Last week I sent care packages to each of my nieces. It was a combination of love + strategy. They are (almost) 3 and (almost) 4, so by now I am pretty good at trying to secure my spot as their favorite person during family gatherings. Winning over the adults isn’t quite so easy, but I’m always up for the challenge. This time we’re coming armed with local brews from Wisconsin, Mabe’s Pizza and my crowd-pleasing Spinach Dip. On the off-chance that you have relatives to win over this Thanksgiving I’ve decided to share my recipe.
I’ve been making this dip for close to a decade (wow, that just made me feel old) but about a year ago I decided to revamp my recipe to make it a bit healthier. Some of it was straight-forward like switching out cream for skim milk and using low-sodium options when possible—and other things were more challenging, like upping the protein content by hiding 16 ounces of fat-free Greek yogurt within it.
It has been a work in progress but I’m happy to report that I have finally perfected my recipe! With a serving size of about 1/3 cup there are 96 calories, 5 grams of fat and 7 grams of protein per serving (full nutrition below). Enjoy!
Directions:
1. In a medium-large crock pot add 1 cup Swansons Fat-Free Low-Sodium Chicken Broth and 1 Cup Fat-free Skim milk. Heat on high while stirring in 2 tbsp sriracha sauce (or chili powder as substitute) 2 tbsp Garlic Pepper and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Stir well and heat covered 15-20 minutes or until warm.
2. Once the “broth” mixture is warm stir in 16 ounces of Chobani Non-Fat Plain Greek Yogurt and 24 ounces of cubed Philadelphia 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese. Reduce heat to low and allow the mixture to warm for another 30 minutes, stirring occassionally.
3. Once the broth+Greek Yogurt+cream cheese seems to be mixed together and creamy, add the chopped spinach. Add as much or as little as you like—-I prefer a lot but 3-4 cups will suffice. Once the spinach is stirred in add 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese.
4. Allow to heat on low and then top with 2 cups reduced-fat Mozzarella 20 minutes before serving.
You can add things like red peppers, diced tomatoes or artichokes for more flavor. Serve the dip with freshly toasted bread, warm pita points, crackers or simply tortilla chips.
