Our Classic Knorr Spinach Dip is full of flavorful, aromatics and crispy water chestnuts! Everyone will be lining up to eat their veggies!
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I don’t know about you, but I rarely use my phone for making actual phone calls. It’s more of a multipurpose direction-mapping, text-sending, candy-crushing device, kind of like that piece of exercise equipment we’ve all converted into a really expensive drying rack for clothes.
I’ve also never used Knorr vegetable recipe mix for making soup, but it sure does make a mean Spinach Dip!
I suspect Knorr, the German company founded back in 1838, had no idea their modest packet of dehydrated vegetables would play such a crucial role in bringing to life arguably the most well-known and universally popular appetizer on the planet.
Yes, this is the easy Spinach Dip recipe that achieved the impossible – making even picky eaters beg for their veggies, and it’s a classic that’s welcome at any and every festive gathering of friends or family.
There’s not much detail on the history of this fabulous dip, but Knorr supposedly developed the Spinach Dip recipe to compete with Lipton’s popular sour cream onion dip sometime in the 1970s, and it’s graced the back of the vegetable mix packet ever since.
There’s also a Knorr spinach artichoke dip, but it’s a baked and bubbly dish with cream cheese, shredded cheese, and of course, artichokes. Speaking of cream cheese, I do like to start out many of my warm dips with this rich, creamy dairy product, but if you make a spinach dip cream cheese version, served cold, it’ll be entirely too thick for dunking.
A little sour cream and mayo is all you need to begin transforming the vegetable mix packet into something spectacular.
What’s in that Knorr spinach dip packet, anyway? Carrots, onions, garlic, tomatoes, leeks, cabbage, peas, and broccoli (which is a slightly different blend than the one used for making the Lipton spinach dip).
Once we add in spinach, that’s like ALL the vegetables! There’s also a little bit of soy sauce for both salt and an umami flavor that makes this packet a pretty epic seasoner all on its own.
It’s so flavorful, in fact, that you can actually make a dip with only the packet – the Knorr vegetable dip recipe uses just a bit of mayo and sour cream to create a really yummy, basic dip for crackers or other dippers.
What do we want, though? Maximum veggies! Chopped green onions are a great addition, even though there are onions already in the Knorr packet since the dehydrated version is sweeter and lacks the heat of fresh.
Next, you’ll add chopped water chestnuts which are indeed an aquatic vegetable, not a nut. Although you’ve likely encountered a canned version in a Chinese stir fry or two, water chestnuts are often eaten raw in China or dried to make a flour that can be sprinkled onto food before frying (similar to cornstarch) or used in making cakes or dim sum delights.
In this Knorr Spinach Dip, they’ll provide a characteristic crunch.
Then, of course, there’s the chopped spinach, which adds body and the intense green color that’s a hallmark of this dip. All those commercials (and that cartoon sailor) are correct about the health benefits of this mild, crisp green.
Spinach packs tons of iron (for strong muscles) and loads of B vitamins (for an energizing boost), among many others. Fresh is best for all those good-for-you qualities since they dwindle dramatically just a few days after it’s picked.
The good news is that freezing right after picking preserves most of the vitamins and minerals, so the frozen foods aisle, in this case, is likely better than the produce aisle from a nutrition perspective.
You can serve this in a regular ol’ boring bowl or serve this Spinach Dip in bread bowl style! The leftover chunks from prepping can be served with the dip (or dried out for homemade croutons or breadcrumbs). Any other bread will work too, including crostini, or crackers, or corn chip “scoops” or even more veggies.
Carrot sticks, sliced red bell peppers, and broccoli florets are some of my favorites. You can also stuff cherry tomatoes or thick cucumber slices with this dip for an elegant hors d’oeuvre.
Knorr Spinach Dip needs to sit a little while in the fridge for all the flavors to fully develop, and it can be made the night before if that works better with your schedule.
If you have leftovers, you can stir some into cooked (and cooled) macaroni or rotini for a flavorful, side salad.
Another option is making spinach-stuffed mushrooms. Just spoon some of the dips into a large button or cremini mushrooms, add a sprinkling of parmesan on top and bake for 20 – 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
I will say leftovers aren’t common around my house even though this dip shows up at lots of parties. I bet it’ll be at the next one you go to!
Recipe Notes:
Spinach – Draining the spinach well is a great way to make sure this dip is nice and thick. I usually just dump the thawed spinach out of the package into a tea or other small towel and wring out the extra moisture. Using frozen spinach is one of the things that makes this dip such a cinch to put together, but if you want to try using fresh, just steam about 1 ½ pounds and chop it as a great substitute. You’ll want to drain the water out of it as well.
Edible bowl – If you haven’t made a bread bowl before, it’s a beautiful way to serve this dip (or a rich soup like my Cream of Broccoli). You’ll want to start with a large round of sourdough bread or a boule (the French word for “ball” to denote those big round loaves of bread). Slice about ½” – 1” off the top and set aside. Using a small knife and/or spoon, hollow out the bottom of the loaf, leaving a 2” border around the sides and bottom. To keep it from getting soggy (which you’d definitely want to do if you’re filling it up with hot soup), brush or spray the insides with a little olive oil and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. This step is really optional for this dip; just make sure you let it cool completely before using.
Lighten up – There’s really so much flavor going on in this dip that’s an easy one to substitute some low-fat or no-fat mayonnaise and/or sour cream. You can also substitute yogurt for the sour cream.
Knorr Spinach Dip Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 10-Ounce Box Frozen Spinach
- 1 Package Knorr Vegetable recipe mix
- 16 Ounces Sour Cream
- 1 Cup Mayonaise
- 1 8 Ounces Can Waterchestnut, Well Drained and Chopped
- 1/4 Cup Green Onions Thinly Sliced
- 1 Round Loaf of Bread
Serve With:
- Sliced Vegetables
- Sliced Baguette
- Hawaiian Rolls Cut into Cubes
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients until smoothly combined. Refrigerate 2 hours until well chilled.
- Meanwhile, hollow out the center of the round loaf of bread leaving at least a 2 inch of the wall around edges, creating a bowl. Pour cold dip into the bread bowl and serve.
Nutrition
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Marie michel says
October 20, 2018 at 1:59 amThis is the best spinach dip I never eat
Kathleen says
October 21, 2018 at 4:44 pmHey Marie! I agree it’s sooo delicious! Why don’t you eat this!