The best vegan spinach artichoke dip recipe from scratch made with cashew cream mozzarella cheese, artichoke hearts and wilted baby spinach. An easy, healthy whole food plant based recipe, made without oil, naturally Creamy and Cheesy, gluten and dairy free.
You don’t need to buy any fancy vegan cheese or sour cream, instead it is all made from scratch in your Vitamix blender with creamy cashews, a touch of nutritional yeast and the cheesy magic of tapioca.
How to Make Vegan Spinach and Artichoke Dip:
- Sautee your spinach – Start with a good half pound of fresh baby spinach or even more to your preference. Sautee in a drop of olive oil or water until wilted. Make sure to drain it before running your knife through it once or twice to chop it up some. Alternatively you could use frozen spinach that has been thawed out and squeezed well of any excess moisture.
- Chop the artichokes – cut into bite size pieces or quarteres if you prefer larger chunks. I find the smaller size is easier to scoop up.
- Make the cashew cheese sauce – If you have a powerful blender just throw everything in there until smooth and creamy. Otherwise make sure to soak your cashews in hot water for 20 minutes to soften them first.
- Simmer – Cook the sauce until cheesy and bubbly whisking constantly so no lumps form, just a minute or two. Mix in the spinach and artichokes and transfer to a broiler proof dish.
- Broil your dip – no need to bake it, just let it get kissed by the flames of the broiler for a few minutes just until golden on top and dig in. You can even use it to stuff some pasta shells with it instead, personally I prefer scooping it up with some freshly made garlic rubbed bruschetta. Oh my!
The Best & Easiest Spinach Artichoke Dip:
Without Beans.
Add Ins Suggestions:
Roasted broccoli florets
Roasted cauliflower
White cannellini beans
Smoky tempeh bits
Quinoa flatbread
Top with these crispy tofu nuggets.
how to make it video:
Best Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb fresh baby spinach (or 1 cup frozen)
- 15 oz can artichoke hearts drained & chopped to your liking
Cashew Cheese
- 3/4 cup raw cashews
- 2 tbsp tapioca flour
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1.25 cup filtered water
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- sea salt + black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your broiler.
- Heat up large skillet over medium heat, add a light drizzle of olive oil (or water for WFPB & Plantricious compliance) and the fresh spinach with a tiny pinch of sea salt. Sautee until wilted then season with a pinch of garlic powder. Transfer the spinach to a colander to drain as much of the liquid as possible. Optional: transfer to a cutting board and run your knife through it once or twice.
Make the Cashew Cheese Sauce:
- If you don't have a powerful blender make sure to soak the cashews for 20 minutes in hot water to soften the drain. Otherwise just rinse the raw cashews and add them to your Vitamix blender together with all the cashew cheese ingredients. Process until creamy and smooth. Transfer to a sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium low flame whisking continuously. Cook for a few minutes until thickened. Remove from heat
- Stir in the wilted spinach and the artichoke hearts. Taste and season with sea salt and black pepper. (Go light on the salt as the chips or bruschetta you are going to serve this with are usually very salty)
- Transfer the dip to a small cast iron dish (or any broiler proof dish) and broil until golden brown on top to your liking, around 3 minutes.Serve hot with crusty bread, bruschetta, pita chips or fresh cut vegetables.
Notes
- if using frozen spinach make sure to thaw it out first and squeeze as much of the liquid out of of it as possible. You should end up with about one cup of spinach.