Olive Garden Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Kritty's Note:

I absolutely love this dip! I got it from the Olive Garden website.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 fresh artichokes
• 1 lemon, juice of , squeezed
• 1 teaspoon salt

OR

• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts , drained and sliced
• 1 lb cream cheese , room temperature
• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese , room temperature
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour , sifted
• 1 cup parmesan cheese , grated
• ¼ teaspoon fresh thyme leave
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon fresh flat leaf parsley , chopped
• 1 fresh garlic clove , minced
• 5 green onions , chopped
• salt
• ground black pepper
• 1 (6 ounce) package fresh spinach , chopped
• 8 slices crusty Italian bread
• extra virgin olive oil (to drizzle)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF.
2. Artichoke Preparation:.
3. TRIM off stems and dry leaf ends.
4. BOIL artichokes in 3 quarts water with 1 tsp salt and lemon juice for 30 minutes.
5. COOL artichokes. Clean, peel, remove center “choke” (the hairy part) and slice artichoke.
6. FOLLOW Dip Preparation steps below.
7. Dip Preparation:.
8. MIX all ingredients in a large bowl, except bread and extra virgin olive oil.
9. COAT a large non-stick baking pan with pan spray; fill pan with mixture. Bake at 325ºF for about 25 minutes or until bubbling and center is hot.
10. DRIZZLE both sides of bread with extra virgin olive oil. Grill bread on both sides.
11. SPRINKLE top of heated dip with parmesan cheese. Serve hot with grilled bread.

Reviews

[BeQui]

Someone gave me fresh artichokes and I was trying to find a way to use them. Thanks for this recipe! I added 3 strips of chopped bacon and left out the onions. I also just used dried spices because I couldn't find fresh at the store. Olive Garden's dip is my husband's favorite of all the restaurants we go to, and he said this one may be even better, and at LEAST it's just as good. Since this was my first time cooking artichokes, I had to look for better directions. Other sites say to trim off the dry ends of the leaves and the stem, and boil for 30-45 minutes. I boiled for 30 since they were also getting baked. I didn't want them too mushy.

[Nikki S]

This is exactly it! I leave out the onions and pepper flakes since I have little kids eating it...but its awesome!

[Kerfuffle-Upon-Wincle]

I can only imagine how GOOD this would be with real mascarpone cheese! I used a substitute of 8 ounces cream cheese, 1 T butter, 1/4 C sour cream and 2 T evaporated milk ~ made the dip with 2 garlic cloves and an 8 ounce container of Romano cheese. The red pepper flakes gives the dip a nice little kick! Instead of using french bread, I brushed tortillas with olive oil and crisped them on the griddle ~ Made for my 2009 Fall PAC baby ~ :)