Spicy Spinach Artichoke Dip. I really love how different this is from other spinach and artichoke dips, because of the green chilies and jalapeños…it really takes things up a notch!
Holiday cheer is in full swing over here at SMTY! Holiday colds are also in full swing, unfortunately. I’m guessing too much fun is to blame! Trevor and I had a jam packed weekend of taking Teddy to the park, holiday shopping, and running other errands! The cure? This spicy spinach artichoke dip…duh…isn’t that what you crave when you’re sick? 😉 Yesterday, I was craving:
A. Mint ice cream. This mint ice cream used to be my favorite, but they discontinued it like 5 years ago, and I’m still crying a little bit. So that’s a no go.
B. Spaghettios and blue gatorade. I can’t believe I just confessed that to the internet. It may haunt me forever that, yes, I like spaghettios, but I get the organic kind, so it’s totally grown up. As much as I wanted spaghettios, the corner store is half a block away and that might as well have been 500 miles. Next!
C. Really spicy food. *Ding, ding, ding*
So yesterday, when I woke up with a stuffy nose and headache, my belly immediately started grumbling with the anticipation for some spicy spinach artichoke dip and crusty french bread. It’s spicy, it’s creamy, it’s comforting, and hey, it has spinach in it, so that counts for something, right? Lucky for me, I was going to post this on the blog anyway for a holiday appetizer, so I whipped it together a little ahead of schedule, curled up in my jammies (yes, I say jammies!), and watched holiday movies while thoroughly enjoying this dip with a piping hot chai tea latte. Now enough of this sickie talk. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
Do you guys have a million holiday parties to go to this year?
That’s great! We don’t. 😉
We have one for work, and we’ll go to a party on New Year’s Eve, but I think that’s about it this year. We are, however, hosting Trevor’s parents this year for a week over Christmas! I’ve been meal planning like a mad woman, and this spicy spinach artichoke dip will definitely be on the menu at some point that week and also for NYE! Oh, and Trevor just informed me, that from now on, this is the dish we’re providing at all future get-togethers. He may have come home and inhaled an entire dish it’s so good 😉
For me, a perfect appetizer recipe has three requirements.
The first, it obviously needs to be delicious. A meal needs to start out strong!
The second, it should be something easy to eat. Nothing that requires too many utensils and you should be able to stand up while eating it! Appetizers, to me, are for mingling. Nothing’s worse than trying to be social, but reeeeally wanting to eat your appetizer. So you end up sitting in a corner alone, shoveling the dish in your face. Ugh. Is that just me?
Lastly, and most importantly, it needs to be easy and fast to make and not take up too much room in the oven or the stove. No hostess wants to slave over an appetizer when they have a dinner to prepare! This is a great dish to bring to a party, too. Bake it beforehand, and ask if you can pop it in their oven to warm it up for a few minutes. You can even warm it back up in the microwave if you like!
Let’s examine how this dip passes the appetizer test with flying colors:
It’s delicious. It’s creamy, cheesy, spicy, warm and you can choose whatever carby vessel you want to use with it. We used Triscuits, a baguette, and Ritz crackers, but I wish we would’ve had some tortilla chips, too!
Second, it’s easy to eat. When we serve it for Trevor’s parents, I’m sure we’ll just end up dipping bread or crackers straight into the serving bowl. No utensils required! And until we read some scientific study warning of the extreme dangers… we double dip, triple dip, heck we’ll throw that sucker in there four times if necessary! If you need a little more refinement, just spoon and spread the dip onto your cracker, bread, etc. Aren’t you special 😉
Lastly, it’s so fast and easy to make!
Start by mixing room temperature cream cheese, mayo, and sour cream together until smooth. It’s important to use room temperature cream cheese so you don’t end up with a lumpy dip, NOBODY likes lumpy dip, and so the cream cheese will be evenly incorporated throughout!
Next, stir in chopped artichoke hearts, canned diced green chiles and jalapeño peppers, frozen (now thawed and drained) spinach, parmesan cheese, garlic, and some spices!
Place into a baking dish, bake for about thirty minutes, or until the cheese has lightly browned, and serve immediately with a sliced baguette, crackers, tortilla chips, or whatever vessel you prefer!
I’d say that was pretty darn easy! I love this recipe for all the reasons stated above, but I really love how different this is from other spinach and artichoke dips, because of the green chilies and jalapeños…it really takes things up a notch. So, remember, this dip is hot, creamy, spicy, overall full of flavor, and you get some veggies in, too! Don’t be alarmed if you see someone licking the bottom of the bowl…that’s totally normal…at least in our house. 😉
– Jennifer
What your favorite appetizer? Show me the yummy!

Spicy Spinach Artichoke Dip
Equipment for this recipe
Ingredients
- 2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup artichoke hearts drained and chopped
- 1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles drained
- 1 (4 oz) can chopped jalapeno peppers drained
- 1 (10 oz) box frozen chopped spinach thawed and drained
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne or more to taste
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Start by mixing room temperature cream cheese, mayo, and sour cream together until smooth.
- Next, stir in chopped artichoke hearts, canned diced green chiles and jalapeño peppers, spinach, parmesan cheese, garlic, garlic salt, cayenne, and salt, to taste
- Place into a baking dish, bake for about 25 minutes, or until the middle is hot and the top has lightly browned.
- Serve immediately with a sliced baguette, crackers, tortilla chips, or whatever vessel you prefer!
- Take 5 seconds to rate this recipe below. We greatly appreciate it!
Notes
Nutrition Information
*Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.
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