Learn how to make the best easy creamy Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip using simple ingredients. It's oil-free and perfect for snacking and entertaining.
When I was younger I loved the making the dip recipe on the back of the Knorr vegetable soup mix box. But it called for cream cheese, mayonnaise, and shredded cheese.
Fortunately now I can make a vegan version using non-dairy yogurt, raw cashews, and (secret ingredient) cooked Yukon Gold potato. Not only is it delightfully rich and creamy, your friends might not believe you when you tell them it's dairy-free and oil-free.
I received a complimentary copy of The Vegan 8 to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- It's super flavorful yet only requires 8 ingredients (plus salt and pepper).
- You can make it in an hour with whole-food ingredients.
- It's delicious served with raw vegetables, pita bread, or crackers.
The Vegan 8
This recipe is one of the many easy oil-free, 8-ingredients or less, recipes from The Vegan 8 cookbook by Brandi Doming. She and publisher Oxmoor Press have allowed me to share it with you.
The Vegan 8 Cookbook by Brandi Doming
- Contains 100 recipes made with 8 ingredients or less (not including salt, pepper, and water)
- All of the recipes are dairy-free and most are oil-free, gluten-free, and nut-free (or include ingredient substitutions)
- Includes recipes for breakfast, lunches, dinners, desserts, and kitchen staples
Ingredients
- Onion: While the recipe calls for yellow onion, white onion will work, too.
- Fresh garlic
- Fresh spinach: Skip the watery frozen spinach and opt for a container of fresh spinach. Baby spinach works great.
- Canned artichoke hearts: Choose the ones packed in water. Quartered artichoke hearts are usually less expensive and are perfect here.
- Plain unsweetened non-dairy yogurt: Look for thick coconut, soy, or cashew. Almond may be too thin.
- White vinegar: Or substitute red wine vinegar or lemon juice.
- Raw cashews: Since they will be blended, choose halves and pieces which are cheaper than whole raw cashews.
- Salt and pepper
- Cooked peeled Yukon Gold potato: This is the secret ingredient that when combined with the yogurt and cashews makes the dip rich and creamy.
For the complete list of ingredients with measurements plus recipe instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Instructions
- Saute the onion, garlic, and spinach.
- Add the artichoke hearts.
- Blend the yogurt, vinegar, cashews, salt and pepper, and cooked potato. Pour the mixture over the vegetables.
- Mix well and bake the dip in a cast-iron skillet or casserole dish.
Serving suggestions
This creamy dip is delicious with crackers or warm bread. Or serve it with raw vegetables like carrots, celery, and cauliflower.
Storing and freezing
Leftover dip can be covered and refrigerated for 3-4 days or frozen for up to 3 months. To reheat from frozen, first defrost the frozen container in the refrigerator overnight. Then heat the dip in a microwave-safe container or in the oven until heated through.
For tips on freezing, refer to USDA Freezing and Food Safety.
FAQ
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.
Roasted cashews can be used, but they will leave a more nutty flavor. Alternatively you can use ¼ heaping cup raw cashew butter (75 g) in place of the raw cashews. Make sure to add raw, no-oil added cashew butter.
Replace the cashews with ½ cup (96 g) white cannellini beans. The results won't be quite as rich and creamy, but it's a good option if you're allergic to tree nuts.
More appetizers and dips
Looking for more easy snack recipes? Try some of these vegan favorites:
And for even more recipes, join the Vegan Mediterranean Diet Recipes Facebook group for support, inspiration, and fun.
If you love this recipe, please give it 5 stars! ★★★★★
📋 Recipe
Secret Ingredient Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ 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 ½ Tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- ½ cup raw cashews, (unsalted)
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup packed cooked peeled Yukon Gold potato
- red pepper flakes , for garnish (optional)
- vegetables, chips, and/or crackers, 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
Want to learn the 5 Secrets to Cooking the Vegan Mediterranean Diet Way? Join the the FREE 5-day mini course and get the secrets delivered to your inbox.
Heather Kremchek
I made this for my family's Christmas Eve gathering. It was a huge hit and no one could tell that it had no real cheese in it! Relatively easy to make as well. Would 10/10 recommend and will be making this again!
Amy Katz
Fantastic, thanks Heather!
Lucy
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
That's wonderful to hear! Thank you, Lucy!