Zesty and lightly sweet, this Persian-inspired whipped ricotta dip is incredibly easy to make with a few ingredients such as ricotta, orange, dates, and pistachios (mix-ins found in all Persian homes). Serve this dip with crostini, crackers, or toasted bread, topped with honey and pistachios. It would be a wonderful addition to a cheese board as well.

Once you make this Persian-inspired whipped ricotta dip, you’ll find it hard to make any other recipe. Just throw everything into a food processor and you have a fresh, flavorful dip that will impress anyone you serve it to.

I have clearly been on a ricotta kick recently, with my pesto ricotta pasta and ricotta persimmon crostini. Ricotta is so versatile that you can make so many recipes with it!

Persian inspired whipped ricotta dip with crostini, blood orange, dates, orange, honey

Persian Inspiration

My mom was born and raised in Iran, so the flavors I grew up with were centered around Persian cuisine. Our pantry always contained pistachios and dates, our fruit bowls filled with oranges. The flavors taste incredibly delicious together. Fresh, sweet, but not overpowering. Whipped ricotta is just the medium for the other ingredients!

Ingredients

Full fat ricotta
Milk
Medjool dates
Orange zest and juice
Salt
Pistachios
Honey

dates orange ricotta milk in a food processor

How to make this Persian-inspired whipped ricotta dip

Take the pits out and nubs off the dates. Zest and juice the orange.
Add the ricotta, milk, dates, salt, orange zest, and orange juice to a food processor. Pulse until the desired consistency is reached. All the ingredients should be blended except for the dates, which will be speckled throughout the ricotta dip

Why you’ll love this whipped ricotta dip

Easy to make (15 minutes or less)
You haven’t tried anything like this before, and neither have the friends you will share this with
Sweetness from natural ingredients (dates, orange, and honey)
Very easily transportable and storable
Perfect addition to a cheese board as a side dip
If you are Persian, you likely have most of the ingredients already

Tips, tricks, and substitutions

Milk is used to make the whipped ricotta more creamy. Without, the ricotta won’t fully blend. In a pinch, you can replace with a neutral oil (some extra virgin olive oils might be too strong)
You can use any type of orange. I have used blood oranges, cara cara oranges, sumo oranges and they all taste delicious
Dates, on the other hand, are hard to replace. Medjool dates are the softest and sweetest and go best with this. I have not tested this recipe with other types of dates.
For a dish as simple as this one, the quality of ingredients do matter.

Lastly, if you do make this recipe (first of all, thank you!!), be sure to leave a comment and rating below! It would mean the world to me if you tagged me on Instagram or TikTok so I can see your creations. 🙂

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5 from 1 vote