Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip
This Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip is sure to be a hit at any potluck or game night! The recipe is so versatile, it can be made with white beans or cashews.
This dip is fabulous for entertaining or just snacking. I like to serve it in a sourdough bread bowl and eat it with the crusty chunks of bread. It’s also delicious with vegetables and crackers.
Get ready for a creamy, full-bodied taste and texture that is loaded with protein and calcium, yet has no added dairy or oil! This dip is absolutely delicious and perfect for entertaining. These 20 Healthy Vegan Party Foods are also great.
You’re going to love this dip because it’s
- Delicious
- Easy to make
- Packed with veggies
- Healthy
- Oh, so good!
How to make spinach artichoke dip
The recipe card at the bottom of the page has the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions.
The original recipe for this vegan dip called for cashews, and that’s how I made it for years. However, over time, I discovered that substituting white beans such as navy or great northern beans helps to reduce the fat but not the flavor.
Make with cashews or white beans
The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of cashews, but those can be replaced with beans. You might even want to do a combination of both to reduce the calories slightly but still have the creamy cashew flavor.
Begin by making my delicious low-fat, eggless mayo that required only 5 ingredients and a blender to make and should only take about 5-minutes. I’ve included the ingredients in the recipe card below.
In a blender or food processor, add all 8 of the first ingredients: beans (or raw cashews), almond milk, mayo, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and ground mustard. Blend until very smooth.
If using cashews and you have a high-power blender like a Vitamix, there is no need to soak the cashews. I use one for all of my recipes.
At this point, you will need to make sure that your frozen spinach is completely thawed and drain the excess water from it.
What I like to do is place the defrosted spinach on some paper towels and roll it up. Then, squeeze it over the sink or even into a jar to save for cooking soups or other dishes.
Add the artichokes and blend for just a few seconds. I like to keep the artichoke hearts a bit chunky, so pulsing instead of blending works well. If your blender is lower-powdered, you may have to add a little more almond milk if it’s too thick for the blender.
Pour the mixture into a bowl and add the defrosted and drained spinach. Stir until incorporated well. This will take a couple of minutes to thoroughly distribute the spinach.
Serve with oil-free Mary’s Gone Crackers, chips, carrots, celery, or any other veggies of your choice. It’s also fabulous in a sourdough bread bowl where you can use the bread chunks as dippers.
*Originally published February 2014.
Your Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip Questions Answered:
- Q: Can I add vegan cheese to this recipe? Yes! If you would like to push this spinach artichoke dip over the top, add my Vegan Mozzarella Cheese and pop it in the oven at 400°F for about 10 minutes.
- Q: What kind of healthy chips can I serve this with? Homemade corn tortillas are SO easy to make. They make a perfect accompaniment for this dip. Other options include Easy Crispy potato chips and Mary’s Gone Crackers.
- Q: Can I just add the spinach to the blender instead of stirring it in a bowl? I don’t recommend it. Blending the spinach with the other ingredients in a blender causes it to turn an ugly green color. It tastes the same but doesn’t make a good impression.
Other healthy snack ideas
- 15 Easy Plant-Based Snack Ideas
- 30 Healthy Vegan Appetizers
- Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
- Colorful Chili Bean Dip
For those of you new to the whole food plant-based lifestyle, we’ve created a FREE 7-Day Plant-Based Menu Planner to help you get started!
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If you try this recipe, please let us know how you like it by rating it and leaving a comment. We love to hear from you!
Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw cashews or 3/4 cup white beans, drained
- 1-2 tablespoon almond milk
- 1/2 cup low-fat eggless mayo
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 med-large garlic cloves
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
- black pepper to taste
- 1 can Artichoke hearts
- 1-1/2 cups frozen thawed spinach, (or 2 cups, tightly packed fresh spinach)
Easy Low-Fat Mayo
- 12 oz silken tofu drained (up to 16 oz is fine)
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice
- 1.5 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of cashews, but those can be replaced with beans. You might even want to do a combination of both to reduce the calories slightly but still have the creamy cashew flavor.
