Garlic Parmesan Spinach Dip is a deliciously warm, cheesy dip that really highlights the garlic and parmesan flavors! It’s easy to make, completely addictive, and always a huge hit at parties.
If you’re a big fan of cheesy dips, make sure to try our Hot Crab Dip, Spinach Artichoke Dip, and Queso Dip.
The Best Spinach Dip
Garlic Parmesan Spinach Dip has become my go-to dinner party dip. That’s a huge statement, because there really are so many dips I love! Lately, though, nothing can really compare to this cheesy, garlicky, seriously addictive dip. This is one of those dips that as soon as you finish one bite, you’re already reaching for the next. The best part? It’s also delightfully easy to make! You can even use frozen spinach instead of fresh if that’s more convenient for you.
There are so many words I’d use to describe this dip… One of those is rich. The richness in this decadent dip is created by the sour cream, cream cheese, mayonnaise, and of course the freshly grated parmesan cheese! All of those thick, creamy ingredients are mixed together and baked to perfection to create a very dense dip that the sturdiest of chips or breads should be able to hold just fine.
With football season already upon us, it’s essentially appetizer season! While I enjoy serving different apps all year long, I always find myself working double time with appetizer recipes this time of year. Luckily, I can use recipes like this super easy to make Garlic Parmesan Spinach Dip to count on every time! It’s cheesy as can be, loaded with spinach, and oh so rich and creamy. This dip recipe is the very definition of tried and true!
Ingredients You’ll Need:
- Spinach – I prefer using fresh spinach, but you can use frozen instead if you need to! Just make sure to thaw the frozen spinach before using it. Remember to squeeze most of the liquids from spinach whether it was cooked fresh or thawed from frozen.
- Cream Cheese – The cream cheese needs to be at room temperature so you can easily combine it with the other ingredients. Leave it on the countertop for about an hour prior to making this recipe so it’s ready to go.
- Sour Cream – Use a full fat sour cream for the best results.
- Mayonnaise – Just like the sour cream, you’re going to want your plain mayonnaise to be full fat.
- Cheese – You can use either Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano in the dip. The most important thing is that the cheese is freshly grated! Pre-shredded cheese has an separating agent on it to prevent the cheese from sticking to itself, which will also cause it to not mix well in this recipe. Pre-shredded, bagged cheese also looses a lot of the flavor and is not at strong as freshly grated. You can always check your cheese and deli sections of the grocery store for freshly grated parmesan cheese.
- Garlic – This is one of the key ingredients, so it’s very important to use freshly garlic, not packaged pre-minced.
- Salt
- Black Pepper
Cooking Instructions:
1. Prepare the spinach:
For fresh spinach: Preheat a large cooking pan over medium-low heat. Add some oil and let it warm up. While that’s heating up, chop the spinach. Add the chopped spinach to the pan, add a little salt, and give it a good stir. Place a lid on top of the pan and make sure it’s secured on there nice and tight! Let the spinach cook down completely, giving it a stir from time to time. Once cooked, transfer the spinach to a mesh strainer and let it cool. Gently squeeze out most of the liquids once it’s cool enough to handle.
For frozen spinach: Make sure the frozen spinach is completely thawed. Once thawed, squeeze out most of the liquid before mixing it in with the other ingredients.
2. Combine the ingredients.
Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Make sure it’s all fully combined.
3. Bake the dip.
Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a baking dish.
Spread the mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with freshly grated parmesan if desired.
Bake for 20 minutes.
You can either serve it as is or mix the parmesan on top into the dip.
Make Ahead and Storing Instructions:
You can easily make this spinach dip ahead of time. Simply combine all of the ingredients and spread it in the baking dish. Cover the baking dish air-tight and refrigerate. You can refrigerate it up to 24 hours before baking. Take the dip out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking to let it warm up a bit and then bake as instructed in the recipe.
Store any leftover dip in a air-tight container, in the refrigerator. Properly stored, the dip will last for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. You can eat the dip cold or warm it up.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Yes! All of the ingredients listed should be naturally gluten free. However, if you adhere to a gluten free diet, you should always double check the labels just to be safe.
You sure can! Using a Crockpot is a good idea if you want to keep the dip warm throughout the duration of a party. Simply prepare the spinach dip mixture as the recipe instructs, then spread it in a Crockpot rather than a baking dish. Add the shaved parmesan on top if you wish.
You can warm it through either on high or low, but you’ll want to keep an eye on it either way. Once it’s heated through completely, turn the Crockpot down to the warm setting. On high, it will take 20-30 minutes. On the low setting, it will take about an hour. Give it a good stir before serving it to your guests.
Like I mentioned above, you can feel free to use either frozen or fresh spinach. Fresh spinach needs to be cooked first and frozen spinach should be completely thawed. No matter which route you take, you’ll want to make sure to squeeze out most of the liquids from the spinach before stirring it into the dip mixture.
Garlic Parmesan Spinach Dip
Ingredients
- 10 oz fresh spinach (or 9 oz. frozen spinach)
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup mayo
- 1 cup Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano freshly grated
- 3 garlic cloves
- salt
- fresh cracked pepper
- 1/3 cup shaved parmesan cheese optional, to top
Instructions
For Spinach:
- You can use fresh spinach or frozen spinach for this dip.
- To use fresh spinach:Preheat a large, deep cooking pan over medium-low heat and add some oil. Chop spinach while the pan is preheating and add it to the pan. Season with a pinch of salt and stir. Close the pan with a fitted lid and let it cook down completely. Make sure to stir from time to time. Once the spinach is cooked, transfer it onto a mesh strainer and let it cool down. When cooled enough, gently squeeze most liquids out.
- If you plan to use frozen spinach, make sure to thaw it completely. Once thawed, squeeze out most of the liquid before adding spinach to the mixing bowl.
The Dip:
- Preheat oven to 350° and lightly grease a baking dish that's about 2 quart in size.
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix very well.
- Spread the dip mixture in a baking dish and top it off with some shaved parmesan if you wish.
- Bake for about 20 minutes.
- Before serving, you can leave the melted parmesan cheese on top or simply stir it into the hot dip.
Nutrition
Kelly says
My new favorite dip! Thanks!
Igenics says
Thank you for posting on Saturday Show and Tell! I hope you’ll be back this week
Ute says
I just made this, but I added chopped green chile, using Trader Joe’s Organic Blue Corn Tortilla chips to dip with…OMG….I’m in my version of paradise! Thanks so much for this recipe! And your Borscht rocks, too! Best of luck on your schooling!
lyuba says
Thank you! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂 Great idea adding a chile pepper for extra kick!
Shauna says
This looks so yummy to me! I’ve been looking for a new dip recipe to make for our family and this looks perfect! I went ahead and featured it on my blog as the “blog recipe of the day” and linked everything back to you directly so my readers can see all of the other great recipes you’ve posted. Here’s the link if you want to check it out http://thebestblogrecipes.blogspot.com/2012/12/spinach-parmesan-dip.html
Thanks again, Shauna
Kelly at Smart! School House says
I would love to eat some right now! Thanks for linking up To Whimsy
Wednesday!
Kelly
Smart! School {House}
http://www.facebook.com/SmartSchoolHouse
carolinaheartstrings says
That looks fantastic. I cannot wait to try this dip out. A new crowd pleaser. Come and visit us. We are having a wonderful giveaway this week. You will love it.
Linda Makiej says
This sounds really wonderful!!
Mackenzie says
Thank you for posting on Saturday Show and Tell! I hope you’ll be back this week with more!
-Mackenzie
http://www.cheeriosandlattes.com