Spinach Artichoke Dip
This Slow Cooker Spinach Artichoke Dip is the perfect easy-to-prepare appetizer for your next party! It’s warm, creamy, cheesy, and loaded up with fresh spinach and salty artichoke hearts.
Easy Crockpot Spinach Artichoke Dip
Everyone loves a great spinach artichoke dip recipe. It seems like every restaurant has their own version…and I’m pretty sure we’ve tried most of them. Applebee’s, Olive Garden, Chili’s…yeah, you get it.
Well, this may just be the best spinach artichoke dip of all time. This slow cooker recipe is basically a dump-and-go recipe. Just throw all the ingredients into the pot and let it work its magic (stirring every 30-45 minutes to make sure it doesn’t burn).
In no time at all, and with very little effort, your rich, creamy, warm, cheesy dip is ready to go! This dip is perfect for enjoying at home, but also travels really easily thanks to the crockpot!
What is Spinach Artichoke Dip Made Of?
- Spinach: I prefer to use a 10-ounce box of fresh spinach for this recipe, but you can use thawed, frozen spinach if preferred. If using fresh, keep in mind that it cooks down a lot. Feel free to add extra fresh spinach if desired. Frozen spinach is more compressed, so it may take more than 10-ounces.
- Artichoke Hearts: Don’t forget to drain the artichokes. Too much liquid will cause your dip to be too runny.
- Cream Cheese: I recommend using full-fat, block-style cream cheese for the best texture and flavor.
- Sour Cream: You could also use plain Greek yogurt if preferred.
- Cheese: We’re using a combination of monterey jack and parmesan cheese. If you would like, you can swap the monterey jack out for mozzarella or use them both!
- Onions: I use white onion, but you could also use yellow or red if that’s what you have on hand.
- Garlic: You’ll need 5 cloves of minced garlic for the perfect garlicky flavor.
- Salt and Pepper: To round out the flavors perfectly.
How to Make Spinach Artichoke Dip in the Slow Cooker
This spinach artichoke dip recipe takes just 10 minutes to prep!
Scroll to the recipe card below for ingredient amounts and full instructions.
- Combine all of the ingredients in the crockpot. Mix to combine.
- Cover and cook on high for 2 hours, stirring every 30-45 minutes.
And that’s it! Like I’ve said…so easy!
Variations
- Add a protein. Try mixing in cooked, shredded chicken, tuna, crab, shrimp, turkey, or bacon bits.
- Make it spicy. Love a little bit of heat? Add a dash of hot sauce, a sprinkle of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes, or diced jalapeño.
- Make it cheesier. Mozzarella is another delicious cheesy addition.
Tips and Notes
- Grease the crockpot. A thin layer of cooking spray prevents the dip from burning or sticking to the pot. You could also use a slow cooker liner if you want.
- Use fresh or frozen spinach. I prefer to use fresh, but frozen will work great too. Just use whatever you have on hand.
- If you’re using fresh spinach, wash it well, rinse it, dry it, remove the stems, then roughly chop it into smaller pieces.
- To quickly thaw frozen spinach, place it into a colander and run it under warm water in the sink.
- Dry the spinach. If you use frozen spinach, make sure you dry it well after thawing. If you use fresh spinach, make sure you dry it well after washing. Too much moisture either way can result in a watery dip.
- Cut the parmesan into 1-inch pieces. The parmesan doesn’t melt as easily as the Monterey jack. I like to cut it into smaller pieces so it melts faster!
- Stir every 30-45 minutes. This prevents the dip from sticking to the bottom and burning.
Serving Suggestions
While this crockpot spinach and artichoke dip is good enough to eat by the spoonful, it’s intended to be served as a dip. Here are some serving suggestions:
- Crackers: Enjoy it alongside Triscuits, wheat thins, Ritz crackers, etc.
- Chips: Serve it with pita chips, bagel chips, tortilla chips, you name it.
- Bread: Slather it on a slice of your favorite bread—toasted or not. French bread, rosemary focaccia bread, sourdough bread…the possibilities are endless.
