Clam Dip

Clam Dip is a cream cheese and sour cream spread studded with bits of clams and seasoned with Old Bay for some kick — the perfect party snack.

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) block cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 3 tablespoons chopped chives
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning, or to taste
• 6 teaspoons prepared horseradish, drained
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3 (6 1/2 ounce) cans chopped clams in clam juice, drained with 1 tablespoon clam juice reserved
• Chopped parsley, for garnish

To serve

• Thick-sliced potato chips, crackers, or crudités

Directions

Make the clam dip:

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with a handheld mixer on medium speed until smooth. A whisk will work fine if the cream cheese is very soft.

Add the shallots, parsley, chives, lemon zest and juice, Old Bay, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, and sour cream.

Add the clams and clam juice:

If any of the clams are too large for your liking, chop them smaller. It’s nice to have a mixture of sizes—it feels like you’ve won a prize when you get an occasional larger piece of clam.

Add the clams and the 1 tablespoon of reserved clam juice. The clam juice will provide more clam flavor to the dip, but it will be fine if you don’t include it.

Mix the dip on low speed until well combined.

Taste dip and adjust seasoning:

Taste the dip and adjust seasonings, if needed. The Old Bay is the main source of salt so add more if needed or add kosher salt if the dip is already at a good spice level for you.

Chill the clam dip:

Cover and chill the dip for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

Garnish dip and serve:

Sprinkle with the reserved parsley just before serving with chips, crackers, or crudités.