With super bowl coming up, awards shows on the weekends, and a lot of mid-season/winter premiers of TV shows, it’s a good time to have an easy and delicious appetizer on hand! This healthy spinach and artichoke dip has all the decadence of a traditional spinach and artichoke dip, but with way less calories, a ton of veggies, and a super quick prep time.
You get protein from the Greek yogurt, and a ton of fiber from the large amount of veggies used in this dip. In a typical spinach and artichoke dip, it seems like you’re getting mostly the mayonnaise base with a sprinkling of veggies, but with this recipe, you get an even mix of veggies and yogurt base for a delicious, light, and filling dip!
I made this healthy spinach and artichoke dip the other night for some friends, and it was a total hit! We actually had some leftovers because this recipe makes a pretty big batch of it, so I added it onto turkey sandwiches for lunch. It made the sandwich a little more special, a little different, and super delicious. Once you make this recipe, fat laden and caloric spinach and artichoke dip with be a thing of your past!
Ingredients:
- 1-2 tbs olive oil
- 12 oz bag of uncooked spinach
- 12 oz back of frozen artichoke hearts
- 8 oz light whipped cream cheese
- 1 cup 0% Greek yogurt
- 1 cup shredded light mozzarella
- ¼ cup shredded parmesan
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- ¼ tsp salt
- Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup salted butter
- 1/3 cup panko break crumbs
First, make sure that you pull out your cream cheese and yogurt so they are at room temperature, then set aside and start working on the veggies.
Start by heating up the olive oil in a large pan and sautéing the spinach until just wilted. Chop up the artichoke hearts into bite size pieces, and add them into the pan while they are till frozen. This sounds crazy, but it works. Sauté everything for another 5 minutes until the artichoke hearts are warm, and everything is thoroughly mixed. Add in the minced garlic and sauté for another minute or two until it is fragrant. Season with salt and stir to combine. Set aside to cool.
While spinach and artichoke mixture is cooling, work on the cheesy base. You can do this in the bowl of a standing mixer, which makes it super easy, or you can do it by hand or with a handheld mixer. Add in the cream cheese and Greek yogurt, and mix to completely combine the two. The yogurt serves to add protein, tang, and to lighten up the dense cream cheese. Once that is totally mixed, add in the mozzarella and parmesan, mixing it in to evenly distribute it throughout the base mix.
Next add in the veggies that have cooled slightly and mix everything so that you get veggies, cheese, and a creamy base I every bite. Taste for seasoning and add salt (if needed) and pepper to taste.
Pour this mixture into a lightly oiled 7×11 or 8×8 baking dish, and spread it out into one even layer. Next, make the topping. Mix ¼ cup salted butter with 1/3 cup of panko bread crumbs and sprinkle it evenly over the top of the dip.
Bake this at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes until the top is golden brown, and dip is bubbly and hot. Add more fresh cracked black pepper (optional) once it comes out of the oven.
Serve with sliced French bread and crunchy veggies such as carrots, cucumber, celery, and endives for an absolutely delicious healthy spinach and artichoke dip experience! Enjoy!
