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With vibrant, bright, and fresh flavors, this Whipped Feta Dip is the perfect appetizer to serve at any party. The simplicity and elegance of this dish allow the ingredients to shine while giving you time to pull together the rest of your meal. Serve it with a batch of Watermelon Margaritas and this Pollo a la Brasa for a seamless dinner.
I love a good dip. I love everything from an indulgent Queso Fundido to my Spinach Artichoke Dip. But sometimes I’m craving something lighter and brighter. Enter: this Whipped Feta Dip.
Ingredients You’ll Need for Whipped Feta Dip
- Feta. I used a Greek-style feta for this because I prefer to the flavor.
- Cream Cheese. This gives the whipped feta a delicious, thick texture.
- Shallot. My favorite allium. The delicate flavor of the shallot doesn’t overpower this dip.
- Sugar snap peas. We’re topping the dip with these but feel free to use another veggie or leave it off completely.
- Lemon. This is our acid of choice for this dip because it’s light and bright and airy.
For the rest of the ingredients, please see the recipe card below!
How to Make Whipped Feta Dip
- Blanch your sugar snap peas in salted water for a minute and then transfer them to an ice bath of salted water. Let it sit for 5 minutes to stop the cooking, then pat them dry.
- Make a lemony dressing with lemon juice, shallot, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, and honey.
- Whip your feta! To a food processor add feta, cream cheese, olive oil, warm water, and lemon juice. Pulse it all together a few times then process until it’s super smooth. Spread it in a bowl.
- Trim and slice peas on the bias and then toss them in the lemony dressing with some mint. Finish it with some lemon zest, flaky salt, and pepper. Serve with some toasty crusty bread.
Tips and Tricks
- A salad spinner is your best friend. It makes quick work of the blanching and drying process.
- Blanching time is important in this recipe. One minute is the optimal time, as it yields bright green, perfectly tenderized, yet crunchy sugar snap peas.
- Serving immediately is important because as the dish continues to sit, the lemon marinates the peas and they start to lose their brightness.
Recipe FAQs
This is a loaded question as feta will vary in flavor, texture, and even the types of milk it’s made with based on what type of Feta it is. Greek feta is often defined by its rich yet tangy and definitely briny flavor and creamy yet crumbly texture.
Sugar snap peas are incredible because they don’t require much to make them sing. Naturally sweet and crunchy, with a quick blanching, they transform into bright green pods that are perfectly tender whilst maintaining their signature crunch. And paired with a bright lemony, shallot dressing, they can really carry almost any dish.Â
More Cozy Appetizer Recipes
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Whipped Feta Dip
Equipment
- 1 Food processor
- 1 bowl
Ingredients
Sugar Snap Pea Topping:
- 8 ounces (roughly 2 ½ cups) sugar snap peas
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
Dressing:
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon, (about 1 teaspoon of zest and 4 tablespoons of juice, divided)
- 1 small shallot, peeled and finely minced
- 1 small garlic clove, peeled and finely grated
- Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
Whipped Feta:
- 8 ounces feta , (in a block in brine)
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 3 tablespoons warm water
- 2 sprigs of mint, torn
- Toasted crusty bread, for serving
Instructions
To Make the Sugar Snap Pea Salad:
- Fill a saucepan with enough water to cover all your snap peas and bring it to a boil. Prepare an ice bath using a salad spinner. Place the ice in the bottom portion of the salad spinner, below the colander, and place the colander above the ice. Fill the vessel with enough water to cover the snap peas. Sprinkle a tablespoon of salt into the water.
- When the water is boiling, add a tablespoon of salt and drop all the peas in and blanch for 1 minute. Immediately transfer the peas to the ice bath. Let them sit for 5 minutes to stop the cooking and to chill the peas. Strain out all the water from the salad spinner and toss out the ice. Give the peas a quick spin in the spinner before transferring them to a clean kitchen towel to pat them dry.
To Make the Dressing:
- While the snap peas are cooling, in a bowl, whisk together the lemon zest and lemon juice, shallot, garlic, and a pinch of salt and a few cracks of black pepper. Let sit for 5 minutes. Then whisk in the olive oil, mustard, and honey.
To Make the Whipped Feta:
- To a food processor, add the feta, cream cheese, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Pulse a few times to break up the feta further, then stream in the warm water and process for a minute or two, or until it’s very smooth. Transfer to a bowl, smoothing on the bottom with lots of swoops.
To Assemble:
- Trim the ends of the peas and slice each pea on the bias, into long slivers. Toss all the sliced peas and the torn mint into the lemon dressing and give it a quick toss. Spoon it onto the whipped feta, drizzling the dressing all over. Finish the dish with lemon zest, some flaky salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Serve immediately with toasted crusty bread.
Notes
- A salad spinner is your best friend. It makes quick work of the blanching and drying process.
- I find it easiest to trim the peas while I slice them, but if you prefer, you can trim them before you blanch them.
- Blanching time is important in this recipe. One minute is the optimal time, as it yields bright green, perfectly tenderized, yet crunchy sugar snap peas. If anything you can go under the blanching time, but don’t blanch for longer than a minute as the sugar snap peas cook quickly!
- Serving immediately is important because as the dish continues to sit, the lemon marinates the peas and they start to lose their brightness.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
