Author: In case you were wondering, the answer is yes. Yes, you should make and devour this immediately. This Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip recipe is a fan-favorite recipe! Cheesy, gooey, creamy, and absolutely delicious. The perfect appetizer for game day, a BBQ, movie night, or anytime you want to impress. No one will know it's vegan!
This is one of those appetizers where people are gonna be asking for the recipe and they are gonna be asking how much cheese is in this thing. It's so darn cheesy, creamy, and delectable, with lots of spinach, artichoke and onion action going on. I mean can you even tell there is bread under that thick coating of dip lusciousness ↑ ? The dip just devoured my bread as a good dip should.
This recipe is easy to make and can be prepped ahead of time if desired. Assemble the dip through the assembly step, cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 days. When ready to serve, give it a good stir and bake as directed, adding a few extra minutes as needed since the dip will be cold.
How to Make Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip:
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and lightly grease a 2- to 3-quart baking dish.
Sauté the onion in olive oil until softened, then add the garlic and cook briefly until fragrant.
To make the cheese sauce, blend the cashews, plant-based milk, water, tapioca starch, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper until completely smooth. The sauce will look thin and milky at this stage-that's normal.
Add the sautéed onion and garlic, chopped artichoke hearts, and well-squeezed spinach to the baking dish. Pour the cheese sauce over top and stir everything together. Again, the mixture will look very thin before baking, but it thickens into a creamy, gooey dip in the oven.
Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes, stirring well every 10 minutes and scraping the thickened mixture from the edges back into the dip. Once creamy and gooey, give it one final stir, smooth the top, and broil for 1-2 minutes until lightly golden.
Serve hot with toasted baguette slices, pita chips, tortilla chips, crackers, or fresh vegetables.
This Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip is...
- Creamy
- Cheesy
- Make-ahead and freezer-friendly
- A party pleaser!
More Delicious Vegan Dip Recipes:
Baked Brie Dip (vegan)
Vegan Buffalo Tofu Dip
Easy Vegan Whipped Feta Dip
Vegan Caramelized Onion Dip
Vegan Ranch Veggie Dip
If you try this recipe let us know by leaving a comment, rating it, and don't forget to tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram.
Bon Appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
(click stars to vote)
Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip
Servings:
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Ingredients
For the vegetables:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can (14 oz / 398 ml) artichoke hearts packed in water, drained well and roughly chopped
- 5 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed very well
For the cheese sauce:
- 1 cup raw cashews, softened if needed (see notes)
- 2 cups unsweetened plant-based milk, (such as soy or oat)
- 1 cup water
- 3 tablespoons tapioca starch, (also called tapioca flour)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- For serving: Toasted baguette slices, pita chips, tortilla chips, crackers, or fresh vegetables
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Lightly grease a 2- to 3-quart baking dish (such as an 11 × 7-inch dish).
- Sauté the onion and garlic: Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, until fragrant. Remove from the heat.
- Make the cheese sauce: Add the cashews, plant-based milk, water, tapioca starch, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper to a blender. Blend until completely smooth. The sauce will look thin and milky at this point.
- Assemble the dip: Add the sautéed onion and garlic, artichokes, and spinach to the prepared baking dish. Pour the cheese sauce over top and stir well to combine. The mixture will look very thin at this point, but don't worry! It will thicken and become creamy and gooey as it bakes.
- Bake the dip: Place the baking dish on a baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes, stirring well every 10 minutes and scraping the thickened mixture from the edges back into the dip. The sauce will gradually thicken and become creamy and gooey.
- Broil: Give the dip one final stir and smooth the top. Turn the oven to broil and broil for 1-2 minutes, watching carefully, until lightly golden on top.
- Serve: Serve hot with toasted baguette, pita chips, tortilla chips, crackers, or fresh vegetables.
Notes
- To soak: Add the cashews to a bowl, cover with cool water, and soak for 6 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse well before using.
- To boil: Add the cashews to a small pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, until softened. Drain and rinse well before using.
Elly Vance says
My daughter in law and I made this for our guys and everyone loved it so much! Hard to believe it is vegan and the fellas were impressed by the texture. Can this recipe be assembled ahead of time and pulled out of the fridge to bake while we prepare other items for lunch? I will be feeding a hungry after church crowd and they would appreciate a quick meal! Thank you!
Oh, just saw you recently married!! Congratulations on your new lifetime adventure! You and your handsome groom make a lovely pair!
Helen Vuletin says
Hi Sam, I'm a fellow T.O. gal. I'm going to make this recipe using rainbow swiss chard because that's what I have fresh in my fridge. I will let you know how it turns out. I'm newly vegan for about 1 month and a half now. Love your recipes. We had a double batch of the oven-baked zucchini fritters last night and demolished them in one sitting 🙂
Cindy Wall says
Wow! Why have I waited so long to make this! It was soooo good. Happy I made a double batch of ooey gooey mozzarella as the family was snacking on it before the dip was ready. I used the cookbook version recipe with sautéed onions and garlic. My daughter bought the artichokes from the olive bar that included some red peppers and I really liked the color it added to the dip. Make this! XO
Steph says
This has been my go-to recipe for holidays and parties for several years because everyone, vegan or not, loves it and it's always one of the first dishes to disappear! I always have to make a double batch to ensure there will be some left in the fridge for me the following day ;P Thank you, Sam!
Meggie says
Honestly this exceeded my expectations and craving for this dip! Tasted way better than the dairy versions I've has in the past. Was great to heat up the leftovers and eat. Awesome recipe thank you so much for developing this.
