Spinach Artichoke Dip

This dip is best served warm. Paired with fresh vegetables, a crusty whole-wheat baguette, or baked pita chips, it’s a classic party favorite.

Mar 20, 2022

Hello and welcome. I’m so excited to introduce you to my Substack newsletter – Recipes Made Healthy by Darlene Zimmerman, MS, RD. The mission of this site is simple: to be your favorite, trusted resource for great-tasting, healthier recipes that you and your family will crave.

I’ve been a registered dietitian (RD) for more than 30 years. And, while I’ve worn many hats during my career (clinician, educator, public speaker, media spokesperson, cookbook author, and columnist), I found my true passion when I began developing recipes. For nearly two decades, I wrote a weekly recipe and healthy living column for the Detroit Free Press, Michigan’s largest media company within the USA Today Network.

Now, I’m bringing that passion for cooking, my love of food, and nutrition expertise to Recipes Made Healthy by Darlene Zimmerman, MS, RD, a place to find recipes that are good for you, easy to make, and most importantly, taste great.

We’re kicking things off with one of my favorite appetizers – Spinach Artichoke Dip. Most recipes for this calorie-laden dip rely on multiple packages of cream cheese, generous amounts of Parmesan cheese, and mayonnaise by the cup full. Years of experience tweaking recipes has taught me that using a combination of regular and reduced-fat ingredients is a great way to lower calories, without sacrificing taste.

Using reduced-fat cream cheese and reduced-fat sour cream, along with Parmesan cheese and a small amount of regular mayonnaise lowered the calories significantly. I analyzed a traditional spinach artichoke dip recipe and found a 1/4-cup serving had 235 calories. Our dip has 96 calories. Now, that’s a nice savings.

I hope you’ll check in often to get my latest recipes, or better yet subscribe to my newsletter. Please know that all the recipes on this site are tested, often multiple times. With each recipe you will find per serving nutrition information, the same information you get on food labels. I use the industry’s top choice for nutritional software to ensure the most accurate nutrient analysis.

So, let’s get cooking!

To your health,

Darlene

SPINACH ARTICHOKE DIP

Yield: 12 servings

Serving Size: 1/4 cup dip

Prep: 10 minutes

Ready: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup (4 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup diced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 box (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and roughly chopped

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, mix Parmesan cheese (setting aside 2 tablespoons), cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, onion, garlic, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes until well blended. Stir in spinach and artichoke hearts.
Transfer mixture to an oven-safe dish and sprinkle top with reserved 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Bake in a 350-degree oven until dip is heated through and begins to bubble; about 20 minutes.
Serve with fresh vegetables, whole-wheat baguette slices, or baked pita chips.

Nutrition Information per serving (dip only)

96 Calories, 8 g Total fat, 3 g Saturated fat, 0 g Trans fat, 17 mg Cholesterol, 203 mg Sodium, 3 g Total carbohydrate, 1 g Dietary fiber, 2 g Total sugars, 0 g Added sugars, 4 g Protein, 0 mcg (0%) Vitamin D, 105 mg (8%) Calcium, 0 mg (0%) Iron, 67 mg (2%) Potassium