Make it ahead! The best of crockpot appetizers, this Crockpot Spinach Artichoke Dip is a great make ahead appetizer recipe that everyone loves. Only a few ingredients, a few minutes of prep work, and you have a dip that will disappear quickly.
Crockpot appetizers are the best! If you want even more recipes, try these Crockpot BBQ Grape Jelly Meatballs or Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Wings.
The Easiest Spinach Artichoke Dip
It’s always a good time for appetizers, right?
But one of my biggest annoyances when you are trying to prepare a bunch of appetizers is that they all have to go in the oven at the same time. Even with 2 ovens, they can get filled up pretty quickly. And if you are taking your appetizer to someone else’s house, you don’t always know how much oven space they will have, either. So it’s pretty much impossible to make sure everything is done at the same time and ready for guests.
Enter – the crockpot!! This slow cooker spinach artichoke dip recipe could seriously be the easiest appetizer at your next get-together. Throw all of your ingredients in the crockpot and walk away. When it’s time to party, this dip is ready for you! Serve it up with some tortilla chips (my favorite!), crackers or slices of bread, this easy appetizer recipe will be the hit of the party.
Ingredients
Spinach: For ease, I like to use frozen spinach that has been thawed and drained. For best results, you want it pretty dry, so I squeeze out any liquid with a kitchen towel. You could also use fresh spinach, but you’ll want to blanch it, then squeeze the liquid from it.
Artichoke Hearts: If you get the quartered artichoke hearts, you can just drain them and add them to the dip. If you get them halved or whole, you’ll want to chop them up a bit first.
Cream Cheese: I would suggest full fat cream cheese over low fat cream cheese for this recipe.
Mozzarella and Parmesan: I love the mix of both cheeses here. The cream cheese makes the dip smooth, the mozzarella gives it the real cheesy taste and feel, and the parmesan adds tons of flavor.
Garlic: Fresh garlic will bring you the most flavor, but in a pinch, you can substitute powdered garlic.
Milk: This will thin out the dip and give it a good consistency. Once your dip has cooked, if it is still too thick, start adding milk in, a tablespoon at a time, until it is a good consistency.
Pepper: I like to season with a good dose of pepper. You shouldn’t need to add salt because many of the other ingredients are salty, but I do add pepper. Freshly ground pepper is best. If you like a little spice, you could also add in red pepper flakes.
How to Make Crockpot Spinach Artichoke Dip
This dip is so easy – you don’t even really need instructions!
COMBINE: Combine all of the ingredients in your crock pot. It will be pretty full – but it will shrink down when everything starts cooking.
HEAT: Cook on high until everything is melted and combined.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course! This recipe is so easy that there really is no reason to make it ahead of time, but if you do want to, just make the recipe as stated. Once the dip is melted and combined, you can transfer it to a container and refrigerate it for up to 3 days. When you are ready to serve it, put it back into the slow cooker and cook until it is heated all the way through again.
Yes – it’s fairly easy to cut in half if you are serving it to a smaller crowd. Just use half the amount of the ingredients. You probably won’t need as big of a slow cooker, as well.
I like to just leave it in the slow cooker and have a large spoon so that people can dish out a serving. You do want to keep it warm, so if you choose to remove it from the crockpot to serve, just know you’ll need to serve it quickly before it cools down too much.
I like to serve this dip with tortilla chips, but it’s also great with vegetables, like celery sticks or carrots.
You can make it in the oven, but I would suggest using this Spinach Artichoke Dip recipe that was made for baking. I have not tried making this on the stove, but I would assume it would work just fine. Again, though, you’ll need to keep it warm while serving, and it may burn if kept on the stove without stirring.
More Spinach Artichoke Recipes
Spinach Artichoke Spaghetti Squash Recipe
Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheese
Spinach and Artichoke Tortellini Bake
Artichoke, Tomato and Spinach Pizza
Artichoke and Spinach Enchiladas
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Crockpot Spinach Artichoke Dip
Ingredients
- 18 oz frozen spinach thawed and drained
- 28 oz quartered artichoke hearts, drained (2 14-oz cans)
- 16 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1/2 cup milk
- Black pepper
Instructions
- In a 4 quart slow cooker, combine the spinach, artichoke hearts, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, garlic and milk. Carefully stir to combine, as the slow cooker will be very full. Season with pepper.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours, or until all the cheeses are melted. Stir to make sure that all of the ingredients are combined.
