My daughter, Katie, used to work in the deli department of a large grocery store in our area. The deli chefs often developed new recipes for items that they wanted to test market for the store, especially around the Holidays. One day Katie came home raving about a dip that she got to make every day. “It’s sooo good! I wish we could make it at home.” When I questioned her about the recipe, the first thing she said was, “Mom, are you kidding me? We can’t do that! It’s like 15 pounds of cream cheese. Do you know how much that makes?”
I had to laugh. “We can cut it down. Just tell me the ingredients and the quantities that you use. I’ll do the math.” Judging from the look that she gave me and the tone of voice that she used (the ‘yeah, right’ kind of voice), I’m pretty sure that she doubted my capabilities. Never underestimate your mother.
So, I scaled down the recipe and Katie whipped up the dip. Winner! We nailed it.
Spinach Artichoke Jalapeno Dip
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic, toasted (see below)
- olive oil
- 1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1/2 pound frozen spinach, thawed and drained (press a little water from spinach, but do not make it too dry)
- 1 cup marinated artichoke hearts, chopped chunky
- 1 tablespoon chopped jalapeno peppers (canned is fine)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
To toast garlic:
- Chop the garlic.Over medium heat, cook garlic in a little olive oil, stirring frequently. Cook until lightly golden. This happens quickly. Do not overcook because the garlic will be bitter. Set aside.
For the Dip:
- In a large mixing bowl, mix cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise until well blended.
- In food processor, pulse-blend spinach, artichoke hearts, and toasted garlic. Do not chop too fine. Add to cream cheese mixture and mix well.
- Fold jalapeno peppers, lemon juice, and Parmesan into above mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Cover bowl and chill dip for at least 1 hour to blend flavors. Serve with vegetables, crackers, or a variety of breads torn or cut into bite-sized chunks.
Notes
To toast garlic: Chop the garlic. Over medium heat, cook garlic in a little olive oil, stirring frequently. Cook until lightly golden. Do not overcook because the garlic will be bitter. The picture below shows the perfect color for toasted garlic. You will not believe how deliciously garlicky your house will smell. When I walked in to my house after my daughter toasted the garlic for the dip, I just stood inside the doorway inhaling the amazing aroma. Heaven.
Be sure to let this dip chill for several hours so that the flavors become infused throughout the dip. We often eat this dip with artisan breads such as sourdough or a crusty Italian or French bread cut into cubes.
You may also like:
Caramelized Onion Dip
Smoky Clam Dip
Best Crab Dip Ever
Im going to try this today. Looks simple and sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing Katies mom 🙂
You’re welcome. Drop back by and let me know how things worked out for you. Just FYI, one of my co-workers said that she sprinkled the top with extra parmesan cheese and then baked this at about 350-dgrees until it was hot and bubbly. I’m sure that it was amazing prepared that way, too.
sounds delish! after looking all day for a great recipe I found yours! thank God!
Thank you. I hope that the recipe works well for you.
Sounds great! Do you use a “clove” of garlic or an entire “head” of garlic? The recipe says clove but the picture appears to be more. Thanks!
Hi Leslie. Use a clove of garlic. Two cloves would also be acceptable. As for the picture, you are right, it does look like more than one clove. I borrowed the picture from one of my other posts, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and inserted it onto this post. I did this post 5 years ago when I was first starting out as a blogger. It would probably be a good idea to update it.
Yum! Thanks for the quick response. 🙂
Thank you for this recipe! You didn’t say in what area your daughter works, but this sounds like one of favorites, unfortunately not sold in the stores anymore. We missed this dip, but now we can make it ourselves 🙂 It’s great with low salt blue corn tortilla chips.
I will definitely have to try the blue tortilla chips!
Hi, I was wondering have you ever eaten this dip hot?
I have not eaten this hot, but I do have a recipe for a Baked Artichoke Dip here on this blog. It is one of my favorites.