Cast Iron Spinach Artichoke Dip

Last Updated on January 8, 2024 by Carne Diem

Appetizers and Sharables

Method: Grill, Smoker or Stovetop

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This Chicago style Spinach Artichoke dip consists of a blend of creamy cheeses bended with sauteed spinach and artichokes, for the perfect cast iron appetizer recipe.

Spinach artichoke dip has always been one of our favorite appetizers. The first time I remember trying this dish was at one of our favorite Chicago style pizza joints, and it has become a favorite ever since. In this version, we cook up this classic appetizer in our cast iron skillet. We have made this dip with great results on most of our grills and smokers, including our Big Green Egg, Yoder pellet smoker, and Breeo firepit.

Making the Cast Iron Spinach Artichoke Dip

Gather your ingredients

For this recipe you will need artichoke hearts, a blend of cheeses, garlic, cream cheese, aioli or mayo, and spinach. You will need about a 14 ounce can of artichoke hearts. The bigger you can find the better.

We use a blend of parmesan, mozzarella, and asiago cheeses. Feel free to substitute your favorites.

We have used both fresh spinach and frozen chopped spinach for this recipe. Our personal preference is fresh spinach. You will need about 1 packed cup of spinach. If you are using frozen chopped spinach then wring out the extra water. You will only need about half of the package, or 6 ounces.

Rounding out the recipe is a block of cream cheese and garlic. You can use fresh minced garlic or garlic squeeze like we show here.

Cooking the Cast Iron Spinach Artichoke Dip

Heat the oil in the cast iron pan over medium-high heat (about 350 degrees). If using a smoker or grill like a Big Green Egg or pellet grill you will want to give the oil and pan at least 15 minutes to come to temp. If cooking over an open flame you want a medium-high grate temp.

For anyone interested in our choice of cast iron, we typically use Lodge cast iron products when cooking on our outdoor grills and smokers. They come pre-seasoned and are a pretty affordable cast iron option.

Add the drained artichoke hearts and sauté for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

With the appropriate heat the artichokes should sizzle when they hit the pan, but not pop and try to "jump out of the pan." Adjust your grate height or temp if needed.

Add in the spinach and cook for about 10 minutes, breaking up the artichoke and spinach as it cooks.

If you are using fresh minced garlic you may wish to add the garlic in about 10 minutes after the spinach to cook off some of the raw flavor. If you are using garlic squeeze it can go in with the cheeses in the next step.

Stir in the cheeses, cream cheese, garlic, and aioli. Cook, stirring frequently, until the cheeses are melted. This typically takes about 10 minutes. Do not burn the dip. As mentioned above you can use mayo or aioli. Our favorite is with homemade aioli. The following recipe is super easy to make: Scratch Aioli

For more great appetizer dips be sure to check out our Smoked Taco Dip.

Serving the dip

Serve the Cast Iron Spinach Artichoke Dip with chips, veggies, peppers, or fried pasta chips. As mentioned, spinach artichoke dip pairs perfectly as an appetizer before enjoying your favorite pizza recipe like our Sicilian Pizza or Pequod's Inspired Cast Iron Pizza, or Pizza Oven Sausage and Pepperoni Stromboli. Enjoy sipping on a Blackberry Red Sangria or Southern Comfort Blackberry Bramble Style Arnold Palmer while the dip cooks.

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