Hot Artichoke Dip could easily be the BIG hit at your next party! It’s rich, creamy and smooth with just the right amount of tangy zip from the (canned) artichokes.
The only skills needed to make this dip are to be able to:

• Chop an onion
• Crush garlic
• Cook bacon (Vegetarians should skip this step)
• Shred cheese

All of these steps could be done the day before your party!
Click the Recipe Card on the top of the post for the list of ingredients and amounts needed.

You could cook the bacon and the onion in a frying pan but I’m doing it in the microwave. Clean-up is much easier this way!

5 Slices of bacon will take about 5 minutes to cook in the microwave. Once cooled, chop the bacon up into crumbly, small bits.

Dice the onion. One medium onion equals approximately 1/2 cup of diced onion. One clove of garlic needs to get crushed. (That’s about 1 teaspoon of fresh garlic)

Put the onion and the garlic in a small bowl and add 1 teaspoon of butter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Microwave the mixture on high for 1 minute to soften (or wilt) the onions. It will look like this:

Shred 8 ounces of Monterey Jack cheese and 1/4 cup of  Parmesan cheese. The Monterey Jack cheese will go into the mixture, and melts into a creamy and smooth consistency. The Parmesan cheese is for sprinkling on the top of the dip.

Parmesan (on the left) and Monterey Jack cheese

In a colander, drain 2 cans (14 ounce each) artichoke hearts and chop them up.

All of the above steps can be done the day before and the ingredients wrapped up and stored in the refrigerator.

The  8 ounces of cream cheese needs to be soft in order to blend it with the other ingredients. You can just let it sit (still wrapped) on the counter for about 2 hours. Or remove it from its packaging and put it on a plate. Then zap it in the microwave for about 30 seconds or until it is soft.

In a large mixing bowl, mix well the softened cream cheese, the shredded Monterey Jack cheese and 1/2 cup of mayonnaise.

It should look like this:

Now mix in the onions and garlic, and the chopped artichokes.

Spread the mixture into a 9-10 inch round baking dish. (The dip is going to be served in this dish as well, so be sure it looks nice!)

Sprinkle on the parmesan cheese...

and the bacon bits.

Now it is ready to go into your 350 degree preheated oven.

It will take about 30 minutes to cook. While it’s in the oven, cut some pita bread into triangles. (Tortilla chips also work really well with this dip.)

The dip is ready to come out of the oven when it is slightly puffed and the edges are just a little browned.

Enjoy!

You can view and print this recipe here.

If you are new to startcooking, or are a regular visitor here, please consider subscribing for free.