Everyone loves spinach dip, and everyone loves pesto—why not introduce the two in an easy appetizer dish and watch it disappear? You can ramp the flavor factor even higher by adding other ingredients, like bacon, artichoke hearts, or Italian sausage
Ingredients
10 oz frozen chopped spinach (1 package), thawed
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sour cream
½ cup grated parmesan
⅓ cup Armanino Basil Pesto
1 ½ cups grated part-skim mozzarella, divided
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
⅛ teaspoon red chile flakes
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
toasted bread, crackers, or tortilla chips for serving
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Grease a medium casserole dish or deep skillet with cooking spray, oil or a little softened butter.
Squeeze any excess water from the spinach and give it a rough chop. Set aside.
In a large bowl with a sturdy wooden spoon, combine the cream cheese, sour cream and parmesan until no lumps remain.
Stir in the Armanino Pesto, 1 cup of the mozzarella, garlic, salt, pepper, chile flakes, lemon juice, and chopped spinach until well combined.
Turn the mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with reserved ½ cup mozzarella.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until dip is bubbly and cheese is melted and golden brown. If the cheese needs a little more color, run under the broiler for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Serve warm with toasted bread, crackers and/or tortilla chips.
Chef’s Tips
Dip can be made and assembled up to 2 days ahead and kept in the refrigerator before baking.
This recipe works well in a slow cooker too, for easy hands off prep. Cover and cook on low 2-3 hours (or high 1 hour) until cheese is melted. Check every 30 minutes or so and give it a stir.
Mix it up by adding ½ cup chopped marinated artichoke hearts, ½ cup cooked crumbled bacon or a cooked link or two of crumbled Italian sausage.
