This Skinny Hot Spinach Dip is a deliciously light dip that is packed with nutrition and protein. Great for an after-school snack, Game Day, or parties.
I came up with this Skinny Hot Spinach Dip recipe four years ago as a healthy after-school snack for my youngest son. Â I still remember him telling me it was the best dip ever!
Cottage Cheese – The Secret Skinny Ingredient
This skinny hot spinach dip contains a secret ingredient that can make your creamy dips healthier while packing a punch of protein. Low-fat cottage cheese stands in for the typical cream cheese and mayonnaise that you often find in spinach dip recipes. The trick is to puree the cottage cheese. Pureed cottage cheese is thick and creamy like cream cheese. I’ve used pureed cottage cheese to make Skinny Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits too.
Here’s what I found out when I compared the nutrition labels for 1% Cottage Cheese and regular Cream Cheese. One cup of Regular Cream Cheese has 800 calories, 72 grams of fat and 16 grams of protein. Light Cream Cheese has 420 calories, 31 grams of fat and 21 grams of protein. And one cup of 1% Cottage Cheese has 163 calories, 2.3 grams of fat and 28 grams of protein.
Every day after school, I try to make my son a hearty healthy snack because he is starving when he gets home. If we have leftover Cincinnati chili, I might make Cincinnati chili refried bean dip. My son also loves loaded turkey taco nachos and 9 layer Mexican dip.
I usually try to sneak in some vegetables during snack time, so this Skinny Hot Spinach Dip is a great way to get your kids to eat their veggies. Although this recipe is enough for 2-3 adults, my son ate the entire bowl by himself. That is an entire box of frozen spinach!
Health Benefits of Spinach
Spinach is an excellent source of vitamins A, C and K, and folic acid, and a very good source of manganese, potassium, magnesium, iron and vitamin B2.
Spinach contains twice as much iron as most other green vegetables, and is also one of the most alkaline-producing foods, which helps regulate body pH (pH 5.50-6.80). *
Spinach contains a high amount of oxalate, so individuals on a low-oxalate diet (e.g., individuals with a history of kidney stones) should avoid eating too much spinach.
Give this Skinny Hot Spinach Dip recipe a try next time you’re hungry and need something filling but healthy to munch on. My original recipe used Parmesan cheese, but I have also used pepper jack cheese for some heat.
Here’s the original photo of this recipe from four years ago.
If you want to try more healthy dip recipes using cottage cheese, check out my
Skinny Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
and Light Jalapeno Popper Dip.
Skinny Hot Spinach Dip
Ingredients
- 1 cup 1% low fat cottage cheese
- 10 ounce box frozen chopped spinach thawed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion or 1/2 medium onion minced
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 -1 jalapeno pepper seeded, minced
- pinch of nutmeg
- freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 roasted red pepper chopped, optional
- paprika for garnish
Instructions
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Place cottage cheese in a food processor and process until smooth.
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Squeeze excess water from defrosted spinach; reserve.
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Heat oil in a skillet. Add onion, garlic, and jalapeno pepper, and saute until onions are soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add nutmeg, spinach, and salt and pepper to taste. Saute until warmed through. Turn off heat and add pureed cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese and roasted red pepper. Stir until warmed through.
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Spoon into serving dish and sprinkle with a little paprika, if desired.
Recipe Notes
For a spicier dip, use shredded pepper jack cheese.
This recipe is part of Food Network’s Fall Fest event featuring spinach. Be sure to check out the following recipes from all my friends participating in this event.
Feed Me Phoebe: October Evening Lentil Soup With Spinach
And Love It Too: Grain-Free Spinach Pie
Cooking With Elise: Baby Spinach Salad With Cranberries, Spiced Pecans and a Maple Vinaigrette
Virtually Homemade: Three Onion Dip With Spinach
HGTV Gardens: Garden-to-Table: Spinach
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Whole-Wheat Pasta With Spicy Spinach and Peanut Butter Pesto
Thursday Night Dinner: Spinach Ice Cream
Cooking Channel: Fresh Spinach in Indian Recipes
Daily*Dishin: Spinach-Sausage Saute With Pan-Fried Gnocchi
Delicious Lean: Spinach Leaf Roll Ups
Bacon and Souffle: Baby Spinach Pizza With Sopressata and Sriracha
FN Dish: Stuff It With Spinach
* Source: The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods, Michael Murray
Jeanette, this looks fabulous! Appreciated all of the stats, too and THAT TIP about putting the cottage cheese in the blender — fabulous!
