The $4 Trader Joe’s Dip That’s So Good, Even Chefs Pass It off as Homemade

While we all may wish we could have a private chef on call to help with dinner parties—or just dinner in general— the majority of us rely on our own two hands to get meals on the table. Luckily, not only do we have our community of home cooks here on Allrecipes to help us, but we also have the infinite scope of the internet at our disposal these days, with influencers and inspiration abound.

When I’m not perusing our own site for cooking shortcuts or checking in with our Allrecipes Allstars for easy go-to recipes, one of my favorite food blogs (and social media handles) to consult is “What’s Gaby Cooking,” run by Gaby Dalkin—a cookbook author, recipe developer, and entrepreneur. (To know her ready-made spice mixes is to love them.) And it just so happens she’s also a former private chef with great stories to tell. I caught up with Dalkin while she was promoting her partnership with Kelley Blue Book’s My Wallet tool to get her tricks of the trade that we can all use.

The Store-Bought Dip Gaby Dalkin Served at Jessica Simpson’s Football Parties

Dalkin, a self-proclaimed “California Girl,” started her career as a private chef after culinary school. As it says on her website, she was an incredibly picky eater growing up, so everyone was shocked when she chose culinary school as the next step after college. Her “What’s Gaby Cooking” blog came about in 2009 so she could share what she was learning with family and friends. She found her calling and honed her cooking craft through trial and error—and persistence.

One such lesson was how best to tackle entertaining a crowd. Dalkin’s former client, Jessica Simpson (you might have heard of her), used to throw football parties often, and Gaby had to quickly learn how to juggle getting all the favorites on the table as a solo act.

It was fun to hear that our own fried chicken recipe “got her through” being Simpson’s chef. When the singer asked for it to be served, Gaby had never made it before—”Allrecipes saved me,” she recounted.

It was also relatable to hear that one of her secret pro moves was to run to Trader Joe’s, stock up on the store’s beloved Spinach and Artichoke Dip, pile it into her own dishes, and pass it off as homemade. No one was the wiser, and everyone loved it. Because if you’re going all out on fried chicken, you only have so much energy left to make appetizers, as well.

As one of my own culinary school teachers used to say, “Work smarter, not harder.”

Chef Tip

With the time you save, you can whip up a batch of Gaby's famous Chicken Parmesan Meatballs.

How to Use Trader Joe’s Spinach and Artichoke Dip Like a Chef

Trader Joe’s Creamy Spinach and Artichoke dip comes frozen, ready to be heated and served in all its cheesy, comforting glory. It has been a fan favorite for years, winning “Best Appetizer” last year in the store’s Customer Choice Awards and gracing our list of top TJ’s dips.

It’s pretty perfect to serve alongside tortilla chips, pita, warm slices of baguette, or crudités at your next football party (as Dalkin can attest to) or just as a weeknight snack. But it also works as an easy-yet-flavorful ingredient for a satisfying three-ingredient pasta, burger topping, sandwich layer, or casserole component. I like to add a squeeze of lemon and freshly grated Parmesan to mine.

Oh, and don’t worry—Dalkin has since revealed her deep, dark spinach artichoke secret to Simpson. Celebrity or not, we can all agree there’s no shame in passing off store-bought shortcuts as homemade. It’s a pro move if there ever was one, and it’s private chef-approved.

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