Artichokes. Do you love them or hate them? I’m a huge fan of them, in all forms. Most days in college I’d load up my lunch salad with enough artichoke hearts to clean out the salad bar entirely. Then during our junior year, I visited Brian in Rome as he was studying abroad and was introduced to “carciofi fritti” – fried artichokes. Whoa mama on those, by the way, but I’d have to say that my favorite version is when they’re stuffed.
Not that I end up eating much of the artichoke itself with stuffed artichokes. Those leaves are simply a means for shoveling breadcrumbs, cheese, and olive oil into my mouth. Under the guise of eating a vegetable. Funny how that works, but uhhh…I’ll take it.
Making stuffed artichokes is messy. And time-consuming. This dip packs all of the delicious ingredients and flavors of the labor-intensive original (including the artichokes!) without the hassle. Cannellini beans are newcomers to the stuffed artichoke game, but they serve a great purpose. Once pureed, they add a creamy texture to the dip, as well as fiber and other nutrients. All justification for stuffing your face with stuffed artichoke dip. 🙂
The hardest part of making this dip is cleaning the food processor after you’ve pureed the artichoke hearts and cannellini beans. A.k.a. making this dip is not that hard at all. I just hate cleaning the food processor.
After you’ve food processed the hearts and beans, all that’s left to do is stirring, baking, and munching. The Italian trifecta of my dreams of breadcrumbs, cheese, and olive oil (♥) is stirred in, among a few other ingredients, and topped with more breadcrumbs and olive oil. The dip is then baked so that it’s heated throughout and the Parmesan becomes melty (definitely a good thing). Now here comes another hard part – waiting for the dip to cool slightly so that you don’t burn your mouth when you gobble it up. Patience is not a virtue I often possess. 🙂
I’ve used multi-grain crackers as my vessel of choice for this dip, but I imagine just about any type of chip, cracker, or veggie would do the trick just fine. Or you can spread it on a sandwich in place of a condiment, which I haven’t tried but has me craving it so badly that I may just remake this tomorrow to give it a shot. Any excuse for more of this dip in my life!
- 2 14.1-oz cans quartered artichoke hearts
- 1 15-oz can cannellini beans
- 1 1/2 cups Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, plus 3 tbsp for topping
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 1/2 tsp minced onion
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 3 tbsp olive oil, plus 2 tsp for topping
- salt & pepper, to taste
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Drain and rinse artichoke hearts and cannellini beans, then add all to the bowl of a food processor. Blend until the artichoke/bean mixture has a smooth consistency.
- Transfer mixture to a bowl. Stir in breadcrumbs, Parmesan, garlic, onion, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper until evenly distributed.
- Transfer mixture to a cast iron skillet or a large baking dish (about 9" x 13"). Sprinkle remaining 3 tbsp breadcrumbs over top of dip, then drizzle remaining 2 tsp olive oil. Bake until dip is heated throughout, approximately 15 minutes.
If you’re digging the addition of cannellini beans in dips, check out this Easy Warm Italian Dip, too!
A perfect appy for a Fourth of July gathering! 🙂
Yes, definitely! 🙂
This dip sounds so yummy! Love artichoke dip and I love putting pita chips in any kind of dip!
Thanks Jessica – I totally agree!
I am not an artichoke fan as I’ve eaten some terribly cooked ones I guess lol.
This looks delicious though. I might have to give them another try!
Haha yeah, artichoke preparation is key! Thanks Krystle! 🙂
I love when I get to whip out my food processor 😀 This dip looks delicious! I love artichoke dip and your variation with cannellini beans sounds amazing! Pinning!
Thanks! Haha you must have the patience of a saint to clean that thing, Cindy! 🙂
I am a HUGE fan of artichokes, so this dip sounds delicious! The bread crumbs add a little something extra too. Delish!
Thanks Gayle! Love the breadcrumb topping – it gives a nice ‘crunch’ to it! 🙂
haha I hate cleaning the food processor too. But I’ll do it for this dip! Gosh I love dips – which is why I can’t make them too often : )
Haha oh I’m like that with dips, too. Too many times I’ll be munching away to realize half of it has disappeared – whoops! 🙂
LOVE this deconstructed stuff artichoke, this is so smart and creative!!! def easier that dealing with the actual thing anddd it looks freakin’ delicious 🙂
Thanks Christine! Same delish taste = MUCH less work = yes please! 🙂
I remember as an apprentice chef preparing artichoke, hours of time, maybe thats why I don’t dig em, actually I hate em, but you make me wanna like them. Great recipe. If someone prepared it for me, Id prob really enjoy it. 🙂 Wanna ‘beam me up’ a batch? LOL!
Haha I can so see why you wouldn’t be a fan, Anna. So much prep! Wish food could be transferred through the computer – I’d definitely send some your way. 🙂
I love artichoke…and you can never go wrong with dip 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Monet! I agree. 🙂
Wow! Having delicious stuffed artichokes without all the work. Brilliant. Can’t wait go try this one.
It’s a win-win! 🙂
I hate cleaning my food processor too, Alyssa, but I would put up with doing it to sample this beautiful dip! 🙂
Haha, that is high praise, Helen! I’ll tell you it was well worth the effort. 🙂
This sounds delicious Alyssa! I just love artichokes, and especially love artichoke dip. I want to grab some pita chips and start digging in!
Thanks! I can’t believe I didn’t think to mention spinach artichoke dip up there in my post. In high school my friends and I would go eat 1/2 price apps at Applebees on the weekends and could never decide on which combo of appetizers to get. Spinach artichoke dip was always a definite. 🙂