Best Spinach Artichoke Dip (Restaurant-Style)
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Learn the cheffy method for making a top-notch spinach artichoke dip — once you try it, you’ll never go back to the traditional recipe.
Creamy, cheesy, and brimming with veggies, spinach artichoke dip is a surefire hit at any gathering. While most homemade versions rely on cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise, restaurant chefs take a different approach. They typically use a Mornay sauce—a cheesy variation of the classic béchamel sauce—to bind and flavor the dip. Although it sounds fancy, Mornay sauce is actually the same easy sauce you’d use for homemade macaroni and cheese and some creamed spinach recipes. This restaurant method, which is done entirely on the stovetop, is actually a bit faster than the baked home-style version. And, in my opinion, it results in a much more delicious dip.
“This was AMAZING! There’s a restaurant near me that has something very similar and this was just as good if not better…It’s a WINNER!”
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by prepping the frozen spinach and canned artichokes. The spinach should be thawed and squeezed as dry as possible. The artichokes are packed in water with salt and citric acid, so they need to be rinsed, drained, and then blotted dry with a paper towel. (If you add them directly to the dip without first rinsing them, they will give the dip an off flavor.)
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute more. Stir in the flour.
Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute more. Pour in the half & half.
Then add the spinach and artichokes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until hot and thickened, about 2 minutes.
Add the Cheddar, Parmigiano Reggiano, cream cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Cook, stirring constantly, until the cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the nutmeg and hot sauce.
Transfer the hot dip to a serving bowl and serve with tortilla chips.
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Spinach Artichoke Dip (Restaurant-Style)
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion (from 1 medium onion)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1¾ cups half & half, plus a few more tablespoons if needed
- 1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
- 1 (14-ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed, chopped, and blotted dry with paper towels (see note)
- 2 oz (¼ cup) cream cheese
- 2 cups shredded extra sharp Cheddar
- ½ cup grated Pecorino Romano (or Parmigiano Reggiano)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons Frank's RedHot sauce
- Tortilla chips, for serving
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute more; do not brown. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Gradually pour in the half & half, stirring to prevent lumps. Stir in the spinach and artichokes and cook, stirring occasionally, until hot and thickened, about 2 minutes. Add the cream cheese, Cheddar, Pecorino Romano (or Parmigiano Reggiano), salt, pepper, nutmeg, and Frank’s RedHot and cook, stirring constantly, until the cheeses are melted and the dip is smooth, about 2 minutes. Taste with a chip and adjust the seasoning with more salt or hot sauce, if necessary. If the dip is too thick, thin it with a few tablespoons more half & half. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve lukewarm with tortilla chips.
Notes
- Canned artichokes are packed in water with salt and citric acid, so they need to be rinsed very well, drained, and then blotted dry with a paper towel before using. If you add them directly to the dip without first rinsing them, they will give the dip an off flavor.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The dip can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and refrigerated in a covered container. Reheat on the stovetop over medium heat, adding a bit more half & half to thin the dip, if necessary.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Made this as an app for Thanksgiving – it was delicious and everyone loved it. I read some reviews that said the dip was bland so I added more seasoning but that was the only change. I will make this again!
Hi, I would like to make this appetizer for Thanksgiving, but it has to be gluten free.
Can I leave out the flour?
I was thinking of making this early which will give it time to “glue” together. So maybe I won’t need as much half and half once I heat this up?
Or should Use something else instead of the flour?
Thanks,
Susan Clayman sclayman@cox.net
Hi Susan, I don’t recommend leaving the flour out as I don’t think it will thicken without it. You can definitely replace it with a gluten-free flour.
Unfortunately, I didn’t love this, and neither did my guests; in spite of preparing the recipe exactly as written with quality ingredients, I found it to be somewhat greasy and pasty in contrast to similar dips I’ve had. That said, I used the leftovers to dress pasta, and it was delicious when eaten that way.
Delicious! Will definitely make again. We included some fresh veggies for dipping.
I made this for a family gathering and it was a hit! Easy to make and tasted delicious!
I made this recipe to take to a super bowl party. It was easier than another recipe I’ve used in the past, and it was a HUGE hit. It was the first snack to go at the party and multiple people asked for the recipe – I was so happy to share it!
Sorry Jen. I love most of your recipes, but I found this dip very bland.
I’m dying to make this recipe. It sounds amazing. I have just one question: can I use artichokes marinated in oil? I usually have that on hand. I would assume that they would need some of the liquid squeezed out. Would it mess up the finished flavour of the dish? Every one of your recipes that I have tried always turn out great. I can count on it!
Hi Rita, If you drain and rinse the artichokes, it should work (and so glad you like the recipes)! 😊
Put in a mini creuset and sprinkled Gruyère on top and baked for 5 minutes in the oven! Looks and taste beautiful!
*on a different note…I love Your website but have problems loading pages and crashing because of the amount of ads:/ Makes it difficult to pull up recipes😕😕😕😕
Glad you enjoyed this! I’m sorry the ads are making it difficult for you to view the recipes. An option is to view the recipe as if you were going to print it. That will remove all the ads. So, you’d go through the process of preparing to print a recipe and just view it that way. Hope that helps!
I am going to make this and bring to a New Year’s Eve party. I want it to be served warm. Can I reheat in a microwave when I arrive — or put it under the boiler? Your advice please.
I have never made this recipe, but I have made many from your website — all delicious!
Thank you!
Hi Janet, so glad you like the recipes! Yes, you can reheat this on the stovetop or in the microwave. Hope everyone enjoys!