We can all use another easy appetizer recipe before the holidays are over, right?! I can’t get enough of this dip! I’m obsessed with sun-dried tomatoes, especially when they are paired with bacon. Surprise, surprise, right? It makes everything better.
SO much cheesy deliciousness. I used sharp white cheddar, fontina, parm, and cream cheese, which are all of my favorites, especially for anything hot and melty. Fontina is the meltiest cheese everrrr, and I always need my sharp cheddar.
The best part of this dip might just be the garlic bread dippers! Um hello. I am slightly addicted to anything super garlicky. Especially in bread form. I don’t look twice at a cake or brownies, or even Christmas cookies, but anything salty or garlicky? Or bread? I have little to no self control.
You could prep this several hours before or even the night before, and just bake it when your guests come!
I’m all about making things easier for the holidays. It’s definitely a time I try to remember to slow the heck down and just enjoy some family time.
Me slowing the heck down is next to impossible, but I’ve been trying to be more mindful about it recently!
Can you even with that cheese pull?!
SO dangerously good.
Cheesy Bacon Sun-Dried Tomato Spinach Dip with Garlic Bread Dippers
This cheesy spinach dip is filled with bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, melty fontina cheese, and sharp white cheddar, and it's served with super delicious garlic bread dippers!
Ingredients
For the dip
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 10 ounces baby spinach
- 12 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, plus extra for topping, if desired
- 1/3 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
- 8 ounces sharp white cheddar, freshly grated
- 4 ounces fontina, freshly grated
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for topping
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley
For the garlic bread dippers
- 1 baguette, sliced
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- chopped flat leaf parsley
- freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Grease a 8x10 baking dish (or something close to that) with softened butter. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375℉.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the spinach and sauté until wilted. Let cool completely. Once cooled, move all the spinach to one side of the pan and press out the water using paper towels. Alternately, you can put the spinach in a dish towel and squeeze out all of the water. You need the spinach to be very dry so it doesn't make the dip watery!
In the meantime, make the dip. Combine the cream cheese, sour cream, bacon, and sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl and mix to combine. Add the spinach, ⅔ of the cheddar, ⅔ of the fontina, the parmesan, and salt and pepper. Mix until combined.
Add to the prepared baking dish and top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
While dip is baking, make the garlic bread dippers. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Slice a baguette in half lengthwise and brush the garlic butter over the bread. Sprinkle with desired amount of parmesan. Place on a baking sheet. In the last 10 minutes of the dip baking, bake the garlic bread until warmed through. Let cool for a couple minutes, then sprinkle with the chopped parsley, and cut into pieces.
Garnish the dip with extra chopped bacon, a sprinkle of grated parmesan, and chopped parsley. Serve with the garlic bread dippers!
Wow I’m fantasizing about this dip right now!! I’m so excited to try it this weekend for game night (for me that means Saturday, aka Hockey Night in Canada) 😉 Thanks for the total inspiration!!
Thanks so much Faith! It’s perfect for game night 🙂 Let me know if you make it!!