Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip
This Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip 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!
Servings: 8
Calories: 207kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews (softened if needed, see step 1)
- 2 cups water (see notes)
- ½ cup plant-based milk (such as oat or soy)
- 7 tablespoons tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour)
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- 2 cups frozen spinach (or 4 cups fresh baby spinach)
- 1 ½ cups marinated artichoke hearts drained and roughly chopped
- Bread, tortilla chips, cracker veggies, or pita triangles for dipping
Instructions
Softening the cashews (optional):
- Softening the cashews first helps them blend. If you have a high-powered blender you can skip this step, but if not, this step is important to get a smooth and creamy cheese sauce. To soften the cashews add the cashews to a small pot, cover with water, and boil for about 10 minutes until the cashews are very tender. Drain and rinse cashews before using.
To make Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip:
- Preheat your oven to 400F (200C).
- To your blender add the cashews, 2 cups water, plant-based milk, tapioca starch, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Blend, stopping to scrape the sides as needed until it is completely smooth. The liquid will be a thin milky consistency. Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet or similar sized oven safe pan over medium-high heat. (See notes for baking dish options). Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onion turns translucent and begins to brown. Reduce the heat to medium. Pour in the cashew mixture, and use a spatula to stir the mixture continually to ensure it doesn't burn. At first, the liquid will be very watery, but keep stirring and cooking and it will begin to form clumps, and will quickly thicken into gooey cheesy deliciousness. Once the dip has mostly thickened but there are still some milky areas, (about 3 - 5 minutes of cooking) remove from the heat and stir in the spinach and artichokes. If you are using fresh spinach it may be difficult to mix, but not to worry, the spinach will cook down in the oven and will melt into the dip.
- Transfer the pan to the oven and bake uncovered for 15 - 20 minutes, until gooey and bubbling. If the dip gets too thick, you can thin it by adding a splash of plant-based milk or water as needed. Optionally you can brown the top by placing it under the broiler for a few minutes, keeping a close eye so that it doesn't burn. Serve hot with dippers of choice.
Notes
Water: The original fan-fave recipe uses 2 cups of water with ½ cup of plant-based milk, but if you want to make this recipe even creamier and richer, sub the water for more plant-based milk. The total amount of liquid would be 2 ½ cups of plant-based milk.
Baking Dish Options: if you prefer to cook the dip in a baking dish, simply follow the directions as written by cooking the dip in a pan. Before baking, transfer the dip to your preferred oven-safe dish and then bake. It may need a few extra minutes in the oven.
Make-ahead/ freezer instructions: If you would like to prep this dip ahead of time, simply prepare the dip as written but do not bake it yet. Once the dip has thickened on the stove, transfer the dip to an oven-safe baking dish to stop it from cooking further and let cool. Cover and store in the fridge until ready to bake or you can freeze it. If freezing, allow the dip to thaw completely before baking. Uncover and bake as directed, it may need a few extra minutes in the oven.
Cashew Substitution: Cashews are my favorite but if you need to substitute them you can instead use blanched almonds, macadamia nuts, or raw sunflower seeds. Boil these nuts or seeds for 10 - 15 minutes before blending to ensure they are softened and can blend into a smooth creamy sauce.
Oil-free: to make oil-free simply omit the olive oil and do a water or broth sauté instead.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving without dippers (recipe makes 8 servings) | Calories: 207kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 621mg | Potassium: 350mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 5007IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 2mg
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