Description
A creamy, cheesy baked casserole featuring tender spinach, tangy artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and crunchy water chestnuts—all topped with crispy French-fried onions. A perfect side dish for holidays, potlucks, or comfort food dinners.
Ingredients
- 6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 4 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
- 1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 (8-ounce) package fresh sliced mushrooms
- 3 green onions, finely chopped
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 (8-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons garlic salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup French-fried onion rings (for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Place unpeeled garlic cloves in a small oven-safe dish and roast for about 20 minutes. Let cool, then squeeze out softened garlic from skins.
- In a large bowl, combine thawed and drained spinach with chopped artichoke hearts.
- In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes until softened. Add green onions and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Transfer mushroom mixture to the spinach-artichoke mixture.
- Microwave cream cheese until very soft (about 1½ minutes). Stir into the spinach mixture.
- Add sour cream, chopped water chestnuts, Parmesan, mayonnaise, garlic salt, lemon juice, and roasted garlic. Mix thoroughly.
- Spoon into a greased 2-quart baking dish and bake for 30 minutes until hot and bubbly.
- Top with French-fried onion rings and bake for an additional 5–10 minutes until golden.
- Let rest briefly before serving.
Notes
- Use fresh spinach if preferred—cook, drain, and squeeze thoroughly before using.
- Substitute low-fat cream cheese and sour cream for a lighter version.
- Add shredded cooked chicken to turn this into a main dish.
- Breadcrumbs or crushed crackers can replace onion rings for topping.
- Make ahead: Assemble and refrigerate, then bake just before serving.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/16 of recipe
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 450mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 7g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 30mg