- Veggies: Lighten it up a bit and serve it alongside your favorite sliced veggies. Try celery sticks, carrot sticks, sliced zucchini or cucumber, broccoli, or cauliflower.
Storage and Reheating
Refrigerator: Leftover slow cooker spinach artichoke dip will last in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Freezer: I don’t recommend freezing any leftover spinach artichoke dip. The dairy in the dip can separate and become watery.
Reheating: To reheat, you can warm the leftover dip either in the oven at 350ºF until heated through OR on the stove in a large pan over low heat.
I don’t recommend warming it in the microwave. The heating is uneven which can cause the cream cheese to burn and the sour cream to separate.
Why Is My Spinach Artichoke Dip Watery?
There are a couple of likely reasons your spinach artichoke dip came out watery. Here are a couple of tips you can keep in mind to hopefully avoid that!
- Use full-fat dairy. Dairy products with a lower fat content are more likely to separate and become watery as they cook.
- Drain the liquid. Don’t forget to drain the liquid out of the jar of artichoke hearts before adding them to the dip.
- Dry the spinach. Whether you’re using frozen, thawed spinach or using fresh, washed spinach, the moisture needs to be dried off!
More Crockpot Appetizers You’ll Love
Ingredients
- 10 ounces fresh spinach
- 12 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
- 8 ounces block-style cream cheese, cut into one inch squares
- 8 ounces sour cream
- 8 ounces Monterey jack cheese, cubed
- 4 ounces Parmesan cheese, cubed
- ½ cup white onions, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in the slow cooker and stir to mix.10 ounces fresh spinach12 ounces artichoke hearts8 ounces block-style cream cheese8 ounces sour cream8 ounces Monterey jack cheese4 ounces Parmesan cheese½ cup white onions5 garlic cloves½ teaspoon salt¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Cook on HIGH for 2 hours, stirring occasionally every 30-45 minutes.
- Serve with bread, crackers, or any desired dipping food.
- Scroll up and see the post for tips, storage info, and other helpful information.
Is there an INSTANT POT version of this recipe, please?
Hi Daisy!
The Instant Pot is not exactly the same, but it is similar. It does NOT have artichoke hearts, but those can easily be added. Here is the link to the Instant Pot version https://www.berlyskitchen.com/instant-pot-hot-spinach-dip/. Have a wonderful evening! 🙂
I am really excited to make this, but my crockpot will already be in use. Is there a way that I could bake it in the oven instead in a Dutch oven?
Good Morning Courtney, that’s a good question. You should be able to make this dip in a 2-quart casserole dish. Simply, combine all the ingredients, stir them together, and pour them into a greased baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20-30 minutes (uncovered). Since we’ve never tried this recipe in the oven, please keep an eye on it and adjust the cook time as needed. Once all the cheese is bubbly and melted, it should be ready. However, I would not use a Dutch oven. I would be concerned it would get too hot and burn the dip. Thank you for asking the question and we hope you have a lovely day 🙂
Made this today just as written. Absolutely delicious!! Thank you so much for an easy and super tasty recipe.
Thank you, Marcie! Kim and I are thrilled you enjoyed the dip. Thank you again for coming back to comment and rate the recipe card. Have a lovely New Year’s day 🙂
So I just made this. I need clarification on the 10 oz of baby spinach. I purchased 10 oz of fresh baby spinach and this appeared to be a HUGE amount of spinach in its unchopped state. I ended up using my best judgement on how much of the chopped up spinach to put in the dip which was an amount that was WAY less then the 10 ounces I purchased, yet the dip was full of spinach. Can you comment on this please? Was I supposed to be using frozen chopped spinach in a 10 oz package?
Hi Jennifer! Yes, we used fresh baby spinach for this recipe. We purchased a bagged variety in the produce section that had the weight listed as 10 ounces. However, please feel free to adjust the amount to your liking or try frozen spinach. If you do frozen, make sure to thaw, rinse, and drain it well, so it won’t water down the dip. Thanks so much for the question! We hope you have a wonderful evening!