Fresh Spinach Dip
Made with fresh baby spinach, this Fresh Spinach Dip is an easy and delicious appetizer recipe. Grab some fresh veggies or crackers and dig in!
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Want a delicious dip that doesn’t use a packet of dried veggie mix? This recipe is for you! This Fresh Spinach Dip starts with an entire pound of fresh spinach along with a bit of carrots and onions. It’s a fantastic dip for Super Bowl parties or just casual evenings with friends.
Like all dip and soup recipes, this one definitely tastes better if you mix it up and then refrigerate it overnight. The flavors all meld together, and the dip goes from “Mmmm, that’s tasty.” to “Holy cow, that’s delicious!”
To be fair, this recipe doesn’t exactly replicate what you’d find in a packet of Knorr’s veggie soup mix. If you check the ingredients, there are a bunch of things that would be difficult to replicate. Dehydrated potato flakes, broccoli powder, tomato powder, etc. I’m sure I could find those things on Amazon (Amazon has everything!), but do I really need ½ pound of tomato powder in my pantry?
Fresh Spinach Dip
While this recipe does require a bit of sautéing, there’s really not much else required. 16 oz. of fresh spinach looks like a lot of spinach, but it cooks down into a surprisingly small amount. I’d estimate that 16oz. container of baby spinach turned into about ½-¾ cup of sautéed spinach. It’s crazy, I say!
The keys to making this Fresh Spinach Dip taste amazing are (1) letting the dip rest in the fridge overnight and (2) pressing as much liquid as possible out of the sautéed spinach. Spinach leaves hold a lot of water, and you don’t want that excess liquid going into the dip. Once it’s cooked down, just put the spinach in a colander and firmly press it with paper towels until most of the liquid is gone.
As far as serving this Fresh Spinach Dip, the sky is the limit. We typically serve this one with club crackers, ridged potato chips and/or baby carrots and raw broccoli. I do love crackers and chips, but the raw broccoli might be my favorite way to eat this dip. My mom would be so proud.
Another fun serving idea is to pick up a large round of bread at a local bakery or grocery store. Hollow out the middle of that loaf and then fill it with the veggie dip. (And you can use the bread you removed as dippers or save it to make croutons for salads.) I’m partial to pumpernickel bread or sourdough bread for this dip, but you’ll likely have to place an order ahead of time. Round loaves of pumpernickel aren’t the most common in stores.
Fresh Spinach vs. Frozen Spinach
I use frozen spinach quite a bit in various recipes. However, for this Fresh Spinach Dip, I recommend going with fresh baby spinach. I’ve tried it both ways, and fresh just tastes so much better in this spinach dip recipe!
How to Store Leftovers
Leftovers of this dip are easy to store. (After all, I recommend letting the dip rest in the refrigerator overnight to begin with!) Just place the dip in an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to 5 days. We typically eat leftovers straight from the container, although you could certainly transfer it back into a bowl. (But really…why wash extra dishes? Haha!)
I hope you enjoy this dip as much as we do here in our house. It’s a staple when we think about our favorite dips and appetizers!
Did you make a batch of this Fresh Spinach Dip at home? Leave a comment or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!
Fresh Spinach Dip
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium carrot shredded
- ½ cup diced yellow onions
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 16 oz. fresh baby spinach
- ¼ cup chopped green onions
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 8-oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- {For serving} crackers bread bowl, potato chips, tortilla chips and/or chopped carrots, celery sticks and bell peppers
Instructions
- Using a large skillet, add olive oil and place over medium-high heat.
- Once hot, add shredded carrots and diced onions. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, salt and pepper; stir until well combined. Continue sauteing for 1-2 more minutes. Transfer mixture into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Place skillet back over medium heat and add half of the spinach. Saute, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes, or until spinach begins to wilt. Add remaining spinach and continue sauteing, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 more minutes, or until spinach is completely wilted.
- Transfer spinach into a colander. Using paper towels, press as much water as possible out of the spinach.
- Chop spinach finely and transfer into the bowl with onions and carrots.
- Add the green onions, sour cream, mayonnaise, chopped water chestnuts, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, onion powder, paprika and garlic powder; stir until well combined.
- Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until chilled. (Note: This dip tastes even better if you refrigerate it overnight!)
- {For serving} Serve in a bowl with crackers, chips and/or chopped carrots/celery sticks. For a fun presentation, you can also serve this in a hollowed-out bread bowl.
Looking for more tasty dip recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
Cant wait to make this soon for me can i use vegan worcestershire sauce i never had fresh spinach dip before perfect for snacks love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work
Yes! I think vegan Worcestershire sauce would be totally fine here, Ramya. This dip is easy to make, and quite delicious – definitely give it a try!
This sounds wonderful. Thanks for using fresh spinach and NOT using a packaged dip mix! I know frozen spinach has a purpose but it’s not always necessary. Great seasoning!
The fresh spinach in this recipe makes such a huge difference, Mimi! I mean frozen spinach is fine, but fresh spinach takes this dip to a new level!
I love that you put carrots in this dip. I have to give a shout-out to tomato powder, though. I was gifted a small jar of sundried tomato powder, and I use it in lots of things. But that’s not to take away from your point … that last thing I need is yet one more spice jar with a spice in it that I have only one use for!
Sundried tomato powder? I have to admit that I’ve never heard of that before. I bet a sprinkling of that would be quite tasty in this dip recipe. Thanks for the idea, Jeff!
I didn’t even know there was such a thing as broccoli powder, lol! Anyway, this looks a heck of a lot better than anything you could make with a mix. And it’s good for you, too. Sounds like a win-win.
Yeah, broccoli powder sure does sound a bit suspicious, right? This recipe is proof you can get to the same (or better) results without using odd sounding spices. 🙂
This spinach dip looks so good, David. And I love that it’s made from scratch – isn’t made with dried soup mix, that stuff often has a bunch of preservatives etc.
The fresh spinach + real seasonings makes such a big difference here, Marissa!
this sounds very flavourful David. I like that version where the dip gets put into a hollowed-out cob loaf. I bet it tastes good the next day as you say.
I do enjoy serving spinach dip in a hollowed out loaf of bread, too – that way you can eat the bowl! 🙂
oops My details didn’t come across properly. here i am again.
Haha – no problem at all, Sherry – I suspected it was you! 🙂
We go through SO much spinach in our home! Like a lot! Love it so much! So, I know that this veggie-packed dip has definitely got to happen soon (maybe this weekend?). Can’t wait to hunker down with this dip, chips and a movie. Yay! Happy weekend, my friend! 🙂
Definitely make this dip sometime soon, Dawn! Frozen spinach is fine for lots of things, but fresh spinach makes a world of difference in this recipe. It’s perfect for a casual night with chips! 🙂
Ooh, I’ve never seen water chestnuts in dip before — it would add such a great texture and crunch to an otherwise creamy dip!
Funny enough, I don’t generally love water chestnuts…except in spinach dip! The extra crunch provides great texture.
If you have a dehydrator, it is super easy to make vegetable flakes or powder at home – as much as you need. I occasionally make some as a flavouring option. And this dip? Absolutely delicious! No Super Bowl is required for me 🙂
I do have a dehydrator, but I don’t use it all that often. Perhaps I should try it more! Either way, this dip is pretty fantastic!
So love that you snuck in those carrots in addition to that hefty amount of spinach! This is my kinda dip – Loaded with fresh veggies! I am salivating over your idea to serve this in a bread bowl – crusty sourdough with this – YUM!
Oh this dip is SO good, Shashi! And it would be even better in a sourdough bread bowl…that way you can eat the dishes so you don’t have to clean anything up. 🙂
I LOVE spinach dip! I usually make it with frozen spinach, so I’m curious to try it with fresh.
Who are you rooting for on Sunday?!
Hmmm. Sunday. I’m rooting for the commercials and a surprise twist to the halftime show this year. 🙂 I’m not really a fan of either team, but I guess I’ll pull for KC…mainly because I’m not a big 49ers fan at all. You??
And, yes, you should try making spinach dip with fresh spinach! Frozen is fine in a pinch, but fresh has so much more flavor!
I’m kind of up in the air on who to root for as well! The Chiefs are kind of a dynasty at this point and I tend to like an underdog so maybe the 49ers.