Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip is creamy even though it’s free from dairy and oil. Enjoy this warm appetizer with your favorite vegetables, crackers, or chips.
When I go to parties, I love eating dip, chips, and veggies.
But since I don’t eat dairy, usually the only choice available is hummus or white bean dip.
And while I love them, there’s something indulgent about a rich and creamy dip.
That’s why I’m really excited to share this recipe for Fool ‘Em “Cream Cheese” Spinach-Artichoke Dip from the cookbook The Vegan 8 by Brandi Doming.
And you’ll have a chance to win a copy of the book at the end of this post!
The recipes in The Vegan 8: 100 Simple, Delicious Recipes Made with 8 Ingredients or Less are perfect for just about anyone.
You may be familiar with Brandi Doming’s site The Vegan 8 where she shares easy recipes using only a handful of ingredients.
I like that almost all of her recipes are not only vegan but also gluten-free, or can be made gluten-free.
And all are oil-free.
She also gives options to make recipes like this Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip nut-free for those with allergies.
I also love that all 100 recipes include a beautiful photo.
Plus, unlike most vegan cookbooks that I own, this one does not include any tofu, salads, or smoothies.
What you’ll see are healthy takes on comfort foods that everyone will love, whether they are vegan or not.
To get an idea of how the book is organized, check out these chapter titles:
- Kitchen Pantry
- Breakfast
- Appetizers & Dips
- Time-Crunch Lunches
- Sauces and Dressings
- Easy Entrees
- Comforting Soups & Stews
- Scrumptious Snacks & Sides
- Crowd-Pleasing Desserts
- Vegan 8 Staples
Sounds great, doesn’t it?
I’m especially looking forward to trying the Teriyaki Patties, Hungarian Red Lentil Soup, and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Candy Bites.
To be honest, the entire dessert chapter has my mouth watering!
Making Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip is very easy.
Do you remember making the spinach artichoke dip using the recipe on the back on the Knorr vegetable soup mix?
I sure do!
Besides the spinach, artichoke hearts, and seasoning, it contained cream cheese, mayonnaise, and shredded cheese.
It also called for chopped water chestnuts, which I admit I miss in this recipe.
But I plan to add them the next time I make Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip.
However, I’m happy to leave out the dairy and oil!
Anyway, before we get to the creamy sauce, we start by sauteing some onion, garlic, and fresh spinach.
Then a can of quartered artichoke hearts joins the party.
Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip gets its creaminess from non-dairy yogurt, cashews, and cooked Yukon Gold potato.
I love how easy it is to make the sauce in a high-speed blender or food processor.
Besides the unsweetened vegan yogurt, raw cashews, and mashed yellow potato, you’ll need white vinegar and salt and pepper.
Brandi keeps her list of ingredients to 8 or less, not including salt, pepper, and water.
But if I were to make a tiny change to this recipe, I would use lemon juice instead of the vinegar and add nutritional yeast for extra cheesiness.
Anyway, after the sauce is blended, you stir it into the vegetable mixture.
Then everything goes into a cast-iron skillet or glass baking dish.
It’s baked until hot and bubbly.
Finally after allowing it to cool for a few minutes, it’s time to dig in!
Serve Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip with crackers, chips, and your favorite vegetables.
Brandi suggests serving this dip with pita chips or veggies.
I haven’t found gluten-free vegan pita chips, so I served it with crackers, carrots, bell peppers, and radishes.
It also goes great with tortilla chips or potato chips, if you’re feeling a little more indulgent.
And why not since this version of spinach artichoke dip is so much healthier than the classic one?
Now let’s make Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip!
Fool 'Em "Cream Cheese" Spinach-Artichoke Dip
Reprinted with permission by Oxmoor Press and Brandi Doming/The Vegan 8 © 2018.
Aside from the dessert chapter, this is probably my favorite recipe in the whole book. I appropriately named this dish "fool 'em" because, honestly, if I hadn't created it myself, I would swear someone was tricking me into eating dairy. For this recipe, be sure to use fresh spinach. Frozen will release way too much water and make the dip runny and bland.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
- 3 large cloves garlic minced
- 10 ounces fresh spinach chopped into smaller pieces
- 1 can artichoke hearts (14 ounces) drained well
- 1 cup plain unsweetened dairy-free yogurt
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 cup raw cashews (unsalted)
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup packed cooked peeled Yukon Gold potato
- red pepper flakes for garnish (optional)
- pita chips or veggies for serving
Instructions
Add the onion, garlic, and 5 tablespoons (75 g) water to a small pan over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer, and cook 5 to 8 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
Add the spinach to the pan in small batches, stirring and tossing the spinach until it is well cooked and wilted before adding the next batch. Repeat until all of the spinach is cooked well. This will take about 10 minutes. Turn the heat off.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Roughly chop the artichokes into quarters. This will release lots of liquid, so drain the excess. Squeeze out the excess liquid into the sink. You don't have to be obsessive about every drop, but give them a good squeeze so the dip doesn't end up watery. Add the artichokes to the cooked spinach mixture, and set aside.
Add the yogurt, vinegar, cashews, salt and pepper, to a high-speed blender or food processor (see Note). Add the potato to the blender; blend on high until completely smooth. Scrape the sides if needed, and blend once more. Pour over the spinach and artichoke mixture, and stir to combine everything well.
Pour the mixture into a 9-inch cast-iron skillet, pie dish, or an 8-inch square baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until the top looks firm and set and is bubbly. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes. For a kick, add some red pepper flakes on top before serving with pita chips or veggies.
Recipe Notes
Tip: For the yogurt, the So Delicious brand makes a plain coconut "unsweetened" that also works well. Do not use a low-fat or almond yogurt. To make this nut free, sub the cashews for 1/2 cup (96 g) white cannellini beans. The results won't be quite as rich and creamy, so I only recommend this if you're allergic to nuts.
Note: If you do not have a high-speed blender like a Vitamix, you'll need to soak your cashews in warm water overnight, then rinse, drain, and proceed with the recipe. Otherwise, the dip will be gritty. If using soaked cashews, I find a food processor works better than a regular, non-high-powered blender. Alternately, you can sub with 1/4 heaping cup raw cashew butter (75 g) to ensure it's 100% smooth. Make sure to add raw, no-oil added cashew butter or make my homemade cashew butter on page 247.
If you make Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip, or any of the other recipes on the website, I would love to see your creations!
Use the hashtag #veggiessavetheday on Instagram and tag Veggies Save The Day so I don’t miss seeing what’s cooking in your kitchen. In addition, you can post your photos on the Facebook page Veggies Save The Day or in the Facebook group.
Leslie says
Thanks for giving such a good cook book review!
Amy says
You’re welcome, Leslie!
Lucy says
This recipe was so good! My husband said he couldn’t even tell it didn’t have cheese and you honestly couldn’t. It was so creamy even reheated. It probably would have been even better but I accidentally bought vanilla coconut yogurt rather then plain! You could barely tell thankfully! Thanks for sharing!! Will make again
Amy says
That’s wonderful to hear! Thank you, Lucy!