Entertain your guests with this baked ricotta cheese dip.
The dip is enriched with herbs and spices, topped with jam, and baked hot.
Global Food Recipes
with Spices and Herbs
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I have been trying my hand at different hot cheese dips prepped with a jam topping. This baked ricotta dip was inspired by the baked brie with fig jam appetizer.
What is Ricotta?
Ricotta is a grainy, soft by-product of cheese making. It's made from the whey that is leftover from making cheese.
This Italian cheese is white and almost odorless and is used extensively in Northern Italian cuisines. The local varieties in Italy can be made from sheep, goat, or buffalo milk.
Yet, ricotta is popular in the rest of the world too, where it is mainly produced with cow's milk. This cheese is great as a hot appetizer dip!
Ingredient Notes
For the dip:
- egg - it holds the dip together, makes i creamy and adds flavors
- ricotta cheese - fresh
- salt and black pepper
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- crushed red chili flakes - don't skip that! It compliments the dip and it won't be spicy hot because of the creamy ricotta.
- thyme - dried
- oregano - dried
- jam - I chose apricot jam because that's what I had at home, but you can use fig jam or any other jam too, such as a tomato jam. The orange color of the apricot jam is also appealing to the eye.
Topping:
- chives - fresh and chopped small
- crushed red chili flakes - some more because it looks great and adds minor heat
This dip is made with dried onion and garlic powder because as a seasoning, they mix better into the mass. I don't recommend using fresh garlic and onion.
Process Overview
Step 1
Scramble the egg in a bowl.
Stir and mix in ricotta and seasoning ingredients.
Step 3
Bake the dip.
When done, take out and top with freshly chopped chives and some more crushed red chilis.
📖 Recipe
Baked Ricotta Cheese Dip with Jam
Ingredients
For the dip
- 1 Egg
- 1 Cup Ricotta Cheese
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground
- ½ Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ¼ Teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Oregano Dried
- ½ Teaspoon Thyme
- ½ Teaspoon Red Chili Pepper Flakes
- 4-6 Tablespoon Jam I used apricot jam
For the topping
- Red Chili Pepper Flakes a little looks nice
- Chives fresh and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350. Fahrenheit or 180 Celsius.
- Break the egg into a mixing bowl and scramble.1 Egg
- Stir ricotta cheese to that.1 Cup Ricotta Cheese
- Add all the seasoning: salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, thyme, and crushed red chili pepper.½ Teaspoon Salt, ½ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground, ½ Teaspoon Garlic Powder, ¼ Teaspoon Onion Powder, ½ Teaspoon Red Chili Pepper Flakes, ½ Teaspoon Oregano Dried, ½ Teaspoon Thyme
- Mix all the ingredients together and prepare a well-combined mass.
- Fill ramekins with the ricotta mass. Don't overfill it, keep some space, or else your dip will overflow.
- Spread jam over the dip in the ramekins.4-6 Tablespoon Jam
- Bake ricotta cheese dip at 350. Fahrenheit or 180 Celsius for about 18 minutes (15-20 mins, depends on your oven).
- Top with red crushed chili pepper and cut chives.½ Teaspoon Red Chili Pepper Flakes, Chives
- Serve up hot with dippers.
Notes
- 2x ramekins at 4 oz/120 ml for the basic recipe quantity.
- 1 cup ricotta cheese = 8.8 ounces or 250 grams.
- you can use your favorite jam. Apricot, fig, and even my Christmas jam make for a lovely topping
Equipment
Nutrition
Serving
I love, love, love this hot creamy dip with a set of dipping options. So, you can prepare something like a charcuterie board just with dippers.
Arrange the dippers around the baked ricotta dip and place it in the center of a table so that people can freely take some.
You can add the following dippers:
- crackers -ritz crackers, plain ones, or any flavored savory cracker.
- other savory cookies - I used bacon-flavored cookies in the images.
- grissini breadsticks - they look nice and are elongated, perfect for dipping.
- chips - firm hard chips do better. Tortilla chips are great.
- jalapenos - fresh chilis if you like it spicy hot.
- vegetables - such as fresh cucumbers, carrots, celery sticks, peppers, sharp radish and tomatoes. They add a level of freshness to the dip, and they balance the appetizer well.
- fruits - well why not, right? Fresh grapes and figs make an excellent choice.
Guests love options, so keep those dippers ready in a bowl or, even better, laid out on a granite slate to leave a lasting impression.
Storing
If you have leftovers, you can just keep the dip in the baking dish and place it in the fridge. Just cover it with some foil or clean wrap.
To reheat, place in the oven over a lower heat setting for 5-10 minutes or until it is warm again. Use up within 2-3 days!
You can also prepare the full dip with the jam on it and freeze the ramekins. Just cover it on top with a clean wrap.
When you are ready to bake the ramekins, just place them frozen into your oven and bake them. Just add a lot more extra time to that so that the dip is properly cooked through, about 15-20 minutes more.
FAQs
The dip will separate during the baking process if you skip the egg, and it might not look that creamy. If you aren't concerned about that, then go ahead and skip adding the egg.
Use freshly made ricotta with a more recent manufacturing date. Ricotta can be made at home too, or get it from your local farmer's market for a more quality-rich soft ricotta. I leave you to choose between sheep, goat, cow, or buffalo milk ricotta.
Preferably 4 oz/ 120 ml.
Yes, you can, but I haven't tried it. I still think the cheese dip tastes best with jam.
Yes, you can if you don't mind it being room temperature or fridge cold. It just tastes better hot. Also, the dip is soft when hot and gets harder the colder it is.
Depends on what healthy is to you. It's a protein- and fat-rich dip; therefore, it is low carb and keto (if you don't count the dippers). It's also a vegetarian dip. To make it vegan, you would have to skip the ricotta or use vegan ricotta.
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