A few months ago I decided to finally learn to make homemade sourdough and quickly found myself frustrated by most sourdough recipes.
We’ll get to this Spinach & Artichoke White Bean Dip in a minute.
Let me explain.
As a fan and teacher of ancient history, I have a real appreciation for bread. People have baked bread for thousands of years, long before commercial yeast or detailed recipes existed. Natural yeast in the air leavened loaves, and flatbreads covered many everyday needs.
Still, sourdough—an heirloom of those old techniques—often feels needlessly complicated today. It’s odd that people in the past could improvise while modern instructions frequently run to pages of precise, finicky steps.
True to form, I resisted following a rigid sourdough formula. I did make a starter—equal parts flour and water, fed daily until mature and then stored and fed weekly—and spent weeks experimenting with loaves. The first outcomes were dense and spongey. Not awful, but not what I hoped for. Eventually I switched tactics: instead of wrestling with lengthy sourdough procedures, I adapted a simple bread recipe I already trusted.
I began making a no-knead oatmeal bread, replacing the recipe’s yeast with 1/4 cup of my sourdough starter. The results improved immediately: a crisp crust, tender crumb, and a much simpler process than many sourdough instructions claim to be.
You might expect a sourdough recipe next, but I haven’t perfected a reproducible loaf I’m ready to share. What I do have is a lot of baked bread and a serious urge to use it.
Enter my favorite way to enjoy those slices: dunking them into a warm, bubbly spinach and artichoke dip. This version swaps the typical mayo-heavy base for mashed white beans, olive oil, and full-fat Greek yogurt, delivering a rich, creamy texture without tasting like straight-up mayonnaise.
No disrespect to mayo—sometimes it’s great—but spinach and artichokes deserve a fresher, more satisfying treatment than the retro versions of this dip suggest.
This warm, golden, cheesy dip starts with a can of artichoke hearts. Drain and roughly chop them, then sauté in olive oil until they begin to brown. Add spinach and garlic, letting them wilt and perfume the pan. Transfer this mixture into mashed white beans—mash with a fork or potato masher, or pulse briefly in a food processor if you prefer a smoother texture.
The beans are combined with Greek yogurt, grated Parmesan and Pecorino Romano, olive oil, and a bit of salt and pepper. The result is a chunky, flavorful spread that’s excellent on crusty bread or with crackers.
For an indulgent finish, sprinkle extra cheese on top, drizzle a little olive oil, and broil for a few minutes until the surface is beautifully brown and bubbling. The broil step elevates the dip from comforting to celebratory.
I hope you’ll try this version. Even without traditional mayo, the dip has that familiar, comforting quality and pairs perfectly with a few slices of fresh, crusty bread—particularly welcome when your experiments in sourdough leave you with many loaves to enjoy.
If you make this creamy, cheesy dip, I’d love to hear how it turns out. Leave a comment below or share a photo on social media. Happy dipping, friends!
- 1 – 14 ounce can artichoke hearts (or about 8 oz frozen artichoke hearts), drained and chopped
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil for sautéing
- 2 cups packed baby spinach, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 – 15.5 ounce can white beans, drained (Great Northern, cannellini, or white kidney)
- 3 Tablespoons full-fat Greek yogurt
- 3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan-Romano blend
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 extra Tablespoon grated Parm-Romano and a drizzle of olive oil for topping
- 1. Heat a skillet over medium-high. Add chopped artichokes and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Cook 4–6 minutes until they begin to brown.
- 2. While the artichokes cook, mince garlic and slice the spinach. Once the artichokes brown, remove from heat and stir in spinach and garlic; the residual heat will wilt the greens.
- 3. In a bowl or food processor, combine the drained beans, Greek yogurt, 3 Tbsp cheese, 2 Tbsp olive oil, and 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Mash with a fork or potato masher until mostly smooth (or pulse briefly in a food processor). Some small bean pieces are fine.
- 4. Mix the artichoke-spinach mixture into the mashed beans. Transfer to a small oven-safe dish, top with the extra tablespoon of cheese and a drizzle of olive oil, and broil on high 3–5 minutes until golden and bubbly. Serve immediately with sliced bread or crackers.
- *Great Northern beans, cannellini beans, or white kidney beans all work well here.