This recipe is one of my new favorites. It makes a great starter/appetizer. It’s a cheesy spinach dip with a ring of fluffy bread rolls around, all baked in a cast-iron pan! Definitely a Friday night kind of food. It’s also easy and quick to make with a bit of planning.

Ingredients for the Rolls:
- 1 cup warm milk
- 2 1/4 tsp yeast
- 2 tbsp sugar, divided
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup (half stick) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour
Ingredients for the Dip:
- 8 oz fresh spinach
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 8 oz (1 brick) cream cheese softened to room temp
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- 2-3 cloves of grated garlic or to taste
Notes:
- You can make this bread dough by hand, but I’m using a stand mixer.

Instructions for the Rolls:
- Start by whisking together the warm milk, yeast, and 1 tbsp sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes to let the yeast bloom.
- Add 1 tbsp sugar, the egg, butter, salt, and gradually add in flour. Scrape down the sides, and continue to beat at medium speed until the dough comes together.
- Knead for another 2 minutes until the dough is soft.
- Grease a large bowl with oil, place the dough inside and turn the dough over to the oil coat.
- Cover and let rise for 1-3 hours or until doubled in size.
- Grease a cast-iron pan.
- After the dough rises, punch down the dough to release the air.
- Divide the dough into 14 pieces, and shape each roll.
- Place around the border of the cast-iron pan, cover, and let rise for about another hour.
Instructions for the Dip:
- While the rolls are rising, start on the dip.
- In a pan over medium heat, add the spinach. The spinach should release some water of its own and shrink down.
- Add the sour cream, mayo, and cream cheese.
- Add the cheddar and Parmesan.
- All of the cheese should be melted and combined. I left this on the heat for about another 5 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, garlic, and chili flakes.
- Preheat the oven to 350.
Instructions for the Assembly:
- Once the rolls rise, pour the dip inside the middle of the pan.
- Optionally, you can add some toppings before baking, such as cheese or some herbs.
- Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. The rolls should be golden brown on top.
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Hmm. So help me out with timing. This sounds amazing for the Monday night College Football championship (Roll Tide!). What time do I need to start all the dough making and rising in order for this to be ready around 7-8 pm?
Start preparing anywhere from 1 pm to 4 pm depending on how long it takes for your bread to rise. If you want it to be ready at 7 pm and your bread rises in one hour then start around 3 pm but if it takes longer then start around 1 pm.
If you want it to be ready at around 8 pm and your bread rises quickly then start around 4 pm, if it takes a long time then start around 2 pm.
My house is cold so my bread takes a long time to rise so it depends.
Also remember that the bread has to rise twice one time until it doubles in size and another hour before it bakes.
Hopefully that helps!
Let me know if you have any more questions!