip, I do like to throw a handful of shredded sharp cheddar in there, too. I used Cabot’s Seriously Sharp Cheddar Cheese (another staple in our house). Cabot ages this cheese for 14 months, and the result is a flavorful and seriously delicious cheese.
This Baked Spinach Dip is truly a crowd-pleaser – we rarely (if ever) have leftovers to worry about. Aside from the flavor, another bonus to this recipe is how easy it is to make. It’s literally one of those “mix it all up in a bowl” type of recipes. And using the cast iron skillet as serveware makes it even easier!
How to Heat Up Leftovers
As noted above, we hardly ever have leftovers of this dip. However, this Baked Spinach Dip does reheat well. Transfer any leftovers out of the cast iron skillet into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. To reheat, simply microwave in 30-second intervals or bake in a 350°F oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until heated through.
What to Serve with Baked Spinach Dip
This dip is meant to be served as a communal appetizer. It could be the star by itself, or it could join a table of other dips and snack-y Super Bowl appetizers. For this dip, we typically serve it with pita chips, baby carrots and/or carrot sticks. Other options for dippers include toasted baguette slices, crackers, tortilla chips (make sure they are thicker) and additional veggies like celery sticks or sliced bell peppers.
If you’re looking for a fantastic Super Bowl appetizer idea, then grab some Cabot cheese and put this hot spinach dip on the menu. Just try not to eat all of the cheese while you’re making the dip! Cheers!
Did you make this Baked Spinach Dip at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me (@Spicedblog) and Cabot (@CabotCheese) on Instagram – we’d love to see your version!
Baked Spinach Dip
Ingredients
- 1 10-oz. package frozen spinach, thawed
- 8 oz. cream cheese softened
- 1 14-oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1½ tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ¾ cup shredded Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- 1¾ cups shredded Cabot Monterey Jack Cheese divided
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- {for serving} toasted baguette slices crackers, pita chips, veggies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Spray a shallow baking dish or small oven-safe skillet with nonstick cooking spray; set dish aside.
- Place thawed spinach in a large bowl and drain excess liquid. Using several paper towels, press the spinach firmly to drain as much liquid as possible. Coarsely chop the dried spinach and return it to the bowl.
- Add softened cream cheese, chopped artichoke hearts, sour cream and mayonnaise; stir until well combined.
- Add garlic, onion powder, paprika, pepper, salt, cheddar cheese and 1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese; stir until well combined.
- Spread the spinach dip into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining ¾ cup of Monterey Jack cheese evenly on top.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until mixture is heated through and cheese on top has fully melted.
- {Optional} Broil for 2-3 minutes, or until cheese on top begins to turn golden brown.
- Remove dish from oven and top with chopped parsley.
- Serve warm with toasted baguette slices, crackers, pita chips or veggies.
Looking for more tasty Super Bowl appetizer recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
Cant wait to make this soon for me can i use vegan cream cheese / coconut cream / vegan mayo and cheeses i never had baked spinach dip before perfect for snacks love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work
Hey Ramya! I haven’t made this recipe with vegan options myself, but I would imagine it would work well. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
I love spinach dips and baking it makes it even more delicious. Using a cast iron skillet is a great idea and is perfect for serving!
A cast iron skillet is perfect for this recipe as (1) it looks cool and (2) it keeps the dip warm for quite a while. Of course, we usually don’t have a problem with this dip sitting out too long…it disappears before it gets cold! 🙂
I love so many things about your dip David and using canned artichokes and frozen spinach is so convenient. All that delicious cheese, and Mayo and cream, perfect for a dip and my arteries:). What size (width) is your skillet? It looks as if I might hopefully have a cast iton one that would suit. Delicious thanks so much.
This dip truly is easy to make, Pauline! And it’s always a crowd-pleaser in our house. While it could easily be reheated later, we rarely have that problem! I have a couple of cast iron skillets that I use regularly – this one was 10″ (25cm), and it works well for dips and similar things. Not only does it keep the dip warmer longer, but it just looks fun, too! Thanks, Pauline!
i love the look of this david and it sounds delicious. yes you’re right – serving it in the cast iron is a great idea.
Why make more dishes to do when I can serve the dip in the same skillet that I used to cook it? 🙂 (And cast iron really helps keep the dip warm, too…you just have to warn folks that the skillet is hot!)
Look at this beautiful dip with the beautifully browned top! That is definitely the winner! But what did you say – twelve servings? I bet I could easily eat five or six all by myself! 🙂 And I doubt there could be any leftovers, but just in case that happens, there’s another idea how to utilize them – as an excellent pasta or rice sauce!
Oh we rarely have leftovers whenever I make this dip here, Ben! It’s absolutely fantastic, and everyone keeps going back for more…until there is no more. 🙂 I also like your idea of mixing leftovers into pasta. That sounds delicious!!
I love the look of that dip! It’s all the cheese, of course!
Cheese makes everything look (and taste!) better!! 🙂 Thanks, Mimi!
Love how this dip is prepared right in the skillet! Great idea for game night!
The dip itself tastes great, but the skillet is a “secret weapon” to keep the dip warm for much longer! Thanks, Michelle!