Spinach artichoke dip is one of my favorite appetizers. If I had it my way I would order it every time we went out to eat, but my boyfriend unfortunately does not agree with me. However, these spinach dip stuffed artichokes are a game changer. If restaurants served these, I’m sure he would insist that we order them every time.
This dish can take some time to prepare, so it is better for a special occasion. Cleaning the artichokes can be difficult for your first time, but it is so worth it for a dish to impress!
How to Make Spinach Dip Stuffed Artichokes:
To make this dish, you will prepare a simple spinach dip which will then be stuffed into an artichoke, and the entire dish will be steam cooked in the oven. Although this dish can take some elbow grease to clean out the artichoke, the rest of the dish is pretty simple to put together. Once the artichokes are in the oven, you have plenty of time to prepare a protein or any other components that you want to add to the final dish.
Prepare the simple spinach dip using a variety of cheeses, sour cream, mayo, lemon juice and spices. Feel free to grab a pre-shredded mix, or use a variety of cheeses that you already have. I recently picked up a bunch of cheese on sale and used a combination of mozzarella, fontina, and Parmesan cheese.
Stuff this cheesy spinach dip in between the leaves of the cleaned artichokes. Finish it off with more cheese and steam all together in the oven for a little over an hour. This will create the perfect combination of two great appetizers.
How to Store the Artichokes:
You can store these in the refrigerator in an air tight container for up to 3 days. Reheat these artichokes in the microwave for about 3 minutes. This time will depend on your microwave. You can also steam these on the stove top until heated through. Feel free to make these ahead of time and store in the refrigerator before cooking for up to 5 days. Cook as you would per the instructions below.
Cook this recipe during the spring when you can find fresh artichokes on sale. I bought two artichokes on sale at Sprouts for $3.
Recipe Step-by-Step
- Preheat oven to 375°.
Prepare the spinach dip:
- Melt 1 tbsp. butter and 1 tbsp. oil in a medium sized pan on medium-high heat. Add 1/2 diced onion and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 2 minutes.
- Add 3 minced garlic cloves and sauté until it just starts to turn brown, about 1 minute.
- I do suggest that you chop the spinach before cooking, unlike I did in the picture above. Chopped spinach will be easier to stuff into the artichoke once you get to that step.
- Reduce heat to low and add chopped spinach in batches to the pan, stirring until spinach is wilted.
- Be sure to let the spinach and onions cool before adding to the remaining dip mixture. Set aside while you prepare the artichokes and remainder of dip. Once that is complete, the spinach should be cool enough to add to the cheese mixture.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the following ingredients:
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup of mayo
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
3/4 cup shredded cheese
- Add the cooled spinach and onions to the mixture.
Prepare the artichokes:
- Trim the stems of the artichokes to allow them to sit flat. Cut about an inch off the top of each artichoke. Trim the remaining leaves on the artichoke with kitchen scissors to remove the sharp points.
- Using your hands, spread the artichoke leaves and open up the middle. Twist the small pink leaves in the center of the artichoke to remove them, and use a spoon to scoop out all of the fuzzy center. This will be the most difficult part, but you want to try to remove all the hair while leaving the artichoke heart beneath it intact. Rub the cut parts of the artichoke with some lemon to prevent it from browning.
- Fill up the center cavity of each artichoke halfway with spinach dip. Starting with the leaves near the top, stuff about a teaspoon of the dip into each leaf moving downward until all the dip is used up.
- Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of shredded cheese over the top of the artichokes.
Cook the Artichokes:
- Pour 1 cup water into 9 x 13 baking pan and place the spinach dip stuffed artichokes into the pan. Spray tin foil with non-stick cooking spray before tightly covering the baking pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 70-80 minutes. I live at a higher elevation, and 80 minutes was perfect for me.
- Let cool for 10 minutes, and squeeze fresh lemon juice over the artichokes before serving. Feel free to serve as shared appetizer, or cut each artichoke in half and serve as an individual side dish.
Have an Instant Pot?
If you prefer to cook these in the Instant Pot, place a 1/2 cup of water in the base of the pot. Please the steam rack in the bottom, and the stuffed artichokes on top of that. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes.
How do you eat the artichoke?
For those uninitiated to eating artichokes, you pull out each leaf and scrape it with your teeth to get the artichoke meat and the dip. Then discard any tough parts of the artichoke. You can also eat the heart, which is below the spinach dip in the center of the artichoke, and goes all the way through the bottom. The heart is absolutely the most delicious part of the artichoke, tender and buttery. Do not throw this part away!
How many people do the artichokes feed?
These two artichokes can be cut in half after cooking, and served to four people as a side dish with grilled chicken or some other protein. Add a small side salad to cut through the richness of the dip. Feel free to leave the artichokes whole and serve to the whole table as an appetizer. If served as an appetizer this recipe could feed up to 8 people.
If you love spinach dip or artichokes, you will absolutely salivate over these spinach dip stuffed artichokes.
Spinach Dip Stuffed Artichokes
Ingredients
- 2 Artichokes
- 1 bunch Fresh Spinach, chopped or 10 oz frozen spinach
- 1 cup Italian Cheese shredded
- 4 oz. Cream Cheese
- 1/2 cup Sour Cream
- 1/4 cup Mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp. Butter
- 1 tsp. Olive Oil
- 1/2 Onion diced
- 3 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1 tbsp. Lemon Juice about 1/2 lemon
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper
- 1 cup Water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°.
Prepare the spinach dip:
- Melt butter and oil in a medium sized pan on medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until just starting to turn brown, about 1 minute.
- Reduce heat to low and add spinach in batches, stirring until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayo, lemon juice, spices, and 3/4 cup of the shredded cheese. Add the cooled spinach and onions to the mixture.
Prepare the artichokes:
- Trim the stems to allow the artichokes to sit flat. Cut about an inch off the top of the artichoke. Trim the remaining leaves with kitchen scissors to remove the sharp points.
- Using your hands, spread the artichoke leaves and open up the middle. Twist the small pink leaves in the center of the artichoke to remove them, and use a spoon to scoop out all of the fuzzy center. Rub the cut parts of the artichoke with some lemon to prevent it from browning.
- Fill up the center cavity of each artichoke halfway with spinach dip. Starting with the leaves near the top, stuff about a teaspoon of the dip into each leaf moving downward until all the dip is used up.
- Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of shredded cheese over the top of the artichokes.
- Pour 1 cup water into 9 x 13 baking pan and place artichokes into pan. Cover tightly with foil and bake in preheated oven for 70-80 minutes.
- Let cool for 10 minutes, and squeeze fresh lemon juice over the artichokes before serving.
Recent Comments