Five-Cheese Spinach & Artichoke Dip
Originally published in Taste of Home Christmas Annual 2013 and September/October Taste of Home Magazine 2013. Whenever I go to an event, I'm always asked to bring this hot dip. Five types of cheese make it a standout and oh-so delicious. I love its party-ready convenience—I serve it straight from the slow cooker, so set-up and clean-up is a breeze!
Originally published in Taste of Home Christmas Annual 2013 and September/October Taste of Home Magazine 2013. Whenever I go to an event, I'm always asked to bring this hot dip. Five types of cheese make it a standout and oh-so delicious. I love its party-ready convenience—I serve it straight from the slow cooker, so set-up and clean-up is a breeze!
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- assorted crackers
- 12 ounces roasted sweet red peppers
- 6-1/2 ounces marinated quartered artichoke hearts
- 20 ounces frozen chopped spinach thawed and squeezed dry
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese cubed
- 11/2 cups asiago cheese shredded
- 6 ounces cream cheese softened and cubed
- 1 cup feta cheese crumbled
- 1/3 cup provolone cheese shredded
- 1/3 cup fresh basil minced
- 1/4 cup red onion finely chopped
- Carbohydrate 95.6585945641762 g
- Cholesterol 962.920410844854 mg
- Fat 325.639814702193 g
- Fiber 24.7329367823676 g
- Protein 360.211871884735 g
- Saturated Fat 197.719587339271 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (2174g)
- Sodium 5308.78224653493 mg
- Sugar 70.9256577818086 g
- Trans Fat 33.1144101993195 g
- Calories 4731 calories
Step-by-step
- Drain peppers, reserving 1 tablespoon liquid; chop peppers. Drain artichokes, reserving 2 tablespoons liquid; coarsely chop artichokes.
- In a 3-qt. slow cooker coated with cooking spray, combine spinach, cheeses, basil, onion, mayonnaise, garlic, artichoke hearts and peppers. Stir in reserved pepper and artichoke liquids. Cook, covered, on high 2 hours.
- Stir dip; cook, covered, 30-60 minutes longer. Stir before serving; serve with crackers.
A three-quart slow cooker restricts capacity and requires precise layering to prevent scorching at the edges while the center remains cold. Combining five distinct dairy items in a single vessel introduces moisture and fat separation risks that demand specific prep work.
- Thaw frozen spinach completely and press it inside a clean kitchen towel until no liquid drips, because residual water will break the emulsion of the melting cheeses.
- Cube the eight ounces of fresh mozzarella and the six ounces of cream cheese into uniform half-inch pieces so they soften at the same rate as the shredded asiago and provolone.
- Reserve the specified one tablespoon of pepper liquid and two tablespoons of artichoke liquid to introduce starch-friendly moisture back into the slow cooker without thinning the dairy base with plain water.
- Keep the appliance covered on high for the initial two hours to build internal steam pressure, then remove the lid only for the final thirty to sixty minute stir phase.
For alternative diets, swap the standard cheeses for sheep or goat milk equivalents with comparable fat percentages to maintain texture stability. Crackers provide structural support for dense dips, though toasted sourdough baguettes perform equally well.
