The Melting Pot’s Spinach Artichoke Cheese Fondue is one of my favorite copycat recipes. The melted cheese is smooth and creamy and the spinach and artichokes add an amazing flavor. Perfect for dipping.
I love this Spinach Artichoke Cheese Fondue. It is my favorite cheese fondue to order at The Melting Pot restaurant. After our last visit I was able to duplicate the recipe with a lot of help from our waiter. He was nice enough to pretty much explain the entire recipe to me step by step. He knew what he was talking about because this recipe tastes exactly the same as the fondue we had in the restaurant. It’s rich and smooth and perfectly creamy. Getting the right cheese is important to getting the perfect consistency. The other thing that I loved was that I could make it myself for a fraction of the cost of eating it at the restaurant. The Melting Pot is such a fun dinner experience, but it is pricey!
My husband and I like to have a fancy Christmas candlelight dinner each year. We made this fondue for our dinner and it was perfect. You can make this a full meal by adding pieces of cooked meat, and steamed vegetables to dip in the cheese. Some of our favorite meats to dip in this Spinach Artichoke Cheese Fondue are shrimp and pieces of chicken wrapped in bacon as you can see in this photo. Steamed vegetables like asparagus, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, zucchini, and sugar snap peas work great for this fondue. You will want them to be cooked “al dente” so they are still crisp and fresh, not limp and soggy. Of course, the traditional bread, chips, and crackers are always delicious. Some people really like dipping slices of Granny Smith apples in the cheese too. It is a very tasty combination!
If you are a fan of fondue, you are going to love this recipe. Each time we make it, not a drop is wasted. We use bread to scoop up every last bit of the creamy, rich cheese. If you don’t have a fondue pot, we highly recommend the Oster Fondue Pot available at Amazon, Target, and other department stores. It is easy to use and it keeps the fondue at just the right temperature.
How to make our version of The Melting Pot’s Spinach Artichoke Cheese Fondue
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 c. vegetable broth
- 1 c. loosely packed cup fresh spinach chopped
- 3/4 c. artichoke hearts chopped
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 7 oz. Butterkäse cheese grated - if you can't find this, you can substitute Farmer's Cheese or Romanian Cream Cheese
- 1 (5 oz.) package Parmesan cheese blend grated - be sure to find one that has the first two ingredients as parmesan and Fontina cheese
Instructions
- Heat vegetable broth in fondue pot or similar cooking pot.
- When hot (do not bring to a boil) add spinach, artichoke hearts, and garlic and mix well. Continue to cook until the spinach and artichokes hearts soften.
- Combine the Butterkäse and Parmesan/Fontina grated cheeses, and add to the broth a little bit at a time, stirring constantly.
- Continue melting a stirring until you have added all the cheese and the consistency is smooth and creamy.
- Serve with french bread pieces, steamed vegetables, cooked meat, chips, pretzels, or crackers.
Substitution:
- Fake Butterkäse Cheese (Keep in mind, the fake really isn't quite as good as the real Butterkäse. Only use this recipe if you can't find it anywhere):
- Mix 1/2 brick (4oz) of cream cheese with 1/4 cup of buttermilk and 1/2 tablespoon of sour cream.
Ashley says
Oh man I love the melting pot its a favorite 🙂 This looks amazing. So where did you find the butterkase cheese?
Pamela says
Boars head carries it….anywhere you can find Boars Head, you will find Butterkase cheese…
Jensen says
We have tried to make this twice with the same problem, the cheese doesn't seem to melt and mix with the broth. We used a fondue pot and a double boiler. Do you have any suggestions?
Gina says
I worked there for three years. you have to shred the cheese and add in cornstarch not flour. mix the cheese with cornstarch before adding to the broth
Erica says
@Jensen- Maybe try melting it in a regular saucepan with the broth and then transfer it to the fondue pot. I know sometimes a fondue pot doesn't heat it up as well as just a regular pot. Another thing you could do it do it backwards… melt the cheese slowly and then slowly add the liquid. Let me know if this helps!
Julie says
You have to flour the cheese. That is the missing part of this recipe. Shred the cheese, then toss with flour. That is what any server at the restaurant wil tell you. its not on the menu, and you can't tell by watching them prepare it.
Sarah says
I worked at a MP for years. You need to lightly flour the cheese for it to blend with the wine or broth.
Emily says
Thanks so much!! I changed it on the recipe!
Cathy Wilkerson says
Wine? Please share your info! 🙂
Erica says
@ Cathy– Unfortunately we aren’t the people to ask! None of us drink!
Alicia says
I’m going to make this for a girls night tomorrow night, but I’m curious how much it actually makes? The amounts for each ingredient seem very small. Should I double it? There will be 7-10 of us.
Erica says
It makes enough for 2-4 depending on if that is the main thing you are serving. If ALL you are serving is this fondue I would say it will feed 2 comfortably.
Ginger says
For those not in the know, Butterkase is often called German Butter Cheese in English. It is easily found in the deli section at grocery stores in Canada, so I imagine it would be fairly easy to find in the USA too.
Melissa McBride says
I just made this and it is exactly the same as the MP! Thank you for the tip about adding the flour. I had a hard time at first finding Butterkase cheese, I live in Arizona and I ended up finding it within the packaged meet and cheese section. This recipe is great, so glad I found this site!!
Tiffany says
I work at the melting pot too, and just so everyone knows: our recipes aren’t a secret… We even sell a cookbook =)
Laura L says
I own the cookbook and this recipe isn’t in it. That’s a shame because this is my fave MP cheese fondue.
Heather k. says
Great cookbook but they conveniently left out
Some of their customer’s favorites, many of the
Recipes aren’t from MP’s menu at all:)
Aurelia says
Looks really nice, sounds amazingly delish and is a wonderful alternative to normal cheese fondue!
