Let’s whip up this classic crowd-pleasing dip:

1. Preheat Oven and Prepare Dish:

• Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
• Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate (or similar small oven-safe baking dish) with non-stick cooking spray or a little butter.

2. Combine Creamy Base Ingredients:

• In a large mixing bowl, place the softened cream cheese, grated Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, minced garlic (or garlic powder if substituting for garlic salt), dried basil, garlic salt (or regular salt if using fresh garlic), and pepper.
• Using an electric mixer on medium speed or a sturdy spoon/spatula, mix these ingredients together well until everything is thoroughly combined, smooth, and creamy.

3. Stir in Artichokes and Spinach:

• Ensure your thawed frozen chopped spinach has been squeezed very dry to remove as much excess water as possible.
• Add the chopped, drained, and rinsed artichoke hearts and the squeezed-dry spinach to the cream cheese mixture.
• Stir well with a spatula or spoon until the artichokes and spinach are evenly distributed throughout the creamy base.

4. Transfer to Baking Dish and Add Topping:

• Transfer the spinach artichoke dip mixture into the prepared greased pie plate.
• Spread it out into an even layer using your spatula.
• Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over the top of the dip.

5. Bake:

• Place the pie plate in the preheated oven.
• Bake, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes. The dip is ready when it is hot and bubbly around the edges, the mozzarella topping is melted and lightly golden brown, and the dip is heated through.

6. Serve:

• Carefully remove the hot pie plate from the oven. Let the dip sit for a few minutes to cool slightly (it will be very hot!).
• Serve warm with assorted crackers, pita chips, breadsticks, tortilla chips, or fresh vegetable crudités (like carrot sticks, celery sticks, bell pepper strips) for dipping.

A warm, cheesy, irresistible dip ready to be enjoyed