Healthy Spinach Dip

Make the classic appetizer a little better for you with this Healthy Spinach Dip. Yogurt instead of mayonnaise and herbs and spices instead of a packaged soup mix make it delicious — and good for you, too.

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Munchies, appetizers, starters, aperitif, whatever you want to call them, those little snacks to whet your appetite before a meal are some of my favorite foods.

Often we make a meal of little apps. A cocktail party can be so delicious!

Whether you’re gearing up for a big game day or want to make your holiday table more festive or simply want to have friends over for a meal, you’re going to want to have a few little bites available to your guests as they gather in your home and await the main dish.

Oftentimes, hostesses lean toward traditional, albeit not-that-good-for-you favorites, like spinach dip, cheese balls, chips, and potato skins. You can do better.

One thing that I try to avoid these days are processed foods and seasoning packets. Instead, I create my own mixes from scratch with herbs, spices, and fresh ingredients.

One of my favorites to make from real foods is Spinach Dip

This cousin of the traditional favorite still boasts spinach, but the sour cream and mayonnaise have been replaced by plain yogurt and cottage cheese. Vegetable soup mix, often laden with MSG, gives way to dried herbs and spices.

This updated Healthy Spinach Dip allows you to keep the ingredients on hand in your pantry and freezer without a lot of extra junk ingredients.

Is Spinach Dip Healthy?

The traditional spinach dip may be “not so healthy,” but that doesn’t mean we can’t produce some new and improved versions of old favorites.

I spent a little time to health-ify my favorite spinach dip. How could I up the nutrition without sacrificing flavor?

I used yogurt and cottage cheese instead of heavy cream, sour cream, or mayonnaise and swapped in dried herbs and spices as opposed to a packaged seasoning mix full of preservatives to make this dip a bit healthier.

What Are The Ingredients For Spinach Dip?

Traditional spinach dip  made with sour cream, mayonnaise and a packaged commercial mix.

Basically it’s no so healthy. I lightened this dip up by using plain greek yogurt instead. I added cottage cheese to give it a little body as well as thawed frozen spinach and dried seasonings (like onion, thyme and celery).

How To Make This Healthy Spinach Dip:

1. Combine yogurt and cottage cheese in food processor or stir until smooth in a mixing bowl.
2. Stir in onion, celery flakes, thyme, parsley, garlic, and pepper. Transfer to mixing bowl.
3. Stir in spinach. Chill for several hours before serving.
4. Serve with vegetable dippers and whole grain crackers.

Can You Make Spinach Dip Ahead Of Time?

Absolutely! This dip needs to be made at least a couple hours ahead of time to allow all the flavors to blend well. You can make it up to 3 days in advance, buying yourself some extra time on party day.

Just prepare then store in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to serve!

What are other healthy appetizers I can make?

We really enjoy these healthy spins on traditional favorites. They take just a few minutes to make and pack just as much punch, if not more, than the junk food classics.

• Really Homemade 7-Layer Dip
• Homemade Ranch Dip
• Better-for-You Queso
• Sour Cream Onion Dip

In this video, I share some other ideas for healthifying your pre-meal munchies.

It’s not too hard to combine homemade items with a few store bought items for simple and delicious food that isn’t too bad for you.

How to make this cheap:

Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:

• Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. For instance, when I see a great price on cottage cheese, I buy several packages. Same goes for frozen spinach and yogurt.
• Do a price comparison. I know that ALDI is the best place to buy ingredients like frozen spinach and cottage cheese when there isn’t a great sale elsewhere. I keep track of prices so that I know who has the best deal where.
• Buy spices in bulk. Buying herbs, spices, and dried vegetables (like celery and onion) is cheapest in bulk at your local health food store. You aren’t committed to buying a large container. You can actually buy just what you need.

Tools I use to make this recipe easy:

This is a pretty straight-forward dish. You don’t need any fancy equipment. However, having some good basic kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs. Here are the tools that I like to use in this recipe.

• fine mesh strainer – for rinsing and draining the spinach
• A food processor – for mixing the yogurt and cottage cheese
• Pyrex pint-sized glass bowls with plastic lids – for storing the prepared dip
• Rubber spatula – to make sure you don’t waste a bit of the good stuff

Images by Boston Girl Bakes.