4 Quick and Easy Spring Dip Recipes Kids Love

Spring is here in the USA. We can finally dip into those cool, warm-weather foods we love, and move away from the hot comfort foods that kept us in hibernation all winter.

If you’re hosting a party or entertaining guests this spring, these four quick and easy dip recipes are sure to please everyone – even the kids.

1. Creamy Lemon Feta

Salty feta pairs well with lemon and dill in this bright dip recipe, and it takes just minutes to make.

Ingredients

• 8 oz. Feta cheese
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 cloves garlic
• Zest and juice of one lemon
• Pinch of black pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• Pinch of fresh oregano, finely chopped
• 1 Roma tomato, chopped
• 2 tbsp. fresh dill, finely chopped

Instructions

• Add feta cheese, yogurt, dill, garlic, pepper, lemon zest and lemon juice to the bowl of a food processor.
• Process until creamy and smooth.
• Add to a dip bowl, and garnish with parsley, oregano and chopped tomatoes.

If you’re looking for a healthy alternative to cheddar or hearty artichoke dips, this feta dip is a great choice. Feel free to omit the dill if you’re not a fan of the flavor and add a little extra parsley to compensate.

2. Queso Blanco Dip – Sous Vide Style

A good queso blanco dip is delicious any time of year, but our family loves to serve it as an appetizer at our yearly Cinco de Mayo party. The kids love this cheesy dip, and it’s so easy to make.

This particular version of this recipe uses sous vide cooker, but you can also make it the old-fashioned way on the stovetop.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Monterey jack cheese, or asadero if you can get it
• 1/4 cup cream
• 3 oz. green chilies
• 1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed and chopped
• 1 tbsp. grated onion
• 1 tsp. cumin
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

• Preheat your sous vide cooker to 175F.
• Add all ingredients into a one-gallon cooking pouch. Be sure to remove all of the air from the bag.
• Submerge the pouch into the water, and allow it to cook for 30 minutes (or until the cheese has melted).

Pour the dip into a serving bowl, and enjoy. We serve this dip with homemade tortilla chips, but you can also use pita chips if you prefer.

3. Cucumber Yogurt Dip

If you’re looking for a healthier option that kids will love, this cucumber yogurt dip will do the trick. It has the creamy texture everyone loves without all the extra sugar and processed ingredients. We’ll even sneak in some fruit (yes, cucumber is technically a fruit).

Ingredients

• 2 cups Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup fresh dill
• 1 whole cucumber, seeds and skin removed
• Juice of one lemon
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Peel the cucumber, and remove the seeds. The goal is to remove as much moisture as possible from the cucumber. You can also wrap a paper towel around the cucumber and squeeze out as much juice as possible.
• Add all ingredients to the bowl of a food processor.
• Process until creamy and smooth (about 2 minutes).

Pair this dip with cucumber slices, pita bread slices or your favorite chips. We also love to top  our gyros with this dip.

4. Peeps S’mores Dip

There are about a dozen variations of the Peeps s’mores dip, and we’ve yet to find one that disappoints. Kids go crazy for this dip, and it’s surprisingly easy to make.

This variation of the recipe uses both white and dark chocolate, but you can use just one type if you prefer.

Ingredients

• 12 oz. bag of white chocolate chips
• 12 oz. bag of dark chocolate chips
• 3 bags of colorful Peeps marshmallows
• Graham crackers for dipping

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400F.
• In a cast iron skillet, add the bag of dark chocolate chips.
• Next, add the bag of white chocolate chips.
• Place the Peeps on top of the chocolate chip layers.
• Bake for 7 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, and allow the skillet to sit for 5 minutes.

The Peeps should be gooey enough to dip with the chocolate. We prefer to arrange our marshmallows in a circle around the outer edge of the skillet. This creates a bowl in the middle that makes it easy to start dipping. But you’re free to arrange the Peeps however you please.

Be sure to have plenty of graham crackers on hand for the kids. Who am I kidding? Adults will love this dip, too.

Do you have a favorite spring dip? Share your recipe in the comments!

 

Joe Hughes, known by most as the Sous Vide Wizard, is an expert in the cooking technique known as sous vide. He runs the very popular website, http://sousvidewizard.com, which provides the latest sous vide industry news, techniques, tricks, and recipes. He can be reached at Joe@SousVideWizard.com

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