One of my boyfriend’s favorite snacks is spinach and artichoke dip. Anytime it is offered as an appetizer we usually order it. I have to admit, it is also one of my favorite dips as well and I can usually kill half if not all of the dip by myself. A couple months ago, I was playing around with recipes for this to make it healthier since the traditional recipe for spinach and artichoke dip involves using multiple cups of cheese in addition to mayonnaise. I started by swapping the mayonnaise out for a leaner and much lighter Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is high in protein and lower in fat than mayonnaise and also contains probiotics which is beneficial for our digestive health. From there, I decided to also reduce the amount of cheese used by substituting nutritional yeast in for about half of the cheese. Nutritional yeast is rich in B vitamins and is significantly lower in sodium and contains no saturated fat or cholesterol in comparison to traditional cheese. Nutritional yeast still gives a cheesy flavor to any dish so you won’t even notice that this recipe has less cheese than usual. The few times I have made this dip, it has not made it past the 6 hour mark. The entire bowl is always left completely clean and no one even knows that it’s a healthier version of the traditional spinach and artichoke dip. Now that we’ve gotten all the info out of the way, let’s dive into what you need for this recipe.
Ingredients:
- 9 oz. frozen spinach thawed
- 1 small onion diced
- 14 oz. canned artichokes (drained & cut into bite-sized pieces)
- 6 oz. diced green chile
- 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt (full fat works best)
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella (part-skim)
- 1/3 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350F.
Begin by sauteing diced onion until slightly browned, about 3-5 minutes and remove from heat.
In a food processor or blender, add garlic, Greek yogurt, salt, and nutritional yeast. Pulse until a smooth texture is achieved.
In a bowl, combine the Greek yogurt mixture, cooked onion, and remaining ingredients and mix until well combined.
Scoop the mixture into a 8 x 8 baking dish and evenly spread the dip.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and then turn on the broiler and brown until the top is a beautiful golden brown (about 7-9 minutes).
Allow to completely cool for about 15 minutes before digging in.
Serve alongside tortilla chips, french bread, or whatever you desire!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family & I did! It truly is so addictive but luckily it is a much lighter version of the classic dip. If you give this recipe a try, be sure to tag @lifeatthemesa on Instagram so I can see how it turns out for you! As always, I hope you are staying safe and I will be back soon with another recipe!