Hi Jeanette,
This looks scrumptious! I love spinach but it’s a challenge, for me, coming up with new recipes for it. I can’t wait to try this. Love that it’s a healthier dip. Your red pot is too cute:)
Definitely a keeper. I love spinach, but usually in salads or stir-fries.
What a great tip Jeanette – I didn’t know that either about cottage cheese so don’t worry – you weren’t alone in the dark!
I have used the food processor to make cottage cheese into a creamy mixture like that, but hadn’t done the numbers. Impressive difference!
That looks awesome! And the fact that it’s a bit healthier than normal is exciting! Cheers!
I love spinach dips and this looks so good!
This looks amazingly delicious. We love spinach dip!
I love spinach dip and this looks super tasty and healthy!
My boyfriend keeps trying to BEG me to make him football food…and now I feel like I can finally indulge him by making this dip!
This is definitely a favorite around here – and it qualifies for football food, even better! Have to buy more spinach just so I can make this. My son asked for it last night, but alas, I had run out of spinach.
such a great idea to use the cottage cheese. this is a great dip for the sporting events or appetizer:)
I hate cottage cheese too–the only way I will eat it is when it’s pureed! 😀 It makes a good filling for stuffed shells too. This is such a great game day recipe!
looks like a great football recipes to me!
Oh my goodness, doe that ever sound GOOD!
Well darling you are not alone. I had never thought of blending it until creamy, but it’s brilliant. I’ll be trying that trick out and this yummy skinny dip too.
I always love a good skinny dip! 😉
I’m so excited to discover that cottage cheese can be used as a substitute for cream cheese – great for other skinny recipes. I just made this spinach dip again today – love that my kids are getting a healthy snack that includes some veggies ;).
Love this dip, but then again I love, love, love cottage cheese too! I haven’t convinced my kids to love spinach yet, but I’d happily snack on this yummy dip!
Fantastic analysis Jeanette. My husband hates cream cheese and this may be the solution I’ve been looking for! Can you use it in sweet desserts as well as savory dishes? Fantastic choice for the Fall Fest!
Thanks Jane – yes, cottage cheese puree is a great substitute for cream cheese in sweets too. The person who taught me this trick actually made a strawberry cheesecake parfait with pureed cottage cheese that was sweetened. She used lots of vanilla to add extra flavor.
A healthy Spinach Dip? You can count me in!
Pinned and shared 🙂
My mom just made this dip. Followed all the steps to your recipe. It was yummy!!!
Sasha – so glad your mom enjoyed this dip! We make this almost once a week and my kids love it. I appreciate your feedback as I’m always interested to hear back from readers who try my recipes to see if they enjoy them as much as my family.
This was delicious! Even my mom liked it who is not a big fan of spinach dip. It was devoured at our Christmas Eve bash. Thank you.
Tracey- thanks so much for trying my recipe and letting me know how it turned out. This is a favorite of ours and I just made another version for our Christmas Eve Open House – Skinny Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip with Fontina Cheese. So glad it worked out for you all!
hi, Thank you so much for the recipe! Btw, does it have to be frozen spinach? Is fresh baby spinach okay?
Johanna – I use frozen spinach for ease. You could certainly use fresh spinach, but I would blanch it as it will shrink considerably. You’ll want to use roughly the same weight as the amount I use in this recipe.
I made this for my book club last night and it was a hit. It was so easy to make too. I’ll definitely be making it again.
Adrienne, so glad you liked this recipe. My friends have made it numerous times and loved it.
Hi Jeanette-Do you think I could make this dip a day before serving it and reheat it? I am swamped with Thanksgiving preparations.
Hi Marry, I think it should reheat fine. Just make sure you cook the liquid out of the spinach completely.