- Serve with chips, crackers, or sliced baguette.
Rose says
If I make this a day ahead, can I reheat it in the crockpot and if so for how long? Would love to add this to my menu foe a party!
Deborah says
Yes, you can mix everything up the day before and just stick it in the crockpot the day of. You might need to add on an extra 30 minutes for reheating if you are adding it straight from the refrigerator.
Lisa says
My go-to spinach artichoke dip recipe! It’s always a big hit and friends are always asking for the recipe
Kelly says
I made this dip and added a finely diced white onion. Also increased milk to 1 cup. So Delish!!! Family LOVED it!
Teresa says
This was very simple to make and my family loved it I will be making this alot.
First Time and Impressed says
This was my first time making spinach artichoke dip and I chose this recipe because of the reviews. It turned out great! Not too watery, not too thick.
Tiffany says
I made this dip as one of our Christmas appetizers, and it was such a hit! People told me they loved it so much that they could eat it on its own haha
Kymberly Smith says
I always add a little crushed red pepper to mine, too! It gives this already amazing dip a nice little kick and you can control how much or little based on who will be eating it. For mixed groups I simply have red pepper sitting out with the salt and pepper to be added per individual taste .
Liz Skerl says
I made this for my husband’s work Christmas party and everyone loved it! Very creamy. Made exactly as is. Peppered to taste, like 1/2 tspn. I used pre-chopped frozen bagged spinach. Whole artichoke hearts that I diced before putting into the crock pot. Served a party of about 30 with no leftovers. I served it with pitta chips and cut up sliced sourdough rosemary bread.. it was DELICIOUS with the bread!
Emma says
Loved it. My only tip for future makers (which may or may not be obvious but it was my first time making it so it wasn’t) is when you buy the spinach either buy it chopped or chopped it yourself first to make the dip easier to stir, eat, and fit on chips. :).
Jen Williams says
Add crushed red pepper and it adds a little something!
Deborah says
Oooh, I’m going to try that!
Jill says
This says 6-8 servings, but what size servings are we talking about? I am trying to plan for a large crowd and need to know what size servings?
Deborah says
They are just appetizer sized servings, not huge. I’m guessing each serving would be about 1/4 cup.
Jennifer says
Hi, thanks for this post! Can’t wait to try it. Do you think I could use regular baby spinach from a bag, rather than a frozen package of spinach?
Deborah says
@Jennifer, I’m sure you could, but I’m not sure how much you would have to add. But you could probably guess and it should still turn out well!
Alex says
Hey Deborah! I pinned this awhile ago for the Superbowl! I have a 4.5 crock pot. If I didn’t want to double the recipe (just me and my hubs) would I just cook it less? Maybe an hour on high? Thank you 🙂
Deborah says
@Alex, you will probably cook it for a shorter amount of time – the slow cooker is mostly just melting everything together. Just keep an eye on it and it should be fine!
Monica M. says
This was really good but really thick. I don’t like my dip runny but not thick either. I think I had to add an additional cup of milk by the time I was done with it. I also think 2 hours might be a little much. I might reduce to and hour and a half next time. I made a double batch too without a liner. Its an awesome recipe but I would change the liquid part and cooking time. Thanks!
Emily says
I just bought a slow cooker yesterday for this recipe! I bought a 4.5 qt one though so I was wondering (I’m new at this) if I double the recipe does that mean I have to double the cook time?
Deborah says
@Emily, you shouldn’t have to double the cook time. Everything just needs to melt together, so the original cook time should work. Hope you love it!
Heidi @foodiecrush says
How easy is that? I never woulda thought of it. We made Osso Bucco in the slow cooker over the weekend and could have used the liner for sure. I have a cookbook I”m going to have to ponder through to get some more inspiration, but this is smarty smart!