Creamy whipped ricotta is blended with uber-sweet honey, olive oil, citrus, and herbs for a quick, irresistible dip to pair with crostini, toasted slices of baguette, and pretzels for scooping.
Topped with another drizzle of honey and flaky sea salt, it's also perfect with slices of pear and apple or whole strawberries.
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This delicious and healthy dip only takes 10 minutes, and you can whip it up the night before you plan to serve it. Share it as an appetizer or even, a light dessert!
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Ingredients
- Ricotta cheese
- Honey
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice and zest
- Thyme
- Cracked black pepper (optional)
- Flaky salt (optional)
Ricotta: Part-skim will save you calories and fat grams; however, your dip will be slightly richer with whole milk cheese. Go for whole milk if you plan to use this as sweet course.
🐝Honey: Use a flavorful honey purchased from a local beekeeper or farmer's market, if possible.
Olive oil: Pull out your green extra-virgin stash for the fruity flavors and healthy polyphenols.
🌿Thyme: Use fresh, if possible. You can substitute with rosemary if you enjoy the flavor of that woody herb.
How to Make
Wash your hands, lathering with soap and rinsing with running water for 20 seconds, before starting.
In the bowl of a food processor (affiliate link), combine ricotta cheese, a Tablespoon each of honey and olive oil, ½ teaspoon each of lemon juice and thyme leaves, and ¼ teaspoon of lemon zest.
Process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl once.
Transfer the dip into a serving bowl or storage container (affiliate link).
Make an indentation in the center of the dip for the topping (if you plan to serve it immediately).
Whisk (affiliate link) together briskly the remaining olive oil, honey, and lemon juice.
Pour this piquantly sweet topping mixture into the indentation in the middle of the ricotta dip.
Sprinkle the top of the dip with fresh thyme leaves, cracked black pepper (affiliate link), and lemon zest, then, drizzle with a little extra honey. Serve with crostini, flatbreads, baguette slices, and pear and/or apple slices.
❄️Storage
Place the dip in an airtight container (affiliate link) and store in the refrigerator for 1 or 2 days.
Wait until serving to add topping, which you can also make ahead and store in a small jar. Just give it a good whisk before pouring it into the center of the dip.
Of course, you should also wait to garnish and decorate until you are ready to serve it.
Serving ideas
To serve this as an appetizer, perhaps as part of a game-day spread or for a social evening gathering with cocktails/mocktails, offer sturdy, crunchy dippers.
Think crostini, toasted slices of baguette, flat-breads, or perhaps, sweet potato and root vegetable chips. You could also have slices of fruit, such as apples and crunchy-sweet Asian pears.
🧁Dessert: Try this Honey Ricotta blend as an easy treat with light and healthy vibes. Serve strawberries on the side. Consider slicing strawberries into a pretty dessert cup (affiliate link), drizzling them with honey and dolloping with the ricotta mixture.
More honey and a few walnuts sprinkled on top of this dessert as a garnish would be delicious (as would mini-chocolate chips)!
♨️Warm it up: Another way to serve is to bake it in a 350°F oven for 15 to 30 minutes. Be sure and let guests know it may be hot. One caveat with this is that the dip may become softer.
Even if does become runny, it will still be yummy. Plus, it will firm as it cools!
😋Flavorful additions
There are many nuts besides walnuts that would be great on this dip. Pecans, pistachios, and pine nuts would pair well with the mellow, milky flavor of this dip.
You can make this a more savory appetizer by keeping the honey to a minimum and adding it as a drizzle over the top. Crushed red pepper flakes and some garlic would also push it in a savory direction.
Is this a healthy appetizer or dessert?
- Part-skim ricotta: When made with low-fat cheese, which works well for snack and appetizer duty, this dip is low in calories, but it does have a few more carbs and slightly less protein.
- Whole-milk ricotta: With the full-fat cheese, it has almost twice as many calories and three times as much fat, much of which is saturated. It would be appropriate for low carb diets.
➕Another positive is calcium, with the whole-milk version having a slight edge over the low-fat dip. Also, neither is high sodium. You'll also get a decent amount of protein and some potassium and phosphorus from a fairly small serving size.
Practical Dietitians rate this recipe as Good for Bones.
Learn more about the criteria.
When eaten as dessert, which would be a double serving (about ¼ cup), this whipped ricotta with honey may help strengthen your bones.
The full-fat version is also a good choice for a keto or low-carb dessert since it has a rich taste, but very little sugar since only a small amount of honey is used in the recipe.
Whether you use part-skim or whole-milk ricotta in this recipe, you really can't go wrong. Either dip is a good source of calcium, low in salt, and delicious!
If you turn to part-skim cheese for weight management, be conscious of what you serve with it. Fruit is likely to have fewer calories and provide fiber and vitamins to go with your calcium.
When choosing crackers and other dippers, look for whole-grain choices to boost the nutrition of your appetizer or snack.
This dip is also an excellent offering for vegetarians who enjoy dairy foods!
FAQ⁉️
Yes! It's great in wraps and I love it on top of toast and rice cakes. Using jam with it plays up the sweetness.
Yes. The simple recipe is elegant and makes a generous amount. It's perfect for a crowd, especially when children are part of the party. This mild dip is a kid pleaser!
Not at all; it's a mild, milky cheese, very similar to cottage cheese.
Other recipes you may enjoy...
If the ambrosial flavor of honey is your favorite, try this Honey Almond Butter Mug Cake, another recipe that's good for your bones as well as your tastebuds!
Here's a dinner recipe with ricotta cheese: lazy day Slow Cooker Vegetarian Lasagna. This veggie-packed recipe is a healthy, hearty meal for a busy day.
Similar to this ricotta dip recipe, Greek Yogurt Tahini Sauce is rich in dairy, but this nutty, creamy blend contains good-for-your-gut probiotics. It works as an appetizer (with raw veggies) or a lip-smacking sauce on chicken or falafel.
Creamy Ricotta Dip with Honey
Equipment
- Food processor blender, or hand-held blender (immersion)
Ingredients
- 1 15-ounce container whole milk ricotta cheese
- 2 Tablespoons honey, divided use, plus an extra ½ teaspoon for drizzling
- 1½ Tablespoons olive oil, divided use
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice, divided use
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest, divided use
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, divided use. (Can substitute ¼ teaspoon dried thyme)
- pinch salt, flaky sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
Instructions Start Cooking
- Wash hands thoroughly, lathering with soap and rinsing under running water.
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine ricotta, a Tablespoon of honey, a Tablespoon of olive oil, ½ teaspoon of lemon juice, ½ teaspoon of thyme leaves (or ¼ teaspoon dried), and ¼ teaspoon lemon zest. Process until completely smooth.
- Scoop ricotta mixture out of food processor onto a serving plate, making an indentation in the center.
- In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whip together remaining olive oil, honey, and lemon juice.
- Pour the olive oil-lemon juice mixture into the center of the ricotta. Sprinkle with flaky salt, black pepper, and remaining lemon zest and fresh thyme leaves.(A small drizzle of honey is great, too!)
- Serve with dippers like crostini, crunchy baguette slices, and slices of apple or pear.
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