There's a reason Spinach Dip is one of the classics and such a popular party appetizer. It's deliciously creamy, cheesy, and perfect for dipping chips, crackers, or veggies.
Enjoy fresh spinach cooked to perfection in a deliciously decadent creamy and garlicky cheese sauce. Best of all, it takes just about 20 minutes to make this easy stovetop dip.
Why This Spinach Dip Recipe Works
SHARE WITH FRIENDS - This creamy spinach dip is perfect for game or movie nights with your friends and family. Plan a get-together with your besties. This dip is perfect to woe a crowd.
TIME - This Spinach Cheese Dip takes just about 20 minutes to make. It has all of your favorite ingredients in one tasty recipe - it'll be an instant hit at any gathering where you need something quick but impressive (and it can be vegetarian too!).
FAMILY STYLE - Serve this dip family style with your favorite veggies, crackers, bread, or chips.
MAKE AHEAD - You can make the hot Spinach Dip ahead of time. Reheat the dip in a skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
Ingredients
Please check the recipe card below for a detailed, printable ingredient list.
SPINACH - You can use fresh spinach or frozen spinach. I prefer fresh baby spinach because it's something I stock in my fridge year-round.
OLIVE OIL - If possible, use a good quality extra virgin olive oil.
ONION - For most recipes that require sautéed onions, I tend to go with yellow onions. The reason is simple. Yellow onions caramelize beautifully and are the perfect base for dips, soups, and sauces.
RELATED RECIPE: French Onion Soup
GARLIC - I love sautéed garlic. It has slightly sweet, buttery, and nutty flavors. But in most dishes, this one included, it's an optional ingredient. Meaning that you can still make the dish without the garlic and serve it without compromising the integrity of the recipe.
FLOUR - Use to make the roux (mixture of oil and flour) and thickens the dip.
HEAVY CREAM - For this recipe, we make a basic cream sauce with onions, heavy cream, and just a little bit of garlic for flavor and texture.
CHICKEN BROTH - This adds instant flavor to the cheese sauce.
PARMESAN CHEESE - Use freshly grated parmesan cheese.
CAYENNE PEPPER - A dash of cayenne pepper adds a bit of heat, but it won't overpower the recipe.
SOUR CREAM - Adding a bit of sour cream gives this dip recipe a delicious tang and perfectly balances the heat from the cayenne pepper
More Easy Dips
Variations
GARLIC POWDER - If you don't like the idea of fresh garlic or you don't have any on hand, you can use 1-2 teaspoons of garlic powder.
CELERY - Instead of using two small onions, you can add an extra bit of crunch by substituting one onion with 2-3 stalks of celery. Just make sure to dice the celery quite fine.
ARTICHOKES - You can turn this dip into a Spinach and artichoke dip by adding some artichoke hearts.
PECORINO ROMANO - I like to use Pecorino Romano as a substitute. This started by accident when I grabbed the wrong cheese! Because parmesan and pecorino look very similar. However, Pecorino tastes saltier but also works well with all of the other flavors giving the dip an extra punch.
Whenever I use pecorino, I don't even bother to season the dip with any salt at the end. However, when I use parmesan cheese, I tend to add a dash of salt.
VEGETABLE BROTH - Use instead of chicken stock if you want to make this a truly vegetarian dip.
How To Make Hot Spinach Dip
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add onions and garlic and sauté until tender. Stir in flour.
- Add chicken stock and stir until it thickens. Season with cayenne pepper. Add heavy cream and bring to a rapid boil.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese.
- Fold in the fresh baby spinach.
- Stir in the sour cream. If desired, season with salt and pepper.
What to serve with This Dip?
Dips are great family food and what you serve is really up to your personal preferences. Chips, crackers, and veggies are great choices. I like to have a combination of tortilla chips, carrots, celery, and cherry tomatoes on my vegetable tray.
BREAD BOWL - You can get even more creative and buy a loaf of sourdough bread, slice off the top, remove the filling, and pour the dip into the bread.
Leftovers
STORE - You can store leftovers in an airtight container. The dip will last for up 3 days in the fridge.
TIP: Before you store any leftovers in the refrigerator, make sure that the dip has cooled completely.
FREEZE - This dip should not be frozen. The sour cream and the heavy cream will become grainy and watery after defrosting, and the dip will taste off.
More Delicious Dip Ideas
Taco Dip - This 3-ingredient cream cheese-based dip is highly customizable and perfect for game day.
Dill Dip - Great for dipping everything from your favorite veggies, crackers, and chip
Ranch Dressing- America's favorite dressing & dip!
Parsley Pesto - Milder and slightly sweeter than traditional basil pesto.
Chipotle Mayonnaise - Perfect for dipping sweet potato fries!
Spinach Dip
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 cups yellow onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons flour all-purpose
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 9 ounces baby spinach
- ½ cup sour cream
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until soft and tender. About 5 minutes.
- Whisk in the flour and stir until the mixture turns into a paste. Slowly pour the chicken broth into the mixture and stir until it thickens.
- Add heavy cream and bring the mixture to a boil. Season with cayenne pepper. Turn the heat off.
- Stir the grated parmesan cheese into the sauce. Once well combined, fold the fresh spinach into the cheese sauce.
- Stir in the sour cream. If desired season to taste with salt and pepper.
Jeannette Ta
Oh my goodness! This is my FAVOURITE dip! I've always had it cold so I'm very excited to try it warm. Thanks for sharing, Maike!
Maike
I hope you'll love it. 🙂
Krissy Allori
Spinach dip is one of our favorites. This is a great recipe and is easy to make. I love the little bit of cayenne in it.
Tawnie Kroll
Seriously so good, this recipe is my favorite appetizer to bring to parties!
Mirlene
Love spinach dip and yours sound so simple to make. Perfect for any day.
Cindy
What a delicious recipe. Our family LOVES to snack and this spinach dip didn't disappoint!
Maike
Oh, I'm so thrilled to hear that Cindy! Thank you for letting me know.