Angela says
I worked at the MP. and this is the real deal,except we lightly covered the cheese with corn starch not flour. This makes enough for 2 people
Punk says
Just made a modified version today with a very young Gouda as I could not find the Butterkase, and increased the amount of spinach and artichoke. It was wonderful!
Aj says
Wow!!! This was perfect! Dead on.. This is my favorite at Melting Pot, now I can make it at home… (Flour the cheese)
pam gunnell says
are these marinated artichokes?
mordyrn says
I have a potluck at work coming up & would love to bring this to impress. Could I make this in my fondue pot & transfer it to a crock pot to keep it warm for the potluck? Any other suggestions?
Erica says
Sure! I think that would probably work. That would be my best suggestion.
wandysikes says
How many does this serve?
Erica says
2-3
Heather says
So does the MP use the wine or the vegetable broth?
Erica says
Vegetable broth… I listed the exact recipe the waiter gave me!
rachael says
Could you use chicken broth?
Emily says
Yes, it will have a little different flavor, but it would work fine.
Mp employee says
Use cornstarch, not flour. It will thicken better. Also youre a lucky girl. If they ever find out that waiter gave you the recipe he will be fired and possibly sued. Yikes.
Erica says
He will never be found. I don’t even know his name!
Linda says
I am new to making Fondue, but I have tried several different recipes. So far, this is the only one that I will be making a second time.
Megan shaw says
This is the bomb!!! My fondue pot (rival brand) cooks really hot…..even on warm it was boiling the broth. Once I added the cheese, it turned really lumpy, not smooth, so i took it out of the fondue pot and over low heat, cooked it until it was more smooth. it was so good….thank you so much for sharing this recipe…..I love spinach artichoke anything. We make fondue every new years eve and this will be the go to cheese fondue.
Cyndi says
What kind of artichoke hearts? I’ve never used them in cooking before. I’m assuming it’s canned. Is that right? Thanks
Emily says
I usually use the ones in a jar.
Cathy says
Are the artichokes marinated or plain
Emily says
marinated
Brittney says
I work at the melting pot, and this truly is the recipe. except for the fresh spinach. It is very hard to get enough spinach into the cheese using fresh and it has a different texture when you eat it. I would recommend frozen spinach. I have made it both ways and frozen is better. Also flour is better, the MP changed the recipe to cornstartch to better suit diet trends but flour tastes MUCH better. I have literally eaten this cheese over a thousand times. We also use 4. 0z of vegetable broth not 3, but it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference. The MP isn’t stuffy about their “recipes” so don’t worry about your waiter giving it to you. We want to spread the fondue love!
also, if you buy the cheese pre-shredded (if you happen to be so lucky) don’t flour or cornstarch, the cheese guys already do that!
Erica says
Thanks for the great info! We love MP and have always had a great experience there. ALL of the workers we have ever talked to are SO nice. MP must have pretty high standards as far as staff goes! 🙂
Rebecca Roth says
Erica, I completely agree! MP is absolutely delicious and the staff that they have are WONDERFUL!!!!! Kudos to the Melting Pot!!!!!!!
Rebecca Roth says
Brittany, thank you so very much for your post!!!!!!!
Rebecca Roth says
I am not familiar with this type of cheese. Can anyone explain what it tastes similar to?
Carla says
I found that mild brick cheese, usually found in specialty shops or in Wisconsin, is close to Butter Kase cheese. It’s a German cheese, and when I’m not able to find mild brick I get this one and it works perfectly. I used to bring it back to Houston after visiting WI, but it’s difficult now with Flight Rules.
Lori says
So I couldn’t find butterkase anywhere and I didn’t wanna do the substitute. I tried the Gouda someone mentioned and omg it was more delicious then at MP in my opinion.
Kerry says
Thank you for this recipe! Made it for my Moms Club for Moms Night Out. We did a young Gouda instead because we have a few pregnant moms in our group. It was a huge hit! Looking forward to making it again!
Erica says
Awesome! So glad that you liked it! Thanks for the substitution idea as well 🙂
Melissa says
Besides bread, what do you recommend for dipping?
Echo says
We’ve also used crackers, baked pita chips, and broccoli for this fondue. Thank you for asking!
Caroll says
I am super excited to try out this recipe i have a gathering this saturday so it will be perfect i just want to know if you buy the vegetable broth or you make it and how?? Thanks in advance 🙂
Echo says
I use store bought vegetable broth, but homemade vegetable broth would work great in this recipe. Here is a recipe from a fellow food blogger that I recommend if you would like to make you own:
http://www.myhumblekitchen.com/2013/03/rich-and-flavorful-homemade-vegetable-broth-recipe/#sthash.elvZgtIj.dpbs
Amanda says
Hello, I got a fondue pot a few weeks ago and Valentine’s Day was the first time we used. And your recipe made it an awesome meal, heck we may even need to make more for dessert!
I could not find the butterkaise and the homemade kind worked perfectly. We added a bit more fontina than the recipe called for, sometimes I am heavy handed with liquids and before the extra cheese it was a little runny (operator error). I am so glad we found a recipe without wine, I tried one on the stove before we got our pot and all you could taste was alcohol. This was a much better experience!
Erica says
So glad you liked it. What a perfect Valentine’s meal (and I’m guessing it didn’t cost $80 per person)!
Todd says
Am looking forward to making this for my wife. This weekend. Looks yummy
Favorite Family Recipes says
Aww! That is so nice! Let us know how she likes it!
Crystal says
Hi! I love the melting pot and I am excited to try this. The recipe says grated Parmesan blend but there is a photo of shredded at the end of the recipe. Is the grated the correct one to use?
Favorite Family Recipes says
Sorry for the confusion – you should use shredded like in the picture at the bottom.