This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Festive Whipped Ricotta Dip is an easy appetizer that’s perfect for the holidays! Start with whole milk ricotta cheese to make a creamy ricotta dip, top with pomegranate and pistachio garnish. Less than 10 minutes to make and less than 10 ingredients! Perfect with crackers or crostini!
A luscious whipped ricotta dip is exactly what we all need around the holidays!
It’s creamy, fluffy cloud of whipped ricotta, speckled with orange zest and a hint of extra-virgin olive oil. The fluffy ricotta acts as a base. So you can top it with just about anything. I really like to garnish the top of the dip with crunchy, sweet, and tart pomegranates along with salty roasted pistachios. A hint of honey and a few sprigs of fresh thyme for a hint of color and freshness rounds out all the flavors.
Sometimes I’ll swap the drizzle of honey for hot honey which adds a bit more complexity to the dip appealing to the sophisticated flavor palette. Fresh herbs like the thyme adds brightness and the olive oil and orange juice really make all the other flavors pop on your tongue!
All you need to serve with this is a baguette cut into thin slices and baked with a little olive oil to make crostini. You could also go the pita chips route, or serve this with crackers if you like.
Ingredients for Creamy Whipped Ricotta Dip
- Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese: I use store-bought ricotta to make this quick and easily, but I do know there are several recipes on the internet where you can use a gallon of whole milk and quickly make ricotta cheese at home. If you were to go that route, undoubtedly it would be more special. However, something to keep in mind is that you have to make sure to squeeze all the moisture out. Having even just a hint more of moisture will cause the whipped ricotta dip to become liquidy.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: This recipe is ideal to use your good quality extra virgin olive oil with. Since we aren’t cooking the ricotta dip on the stove or in the oven, using good quality oil will elevate this ricotta recipe.
- Orange: You’ll need both a bit of freshly squeezed orange juice and zest for this recipe. You can even use lemon zest in its place along with fresh lemon juice. I find that orange works better for this particular recipe as the flavor works better with ingredients like cranberries and pomegranates.
- Honey or Hot Honey: Hot honey is my go to for a lot of recipe simply because it creates a hint of warmth on the palette and is typically a crowd pleaser. I have a homemade version of hot honey you can use or use store bought.
- Fresh Thyme: helps bring freshness to the dish. Feel free to use some rosemary, sage, or even some fresh basil if that’s what you typically have on hand around this time of the year!
- Salted Pistachios: salted pistachios bring crunch and a hint of salt to the dish. I like to buy shelled pistachios to make life a bit easier. Just give them a quick pulse in the food processor or a rough chop.
- Serving suggestions: Use warm bread, crostini, pita chips, or gluten free crackers. The sky is the limit with this ricotta recipe.
Bought or made hot honey and looking for other ways to use it? Try my Turmeric Chicken with Hot Honey Sauce, Blackened Hot Honey Salmon, Hot Honey Cranberry Goat Cheese Balls, and Hot Honey Pretzel Chicken Fingers.
Making Whipped Ricotta
See below for the complete recipe, this is just a quick overview.
- Whip it good. First, grab your food processor or a hand mixer. Add the ricotta cheese, olive oil, orange zest, and orange juice to the bowl and give it a few pulses until the ricotta is nice and fluffy.
- Combine the topping. In a bowl, add the orange juice, remaining olive oil, honey, fresh thyme, and pomegranate arils, then stir until mixed. You can also add the pistachios now if you like, or to keep them crunchy use it as a garnish on top of the pomegranate layer.
- Serve it up. Plop the whipped ricotta in a shallow serving bowl. Use a spoon to create swoops to allow space for the pomegranate arils to rest. Then top with the pomegranate mixture and sprinkle with the pistachios top. Finally, serve with crackers or crostini as desired.
- Storing leftovers. You’ll want to keep any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. Best to consume within 1-2 days of making as the dip does tend to get watery after that.
Other delicious dips with cheese:
- Harissa Roasted Carrots with Whipped Feta
- Creamy Greek Whipped Feta Dip
- Easiest Pepper Jelly Cheese Dip
- Cheesy Baked Garlic Bread Dip
- Jammy Hot Caramelized Onion Dip with Gruyere
- Baked Tomato Goat Cheese Dip
More festive appetizers:
- Hot Honey Cranberry Goat Cheese Balls
- Easy Puff Pastry Twists with Za’atar
- Crispy Firecracker Shrimp
- My Mom’s Crispy Beef Samosas
- Greek Spinach Puffs
Festive Whipped Ricotta Dip
Ingredients
- 1 16 ounce container whole milk ricotta
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Zest of 1 orange + 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 2 tablespoons honey or hot honey
- ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves minced
- ½ cup Pomegranate arils
- 2 tablespoons lightly salted pistachios chopped
- Crackers or crostini for serving
Instructions
- WHIP: Add the ricotta, 1 tablespoon olive oil, orange zest, and 2 teaspoons orange juice to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until whipped and fluffy.
- COMBINE: in a bowl, stir together the remaining tablespoon of oil with 1 teaspoon orange juice, and honey. Then add the thyme and pomegranate arils and stir. You can also add the pistachios now if you’d like, but they tend to lose a bit of their crunch. I typically add half now and save the other half for garnish.
- SERVE: In a bowl or shallow serving bowl, spread the whipped ricotta using a spoon to create swoops so that they pomegranate arils have a place to rest. Using a slotted spoon, top with the pomegranate mixture. Then sprinkle with remaining chopped pistachios over the top. You can also drizzle a bit of the pomegranate liquid over top if you’d like. Serve with crackers or crostini.
- LEFTOVERS: Store leftover dip in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. The long it sits, the most liqudy the dip becomes, so it’s best to consume quickly.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
What liquid are you drizzling over top at the end of tbe directions?
Just what’s left from the pomegranates!