This healthy spinach artichoke dip is always a crowd-pleaser. Made with light cream cheese and Greek yoghurt, it’s a lightened up version of everyone’s favourite easy appetiser. Creamy, savoury, and super addictive, you’ll be coming back for more!
Spinach artichoke dip is always amazing, let’s be honest.
But you know what makes it even more amazing? A fresh, homemade version that comes out of the oven warm and oozes with cheesy goodness.
Yes, it sounds indulgent. And yes, it tastes indulgent too. But thanks to a few simple swaps this version of the classic spinach artichoke dip is a little bit healthier, without sacrificing taste. Truly one of the best dip recipes out there, this hot spinach artichoke dip will become one of your favourite dishes to serve on game day, at your next party or as a healthy appetiser anytime you feel like making something special.
What Makes This Dip Healthier?
A few clever swaps for traditional dip ingredients help to lighten up this recipe.
- Cream cheese: This recipe uses reduced-fat cream cheese instead of full-fat cream cheese to make a cheesy dip that's a little bit lighter.
- Greek yoghurt: Instead of sour cream, regular mayo, or light mayo, which are usually found in this dish, this recipe utilises Greek yoghurt, a lighter option that has the same creamy texture but is is low fat and packed with protein.
Other Ingredients
A few other ingredients bring this creamy dip together:
- Jarred artichoke hearts: Choose jarred artichokes that are canned/jarred in either water or olive oil. To amp up the flavour, go for artichokes that have been marinated with different herbs and spices.
- Frozen spinach: Easier, cheaper and more convenient than fresh spinach, frozen spinach makes this recipe a breeze.
- Parmesan and pecorino cheese blend: We used a blend of parmesan and pecorino to deepen the flavour, but you can use regular parmesan instead if you prefer.
- Garlic: Garlic is one of those fresh ingredients that adds extra zing to any dish, and this healthier dip is no exception. If you don't have garlic on hand, you can substitute it for 1 teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Italian spices: Italian spices add a bit of extra flavour. Use any Italian spice blend you can find, or make your own by mixing any combination of dried oregano, basil, thyme and marjoram.
- Red pepper flakes: For extra heat, add a few red pepper flakes. If you don't like spice, feel free to omit.
The Perfect Party Dish
Be it an Easter brunch, friend’s birthday, a summer picnic, the big game or your next holiday party you simply can’t go wrong by bringing this dish. Creamy, cheesy, and super addictive, it’s a universal crowd-pleaser. If you want to make something that your friends will rave over — this is it. Not only is it secretly healthy, but it also blows grocery store dips out of the water.
Best of all, it couldn’t be easier to prepare!
Simply mix everything in a bowl, bake it, and serve warm with your choice of chips, crackers or veggies.
Common Questions
You can make this recipe vegan, but it will require a few tweaks. Choose vegan cream cheese, vegan yoghurt, and vegan parmesan — then simply make everything else the same way. We haven’t tried it, so can’t vouch for the taste, but as long as you get good-tasting substitutes, we're sure that it’ll be delicious!
This dip is best eaten straight out of the oven! Serve it warm alongside some chips or crackers for a truly delightful dip experience. If you don’t finish it all at once (a rare occasion, in our experience), the dip will keep well in the fridge for up to 4 days. Ensure that the dip is kept in an airtight container, allowing it to come to room temperature before eating.
This dip tastes amazing when served with some crispy, salty pita chips. It’s also great with plain crackers or tortilla chips. This dip also delicious smothered on a bit of baguette or crusty bread. Yum!
For a light option, serve the baked spinach artichoke dip with your favourite veggies: baby carrots, mini bell peppers and cucumber sticks would all taste great with this.
📖 Recipe
Healthy Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Diet: Low Fat
Description
This healthy spinach artichoke dip is always a crowd-pleaser. Made with light cream cheese and Greek yoghurt, it’s a lightened up version of everyone’s favourite easy appetiser. Creamy, savoury, and super addictive, you’ll be coming back for more!
Ingredients
- 280 grams jarred artichoke hearts (160 grams once liquid is drained)
- 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and drained (yields about ½ cup thawed)
- 250 grams light/reduced-fat cream cheese (1 pack), softened
- ½ cup grated parmesan and pecorino cheese blend (or sub for all parmesan) + 1 sprinkle for topping
- ¼ cup plain, unsweetened Greek yoghurt
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon Italian spice blend
- 2-3 pinches salt (to taste)
- 2-3 grinds black pepper (to taste)
- 1 pinch of red pepper flakes (optional, for spice)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180° Celsius or 350° Fahrenheit. Grease a medium oven-proof bowl and set aside.
- Using a colander, drain the artichoke hearts to get rid of all excess liquid. Slice the artichoke hearts into rough eighths and set aside.
- Measure 1 cup of frozen spinach and place it in the colander in the sink to drain. As the spinach thaws, the water will run off into the sink. Squeeze out any excess water. To speed up this process, you can run hot water over the spinach to help it thaw.
- In a seperate medium bowl, add the sliced artichoke hearts, thawed spinach, light cream cheese, grated pecorino and parmesan cheese blend, Greek yoghurt and Italian spice blend*. Mix well.
- Add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Mix until everything is incorporated.
- Transfer the dip from the mixing bowl into the prepared, greased oven-proof bowl.
- If you'd like, add an extra sprinkle of parmesan on top of the dip for some extra crunch.
- Place the bowl in the oven and bake for 25 minutes, until the dip is bubbly and beginning to lightly brown on top.
- Use oven mitts to remove the dip from the oven. Let cool slightly for 3-5 minutes then serve immediately with crackers, chips, pita, bread or fresh veggies.
- This dip will likely run out fast, but in the case you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days for best taste.
Notes
*We used this Italian herb mix, which includes oregano, marjoram, celery, red pepper, basil, thyme, rosemary, garlic, chilli, and sea salt. Feel free to leave it out, or substitute with dried basil.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Appetizer, Snack
- Method: Quick & Easy
- Cuisine: American
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and star rating!
lindsay says
everyone loved this. i couldn't believe how warm and cheesy (!) it got. perfect with pretzels at a party!
Simply Fresh Foodie says
Yay! Love to hear that 🙂
Pretzels are a great idea!