I remembered my friend Candace had swooned over a Warm Spinach and Artichoke dip she had ordered at Applebee’s recently, then I stumbled upon a recipe that I thought might be similar. And it was from one of my favorite recipe websites, Brown Eyed Baker! BINGO! I knew it would be good!

The photo is also from her website. I can’t take pictures like that, and The Great Computer Fire corrupted SO many of my own photos . . . . 🙁

I made and baked one-half batch for a Together Women Rise dinner. I made and refrigerated another half-batch for three days, and then baked for it for Thanksgiving appetizers. So there is no problem making this up and refrigerating a few days before baking. I made another batch and froze it to defrost and then bake for our Christmas party.  One effort, three parties covered with about 15 minutes of prep time and about the same in clean up time!  I love the efficiency of batch cooking 🙂

Baked Artichoke Spinach Dip

from the Brown Eyed Baker

INGREDIENTS

• 14 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and finely chopped
• 1 10 ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained—Squ-e-e-e-ze the liquid from the spinach!
• 1½ cups (6 ounces) finely shredded or grated Parmesan cheese, divided use
• 1½ cups (6 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided use
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• Paprika, to taste (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°
2. S-q-u-e-e-e-z-e the liquid from the spinach!  Combine chopped artichokes, dry spinach, all but ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese, all but ¼ cup of Monterey Jack cheese, room temperature cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, and garlic in a bowl and mix well.
3. Spoon the artichoke mixture into a 1½-quart baking dish, and sprinkle the reserved Parmesan and Monterey Jack cheeses on top, and then sprinkle with paprika.
4. Bake in preheated 350° oven for 30 minutes. Edges should be brown, and dip should be cooked through.
5. Serve warm with desired dippers—I served with a sliced sourdough baguette, but tortilla or pita chips, crackers or vegetables would all work.  Make it yours!

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today!