Healthy and Delicious Recipe for Spinach Artichoke Dip

I love going out with friends, but when it’s time to order appetizers, I cringe. Spinach Artichoke Dip is one of my favorites, but it’s loaded with fat, sodium, and other unhealthy ingredients.

I began making my own, more healthful spinach artichoke dip recipe at home. It includes good fats, nutritious greens, and fresh seasonings.

Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter (preferably from grass-fed cows)
• 8 ounces organic cultured cream cheese (or Neufchâtel for a lower fat recipe)
• 16 ounces Greek yogurt
• 1 cup grated Parmesan or other hard cheese
• 1 pound chopped artichoke hearts, steamed or baked (you can used canned if you can’t find them fresh)
• 1 jalapeño pepper, cored, seeded, and minced
• 1 pound fresh spinach, steamed, drained, and chopped (stinging nettles or chickweed can be substituted for different flavor & nutrition)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• juice and zest from one lemon
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a pan over low heat to avoid scorching.
2. Add the cream cheese and yogurt. Heat until melted and blended.
3. Add most of the Parmesan, saving a few tablespoons for garnish. Melt this too.
4. When blended, add the spinach, making sure to squeeze all the liquid out. Blend, then add the rest of the ingredients. Add salt and pepper if you wish.
5. Serve warm with pita chips instead of tortilla chips.

Homemade Pita Chips

To make the pita tips, take pita bread and cut it into quarters. Arrange on a baking pan. Brush with olive oil and dust with pink salt, pepper, and dried dill. (I mix all of these together and grind together in a spice grinder.) Bake at 300°F for about 10 minutes, just long enough to dry out, but not burn. These have much less fat than tortilla chips, which are traditionally deep fried.

Do you have a favorite Spinach Artichoke Dip recipe? Tell us about it!

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