Marie says
I love this recipe!! It tastes better than the dairy variety to me! I wish I could upload a photo, it's so pretty! But delicious is what it's all about and this recipe delivers that in spades!
Sam Turnbull says
You can share recipes on Instagram and tag me @itdoesnttastelikechicken if you like 🙂
Dawn Zacha-Miller says
Hi! I don't know what I may have done wrong, but this did not work out for me---it got dumped into the garbage and I was really bummed! I wasted a lot of precious groceries, in these crazy times, and a lot of time making it... I wanted to like it! Love your blog and will keep trying--happy to take any advice on how to make it better.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Dawn! It's really difficult to know what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you, especially without any info on how you prepared it. Maybe it's just not to your taste? I hope you enjoy other recipes!
Bud says
Sam, I Just tried the Spinach an Artichoke dip recipe today for the First time and WOW! It FAR EXCEED what I imagined it might taste like, I Only made enough dip for one so instead of a double batch I ohnly made a single batch of the vegan mozzarella but it was Very easy to just HALF the other ingredients for the dip & it turned Out PHENOMENAL! Looking forward to making another Dish when we have Company to eat it ALL!
Miriam says
Just made it. Soooo Yummy!
Sydney Manuel says
I would like to make this using store bought vegan mozzarella but u didnt indicate amount of cheese needed for recipe. Pls advise. Thank u!
Donna Flumerfelt says
Hi! So I'm planning on making this for a small gathering Saturday. What size iron skillet? And did you coat it prior? I also have a 16 oz oven safe ramekin & wondered if that would work? Can't wait to try & share!! 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Any oven-safe dish that is big enough to fit all the ingredients will work wonderfully. I'm sure your 16oz dish will be perfect 🙂
Sal says
I was sad =\ it didn't have much flavor to me. It didn't give me that dip type of feel. My boyfriend liked it though and had two servings.
Sam Turnbull says
Sorry you didn't enjoy it!
Nicki says
Great recipe! I also added 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast for flavor and because I added frozen spinach, I had to bake mine quite a bit longer, but it came out bubbly and delicious! I baked it with the lid on at first so it wouldn't dry out and lid off at the very end to brown the top. Water chestnuts would also be great in this dish if you're into those. Will make this one again! YUM!
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you loved it!
Cristina says
Could you make this in a crockpot? I’ve made it a few times on the oven and I love it!
Sam Turnbull says
I'm sure you could! I don't have a crockpot so I can't give guidance tho.
Maggie says
Made the version from the cookbook and loved it! We used blanched almonds because my son is allergic to cashews. The leftovers turned kind of grayish in the fridge though... is this because of the artichokes? I used canned, not marinated.
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you loved it! Hmmm... that's never happened to me, so yes, maybe that's the reason. Sorry I can't be more help!
Sydney says
If you used a cast iron pan that could be why. I’ve noticed food turning gray in the cast iron if it sits in the pan too long.
A says
It sounds like you are cooking acidic foods in cast iron, which causes metal to leach out of the pan and into your food. In small doses (from cooking non-acidic foods) this can be a healthy source of iron, but if you’re cooking acidic foods like tomatoes in cast iron (especially regularly) you can end up getting iron poisoning.
Yulca says
Finally tried this tonight - yummy! Now I can't stop fantasizing about putting it on a deep dish pizza...
Sam Turnbull says
Oh wow! That would be epic!
Kansas says
This is one of my favorite recipes of yours! I use the recipe from your cookbook. It is SO good. I keep thinking how I want to make it for non vegans to show them how good vegan food is but both times I've made it I just ate it all myself! The cashew mozzerella is SO good!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! That's so awesome, Kansas. From my experience, non-vegans love this too and get excited about how it's so much better for them as well!
Lee T. Ward says
Hey Sam, my spouse and I just love you!! Ok, question on making the double batch can I make that all at once or does it have to be 2 separate ones. I tried to scroll through, didn't see the answer but of course I could have missed it. Thanks Lee/CJ..
Sam Turnbull says
Aww thanks, Lee 🙂 The double batch can absolutely be made all at once! Enjoy!!
Mardy says
I made the recipe in your book last night for Thurs. Night Fooball and the serving for 6 was devoured by only 2! LOL! That is how good this recipe is! You so totally rock Sam!
Sam Turnbull says
Bahahaha! Love it!!!
Caitlin says
I’ve made this twice now - once for a potluck full of carnivores and once just now just because :p. I don’t remember if I used tapioca starch for the cheese but I used corn starch this time around and it worked perfectly!
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Caitlin 🙂
Kyle Pappalardo says
Hey! I'm very excited to finally try this recipe out. I have made many vegan cheeses before, but I do have one question.Since it will be baked after making the cheese. Do you heat it to be gooey first or does that step happen in the oven? Maybe that's a silly question but I'm second guessing myself.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Kyle, I'm not sure I understand the question, but you prepare the vegan mozzarella according to the directions, then add it fully prepared with the other ingredients to this recipe. The mixture will get gooey and hot in the oven. Hope that helps!
Michelle says
I want to make enough to feed 24 people (so to fill a crockpot), is it calculating correctly that I would need 8 batches of the Melty Vegan Mozzarella & 48 artichoke hearts? That seems to be much more than other sites suggest so I just want to verify before I make such a large amount!
Sam Turnbull says
I'm sure you could get away with much less and still feed everyone! I've never made it for 24 so I'm not sure 🙂
Maya says
I made this from the recipe in the book. Good taste.... I did something wrong mine came out lumpy, but I will try again
Sam Turnbull says
The spinach and artichokes will add some lumpy texture, but if the problem was the cheese being lumpy then it just needs to melt longer in the oven. Hope that helps!