Straight to your party from my cousin Iva Beth's recipe box comes this classic, original Knorr Spinach Dip recipe. She gave this recipe to my mom back in '82, and it's been a wild favorite at gatherings ever since. And it's got an ingredient I've never seen in anyone else's recipe!
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Knorr Soup Mix Spinach Dip swept the nation!
Wanting to find out just how far back the recipe actually goes, I used newspapers.com and genealogybank.com and searched beginning in 1940 (just to be thorough). The earliest reference I found for it was published on page 29 of The Santa Fe New Mexican on January 18, 1979. Some of the old recipes used only mayonnaise, some only sour cream. Some skipped the water chestnuts. Most all included onion, whether it was green onion or a bulb onion. Some added additional spices (like dill and garlic powder) in addition to the Knorr soup mix. The other thing with the early recipes -- there was rarely mention of serving it in a bread bowl, which became common as the rage spread.
I took the dip to a work party back around 1984, and no one there had ever had it before - and this was in the Chicago suburbs. Needless to say it was GONE in no time, and everyone wanted the recipe! As the craze started spreading, I'd find this dip served at practically every social event I attended.
The recipe for spinach dip I'm sharing uses both mayo and sour cream, water chestnuts, onion, Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix and, of course, chopped spinach. But Iva's recipe included one extra ingredient I don't see elsewhere in those old recipes - grated Romano cheese! I have no idea where she got the recipe, but I will say I've never attempted to make the dip without it. So give it a try - the Romano adds an extra tang to the dip that once you try it, you'll never want to skip!
How to make Knorr Spinach Dip the 1980's way
Ready to get started? It's fast and easy - let's go!
Gather the ingredients
- Frozen, chopped spinach
- Mayonnaise (real mayo like Hellmann's or Duke's -- not Miracle Whip, which is too sweet
- Sour cream
- Grated Romano cheese - for some extra tanginess and flavor
- Onion - the old recipes used regular bulb onion, but green onions work too
- Water chestnuts - these add a bit of earthy flavor and a nice crunch. If you don't feel like chopping the pre-sliced variety, get the diced ones.
- Knorr Vegetable Recipe Mix
- Sun dried tomatoes (not in oil) - optional, for a little color on top for serving
Make the dip
- Thaw, drain and wring excess moisture from the spinach
- Drain and chop the water chestnuts - I just halve or quarter them, so the crunch doesn't get lost in the bite
- Finely dice the onion
- Mix together the Mayo, sour cream, Romano cheese, onion, water chestnuts and Knorr mix thoroughly
- Fold in the spinach until it is completely blended and there are no clumps of spinach
- Chill for at least two hours before serving so the flavors meld and the veggies in the dip mix reconstitute
- Give it another stir and serve with your favorite dippers
What to serve with Knorr Spinach Dip
The early versions of the original spinach dip recipe almost always say to serve the dip with veggies. Then, when the bread bowl craze took over, bread pieces became the more common way to serve it. Here are some options for dippers:
- Garlic bread
- Bread chunks from cutting out the bread bowl (if you opt for one)
- Celery and carrot sticks
- Zucchini and cucumber slices
- Broccoli and cauliflower florets
- Mushrooms
- Pita chips
- Potato chips (use a thicker chip, like Ruffles)
- Ritz crackers
- Triscuits
- Be creative!
The Spinach Dip Bread Bowl - How To
Not only does it look fabulous when served this way, it also gives you chunks of bread that work so well as a dipper.
Start with a round loaf of bread. A wide oval-shaped loaf will work as well. Using a bread knife (I highly recommend J. A. Henckels brand), slice off the top of the loaf to create the desired opening size for the dip.
With a short-blade serrated knife (I just use a serrated paring knife), first cut along the edge of the opening into the loaf at an angle. Then remove the pieces and continue using the knife to carve out the opening, including straight down along the edge of the opening. Trim all the cut pieces into chunks for dipping.
Storing Classic Spinach Dip
In the unlikely event you have leftovers, remember that this spinach dip has sour cream in it, so keep it refrigerated and finish it off within 3 or 4 days.
More fab party noshes to try...
📖 Recipe
Classic Knorr Spinach Dip Recipe - 1982
Ingredients
- 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach
- 8 ounces canned water chestnuts sliced or diced varieties
- ¼ cup onion very finely diced
- 2 cups sour cream full fat preferred
- 1 cup mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip--too sweet)
- ½ cup grated Romano cheese
- 1.4 ounces Knorr Vegetable Recipe Mix one packet
- 1 tablespoon diced sundried tomatoes (optional) better to not use the kind sold it oil - use the dry-packaged variety that are soft
Instructions
- Thaw and drain 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, and wring as much moisture out of it as you can. Set aside.10 ounces frozen chopped spinach
- Drain 8 ounces canned water chestnuts.8 ounces canned water chestnuts
- To the mixing bowl, add ¼ cup onion, 2 cups sour cream, 1 cup mayonnaise, ½ cup grated Romano cheese, and 1.4 ounces Knorr Vegetable Recipe Mix (one envelope). Mix these ingredients thoroughly.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving so the Knorr mix has time to reconstitute and the flavors to meld.
- Stir well one more time and serve, garnishing with 1 tablespoon diced sundried tomatoes (optional) for a pop of color. If you want to serve it in a bread bowl, scroll up on the web page to find some easy instructions for creating it.
Mark says
I'm not a spinach fan at all, but this dip is amazing. I can taste the added flavor from the Romano cheese - great idea, thanks for sharing.