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Short-Order Kitchen

Air Fryer Spinach Cottage Cheese Dip

By Wes Ellis2 min read
A bowl of creamy green spinach dip beside a pile of toasted baguette crisps.
Recipe card
Servings
2 (about 1 1/2 cups)
Prep
10 minutes
Cook
5 minutes
Method
Air fryer
Heat
400°F air fryer
Difficulty
Easy
Jump to ingredients & directions ↓

Part 14 of the thread Air fryer weeknights

THE SHORT VERSION4 points
  • Blend the cottage cheese completely smooth. No curds.
  • Squeeze the spinach very dry, then squeeze it again.
  • One 8-oz ramekin, 400°F, 5 minutes.
  • Serve with pita chips, crackers or vegetable sticks.
THE RECIPE · AIR FRYER SPINACH COTTAGE CHEESE DIP

Ingredients

Dip

For dipping

You'll need

  • Air fryer
  • Food processor or high-powered blender
  • 8-oz oven-safe ramekin that fits your basket
  • Cheesecloth, paper towels or a fine-mesh strainer

Directions

Prep

  1. Thaw the spinach (2 to 3 minutes in the microwave or a soak in warm water). Once it's cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much water as you possibly can.
  2. Blend the cottage cheese, olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper until completely smooth.
  3. Grease the ramekin. Pour in the blended cottage cheese, add the spinach and red pepper, and stir well.
  4. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top.

Cook

  1. Heat the air fryer to 400°F.
  2. Set the ramekin in the basket and cook 5 minutes, until hot through and the cheese is melted and starting to brown.
  3. Let it cool a minute or two, then serve warm with dippers.
Notes Leftovers keep 3 days in the fridge; reheat in the microwave or air fryer. Full-fat cottage cheese makes it richer. Roughly 150 calories and 18 g protein per serving, give or take.

wesellis.com/blog/air-fryer-spinach-cottage-cheese-dip/

Spinach dip usually leans on cream cheese, sour cream and mayo. This one uses a cup of cottage cheese instead, blitzed until it's as smooth as any of them, and it bakes in a single ramekin in five minutes.

Blend it all the way

If you've ever been put off by cottage cheese, it was probably the curds. A food processor or a strong blender gets rid of them entirely. Keep it going until there's no graininess left, a good minute or more. What you end up with is thick, tangy and creamy, and nobody would guess where it started.

Warning

Wet spinach will ruin this. It leaks into the dip as it heats and you get a watery green puddle. Wrap it in a clean towel or a stack of paper towels and wring it hard, then do it again.

Why an air fryer for dip

Five minutes at 400°F heats a small ramekin through and browns the cheese on top, which in a full oven would mean a preheat and fifteen minutes. The dip's already warm-ish from the blender and the thawed spinach, so it doesn't have far to go.

Tip

Make sure the ramekin actually fits your basket with room to lift it out. Tongs and a hot ceramic dish aren't a great combination.

If you like the spinach-and-cheese pairing, the Spinach Feta Wraps do it in a tortilla. The dip also fits right onto a No-Cook Grazing Plate, and for another hot appetizer out of the same basket there's the Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Skins.

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