You just need FOUR easy-to-find ingredients and less than five minutes to make this incredibly moreish spicy feta dip. Harissa paste gives it a serious kick of heat, perfect served with pita chips or crackers, or paired with grilled lamb, roast potatoes or spooned onto toast. The perfect make-ahead dip for a crowd.
Nothing makes me happier than a spread of colourful dips alongside a big pile of fresh bread or pita chips. You truly can’t get a better snack or party bite, and this spicy feta dip is always a crowd-pleaser.
Once you realise how quick and easy it is to make your own dips, you’ll never go back to buying them at the store. Plus, they taste SO much better and are a lot cheaper.
The secret to this lovely one is harissa paste, a North African chilli paste that I always try to have on hand. Ingredients can vary but usually consist of roasted chilli, garlic, olive oil and spices like cumin, coriander and caraway. It brings a sweet and warming heat to the dip and pairs wonderfully with salty feta. To complement the flavour even more, you could drizzle some hot honey sauce on top as you serve.
Ingredients
- Feta. Go for a good-quality, creamy feta here if you can, rather than the cheaper ‘salad cheese’ you often see at the store.
- Harissa. I’m using Belazu rose harissa paste which is my favourite when I’m in the UK, but any harissa will do. I’d recommend tasting yours first before you use it because some are MUCH spicier than others. If yours is super spicy, reduce the quantity you add to the dip at first. You can then taste it and see if more is needed.
- Greek yogurt. This just adds a smooth creaminess to the dip, which can be a little grainy if it’s just feta alone. You could use plain natural yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream or even ricotta in its place, and fat-free is fine.
- Garlic. I’m a big garlic fan so love it here, but harissa generally already has garlic in it, so you can skip it if you like.
How to make it
Add all your ingredients into a blender or food processor, then blitz to combine into a lovely super smooth dip.
PRO TIP: If you’re struggling to get your dip blitzing (this will depend on the strength of your blender or food processor), add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and scrape down the sides, then try again. This should loosen up the dip and make it easier to blend.
Spoon the dip out onto a serving plate or into a bowl, then I like to drizzle it with extra harissa, scatter over flat-leaf parsley and something crunchy like everything bagel seasoning or dukkah.
Got a question?
You can! Whenever I’m entertaining I always make my dips ahead of time – it’s so much easier that way. This one will last at least 5 days, stored in the fridge in an airtight container. Try to bring it out of the fridge about 15 minutes before you want to serve it, just to take the chill off. It’ll firm up in the fridge, so just give it a little stir to loosen things up when you serve it (as it sits at room temperature it will loosen up naturally).
It isn’t super spicy, but that will also depend on the harissa paste you use, as some are more spicy than others. Give the harissa a taste before you use it, to gauge how spicy it is. If it’s especially hot, you could reduce the quantity to 1 tablespoon, then taste the dip after blending and add the rest if you like.
My favourite is pita chips, crudités or crackers, but you can use this as much more than a dip. Try it dolloped on top of salads, tossed through pasta, spooned on top of toast or fresh bread (it’s fab with no-knead focaccia, Vogel’s style seed bread or rosemary parmesan bread) or alongside grilled meat (it’s lovely with miso chicken or lamb koftas).
Like this recipe? Here are more quick dips you might enjoy
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave me a comment below.
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Spicy Whipped Feta Dip with Harissa
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
You just need FOUR easy-to-find ingredients to make this incredibly moreish spicy feta dip. Harissa paste gives it a serious kick of heat, perfect served with pita chips or crackers, or paired with grilled lamb, roast potatoes or spooned onto toast. The perfect make-ahead dip for a crowd.
Ingredients
For the dip –
- 200g/7oz feta cheese
- 2 tablespoons harissa paste
- 4 tablespoons Greek yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
To serve –
- 1 tablespoon harissa paste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- A handful of flat-leaf parsley (or thyme, oregano or rosemary)
- 1 tablespoon everything bagel seasoning or dukkah
Instructions
- Make the dip. Break the feta into a few pieces, then add it to the bowl of a food processor or blender, along with 2 tablespoons of harissa paste, 4 tablespoons of Greek yogurt and the 2 peeled garlic cloves. Blitz into a super smooth, creamy dip. This will take a couple of minutes. You can stop the motor and scrape down the sides a few times, to make sure everything is blending evenly. PRO TIP: If your dip needs a little help to get moving, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to loosen things up.
- Garnish and serve. Transfer the dip to a serving plate or bowl, making swirls in it with the back of your spoon and creating a little crater in the middle. Drizzle over the other tablespoon of harissa paste and olive oil, then scatter over the flat-leaf parsley and the everything bagel seasoning or dukkah.
Notes
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: The dip will keep well for at least 5 days, stored in a covered container in the fridge. It’s best served at room temperature and will firm up in the fridge – so give it a little stir before you serve it.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: I love serving this with pita chips, crackers or crudites, but it’s also wonderful spread onto fresh bread (try it with no-knead chilli cheese focaccia, Vogel’s style seed bread or rosemary parmesan bread) or toast, dolloped onto salads, tossed through pasta or pasta salad, as a dipping sauce for crispy potatoes or oven fries, or served with grilled meat (try it with miso grilled chicken or lamb koftas).
INGREDIENT NOTES: Taste your harissa paste before you use it – different brands have different levels of heat. If yours is especially spicy (or mild), adjust the quantity accordingly. You could replace the Greek yogurt with cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream or ricotta if you like.
- Prep Time: 5
- Category: dips
- Method: blender
- Cuisine: mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 tablespoons
- Calories: 179
- Sugar: 2.9g
- Sodium: 900mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 8..3g
- Carbohydrates: 4.7g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 8.4g
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