Super DIP, anyone?

A big game dip without super-sized calories.

I love spinach dip—in fact, any sour-cream based dip will do it for me. I don’t think I’m alone here …

I have been dismayed by several unsuccessful recipe tests in which I tried to use low-fat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream. The dips just tasted like … yogurt! I like yogurt, but not in this case.

I finally found the right inspiration on the blog Culinary Hill (see that recipe here).

It is with much excitement that present to you my final version. I made a few adjustments to the inspiration recipe, including the omission of water chestnuts, as I prefer my crunch to come from the veggies that accompany the dip. I have also added onion powder, a holdover from an unsuccessful Hidden Valley-esque yogurt dip I tried a few weeks ago.

Greek Yogurt Spinach Dip

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:

1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed

2 cups whole milk Greek Yogurt

1/3 cup mayonnaise

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

4 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon dried dill

1/4 cup scallions or red onions

Instructions:

Lay out a clean dish towel, place thawed spinach on top, and fold/squeeze to remove excess moisture. Set aside.

Place the Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, and minced garlic in a large mixing bowl. Using a fork or whisk, stir to combine. Add remaining ingredients to the bowl, one at a time, evenly distributing each. Add the spinach last, making sure to de-clump. Refrigerate for 30 minutes prior to serving.

Tip: This is a great dish to make ahead, but you may want to add the garlic 30 minutes prior to serving, rather than earlier (the flavor will intensify overnight). If you want a more subtle garlic flavor, use 3-4 teaspoons of garlic powder instead of fresh cloves.

Approximate nutrition per serving (assuming 12 servings):
42 calories, 2 g protein, 3 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 1 g sugar

Optional: Grab a crusty sourdough bread, carve out the center, and serve in style!

I sampled this recipe for the folks at the Upper Valley Senior Center, and they gave it a big thumbs up! I chose to pair the dip with the inside of the bread bowl (a few days stale) cut into rough chunks, carrot sticks, and cauliflower. 

Health notes:

The Valley News recently ran a story last week on how full-fat dairy is making a come-back. In it, I was quoted as saying that health recommendations still advise low-fat dairy. This is true, as is a need to focus on an over-all healthy diet, no matter which dairy choices you make.

However, I have tested sour cream dips with
yogurt 4 times now, and the only way to do it is with
whole milk Greek Yogurt.

And as you can see from the comparison below, using full fat yogurt instead of low-fat sour cream still works out to have fewer calories and fat, with more protein!

Gram for gram comparison of light sour cream to whole milk Greek yogurt:

Per 150 grams
(size of a small Yogurt)		 Light Sour cream Stonyfield whole milk Greek Yogurt
Total Calories 204 120
Protein 4 g 14 g
Total fat 16.5 g 5 g
Saturated fat 10.5 g* 3.5 g
  • Suggested maximum of saturated fats is 5% of total calories. This is 94.5 calories from fat, or 5% of a 2,000 calorie diet.

See nutrition information for recipe listed earlier in this post. 

While a small yogurt-size container of sour cream may seem like a lot, it is just under a cup, and classic spinach dip recipes call for one cup each of sour cream and mayonnaise… that’s a lot of saturated fat, sodium, and calories! 

To add more health benefits, serve your dip with raw veggies cut into bite-sized pieces! 

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