Who doesn’t love spinach and artichoke dip? Well, surely, there are a few people out there, but if you are looking for a sure-fire dip that most people will devour at your next gathering, it’s hard to beat the appeal of this old standby. And, with today’s three recipes, you can present the expected in an unexpected way. That’s what today’s article is all about.
If you have your favorite recipe for spinach and artichoke dip, use that. If you don’t, or if you are in a hurry, we used La Terra Fina Spinach Artichoke & Parmesan today, which we picked up at our local Kroger. This is a great pre-made version, and it allows you to focus on the prep work needed to prepare this ubiquitous appetizer with three different spins … instead of just serving in a bowl with chips.
Spinach and Artichoke Dip Stuffed Mushrooms
Stuffed mushrooms are one of those things that are so dang easy to do, but you rarely see unless a caterer is passing some around on a round tray at a fancy party. You, too, can stuff mushrooms and wow your guests … in just about 20 minutes.
Spinach & Artichoke Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 12 baby bella mushrooms
- 10 oz. container of La Terra Fina Spinach Artichoke & Parmesan Dip
- Spray olive oil
- 1 cup breadcrumb mixture 3/4 cup bread crumbs — you can buy pre-made — and 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the stems of the bella mushrooms. Stuff the concave center with spinach and artichoke dip until it is level with the rest of the mushroom. (This will take a little less than half the container of dip, but the amount will vary based on the size of the mushrooms. I recommend a small mushroom, but not the teeny ones! Mushrooms with about a 1.5 inches diameter are ideal.) Then, place them on a baking sheet and spray all the mushrooms with spray olive oil until evenly coated. Cook at 350 degrees for 16-18 minutes and remove from oven. Top mushrooms with the breadcrumb mixture and place them back in the oven for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Spinach and Artichoke Dip Stuffed Peppers with Bacon
Along the same line as the mushrooms, do the same thing — but stuff seeded and deveined jalapeño peppers and/or baby bell peppers. I wrapped jalapeño peppers with half a strip of bacon, thus making them similar to the popular stuffed cream cheese peppers, but with a new spin.
Spinach & Artichoke Dip Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 6 small- to medium-sized jalapeño peppers
- 6 baby red bell peppers
- 10 oz container of La Terra Fina Spinach Artichoke & Parmesan Dip
- 6 strips of bacon cut in half to make two smaller lengths
- Topping: breadcrumb mixture optional any amount made from 3/4 of breadcrumbs and 1/4 of grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- To prepare, cut jalapeños in half lengthwise and then seed and devein them. (I always wear latex gloves.) Do the same to the baby bell peppers if you are using them. (For the holidays, if you use just baby red bell peppers with the green jalapeño peppers, it makes for an extra festive display.)
- Fill each cavity with the spinach and artichoke dip. For the jalapeños, wrap each one, if desired, with one-half strip of bacon. For the bacon, wrap in a way that the end of the bacon ends up underneath the pepper so that it doesn't unravel while cooking.
- Cook the jalapeños at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes (look for bacon to be thoroughly cooked) but remove baby bell peppers after about 16 minutes. Keep checking as size of pepper and individual ovens will vary for cooking time.
- **If you would like to add the breadcrumb topping, remove peppers from the oven 2-3 minutes before they are finished and sprinkle on the topping. Then, complete cooking in the oven.
- Let rest for 10 minutes and serve.
Nutrition
Pull-Apart Bread and Spinach and Artichoke Dip
This was 100% not my idea. I was at a party where this was served a few years ago, and I’ve never seen it since, but I remembered it when I was writing this, so I tried to recreate it, and it was super easy. Looking online, there are various recipes for this type of presentation, and they all are basically the same, but with various spinach artichoke recipes. This one is different as it’s the store-bought La Terra Fina. So, feel free to use your tried and true variation or your favorite store-bought brand. This makes for a nice WOW presentation, but you should have some toasted pitas nearby as you will run out of bread before you run out of dip.
Pull-Apart Bread with Spinach Artichoke Dip
Ingredients
- Frozen dinner rolls
- 2 10 oz. containers of La Terra Fina Spinach Artichoke & Parmesan Dip
- Spray olive oil
- Parmesan cheese mix: 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese mixed with 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Instructions
- To make, coat a pie pan or cast-iron skillet with olive oil. Then, place frozen dinner rolls around the edge with a bowl in the middle. Once the rolls have at least doubled (it's okay if they get bigger than double size), then remove the bowl from the center and place one to two containers of La Terra Fina Spinach Artichoke & Parmesan Dip in the center. Brush the rolls with olive oil and sprinkle on some grated parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper.
- Cook at 350 degrees for 18 minutes and then cover the bread with foil for the remaining 5-7 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
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If you are looking for more holiday appetizers, see this article here: Easy Appetizer: Just Assemble and Roll
