Hot & Cold Spinach Dip Recipes

My hot spinach dip has been a huge hit at my husband's work. He's probably taken in five or six batches in the last two months. People ask about it quite often, and so I thought now is as good a time as any to share it.

I actually made a double batch on Thanksgiving, using a basic recipe, then splitting the two, and adding little changes to each. The cold spinach dip, which is shown in the hawaiian bread bowl, is never warmed up, and we use hawaiian bread or crackers to dip. The hot dip on the other hand, has crushed red pepper and shredded cheese, and is also baked in the oven. It's hot and gooey and spicy, and so so good! We use tortilla chips to eat this, but crackers work too!

I woke up at 7am on Thanksgiving day, and the spinach dip was the first thing I worked on, I wanted time to chill everything to let the flavors all melt together. This is more important for the cold dip, because when the hot dip is baked, the flavors literally do melt together :) YUM.

*What I'm going to do, is post the base recipe for both dips, then explain and in some instances, SHOW you what I did differently to each dip. I did forget to take a picture of the finished hot dip, but I got most of it! (I was all over the place on Thanksgiving I made two spinach dips, a turkey, two dozen mini pumpkin pies, a pumpkin cheesecake, cheedar bay biscuits, a key lime pie, mac and cheese, green bean casserole, cheesy potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy... so forgive me for the lack of photos LOL)

----SPINACH DIP BASE RECIPE----
2 packs of cream cheese at room temp
1 stick of butter at room temp
1 cup of grated parmesean cheese
2 cups sour cream
1 1/2 cups mayo
2 10 oz packs frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1tbsp plus i tsp ranch dressing seasoning (or 1 packet)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 ground black pepper

As long as your butter and cream cheese are both at room temperature, you can throw all the above ingredients into a large mixing bowl, and make sure they are mixed together very well.

*For the spinach, I use my hands to squeeze out as much water as I can, and I transfer it to a few paper towels. I then press with my hands and take out as much of the remaining liquid as possible. If there is still a bit left, it's FINE, it won't hurt, you just don't want soupy spinach dip.*

Now, if you are only planning on making one kind of dip, then just half the recipe above. Then.....

---HOT SPINACH DIP---

For the hot dip, just add a cup of shredded cheese and sprinkle in some red pepper flakes. Spray a small oven safe dish, I usually use a loaf pan, and pour mixture in. Bake at 350 for 30-35 mins, until the mixture is heated through and slightly bubbly. You can always add extra cheese on top to melt, but that is optional.

---COLD SPINACH DIP---

Along with half the ingredients in the base recipe, add an additional 1/2 cup of sour cream to the cold dip. Mix well, and it's ready to serve! Here, I show you how to cut and hollow out a hawaiian bread bowl, but you can totally serve this in a bowl with crackers or bread on the side!

I hope all of this was helpful. Sometimes I feel like I just throw the blogs together, but I'm not used to having to measure ingredients. I usually just throw things together, so if you feel your dip needs a little more of one thing than the other, feel free to change it up and make it your own! You could also add some drained artichokes... mmmm. I would, but my husband hates them :(

Also, I used a 'mexican' cheese blend from Kraft, but whatever shredded cheese you have on hand will work in the hot dip. I like mozzerella in there too.

Feel free to ask any questions! Enjoy!

TTFN :)