- Begin by making my delicious low-fat, eggless mayo that required only 5 ingredients and a blender to make and should only take about 5-minutes.
- In a blender or food processor, add all 8 of the first ingredients: cashews (or white beans), almond milk, mayo, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and ground mustard. Blend until very smooth.
- If using cashews and you have a high-power blender like a Vitamix, there is no need to soak the cashews. I use one for all of my recipes.
- At this point, you will need to make sure that your frozen spinach is completely thawed and drain the excess water from it. What I like to do is place the defrosted spinach on some paper towels and roll it up. Then, squeeze it over the sink or even into a jar to save for cooking soups or other dishes.
- Add the artichokes and blend for just a few seconds. I like to keep the artichoke hearts a bit chunky, so pulsing instead of blending works well. If your blender is lower-powdered, you may have to add a little more almond milk if it's too thick for the blender.
- Pour into a bowl and add the defrosted and drained spinach. Stir until incorporated well. This will take a couple of minutes to thoroughly distribute the spinach.
- Serve with oil-free Mary’s Gone Crackers, chips, carrots, celery, or any other veggies of your choice. It's also fabulous in a sourdough bread bowl where you can use the bread chunks as dippers.
Easy Mayo:
- Add all mayo ingredients to a blender and process until smoothes. Pour into an airtight container and store for 7-10 days in the refrigerator. Great on sandwiches and in other dips and sauces.
Equipment
Video
Notes
Your Recipe Questions Answered:
- Q: Can I add vegan cheese to this recipe? Yes! If you would like to push this spinach artichoke dip over the top, add my Vegan Mozzarella Cheese and pop it in the oven at 400°F for about 10 minutes.
- Q: What kind of healthy chips can I serve this with? Homemade corn tortillas are SO easy to make. They make a perfect accompaniment for this dip. Other options include Easy Crispy potato chips and Mary’s Gone Crackers.
- Q: Can I just add the spinach to the blender instead of stirring it in a bowl? I don’t recommend it. Blending the spinach with the other ingredients in a blender causes it to turn an ugly green color. It tastes the same but doesn’t make a good impression.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
About Terri Edwards
Hi guys! I am the content creator behind EatPlant-Based and a licensed Food for Life instructor with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. I am passionate about sharing healthy recipes and tips to empower others to get healthy. I’m so glad you’re here! Read More…
Yum!! I managed to get most of this into the oven while tasting it for seasoning as the oven was warming up. I had just about 2 cups of fresh spinach and so happy I found this recipe! My husband suggested adding a few shakes of cayenne and red pepper flakes. And I didn’t have vegan mayo or silken tofu, so I just used the whole can of drained white beans instead. I’m new to eating whole food, plant based, no oil, nuts or animal products and I can say this will be a staple going forward!!
Hi Andrea- It sounds like you are already acclimating terrifically to a plant-based diet. Great job with the substitutions and working with what you have on hand. I’m so glad you liked the dip, and I’m with your hubby on spicing it up even more with cayenne. 😀
I’m making this today (looks delicious), but I couldn’t see how to incorporate fresh spinach, if using. I guess I’ll pulse it with the artichokes? Thank you!
I just made this exactly according to the recipe, and it turned out delicious, and pulsing the fresh spinach with the artichokes a bit turned out perfectly. The only change I would make next time is to add only 1 garlic clove, as the flavor is a bit overpowering, but that is just my personal preference. I love this new recipe; thank you!
What kind of little breads/toasts are in the first picture?
Hi Debbie– Those are pieces of whole wheat melba toast. I pick them up at my local grocery store. They are oil-free and crunchy. I love them!
I am a bit confused. I don’t see where you add the vegan mayo to the mixture. ??? The vegan mayo is supposed to go in mixture right?
Hi Kristina- The mayo is added in step #3. Hope you enjoy it.
Oh my goodness! I had made the tofu mayo for another one of your recipes and decided to finish it up and make this. Well let me tell you this was incredible!! We went to a widow friends house for Christmas dinner and she had made an all WFPB dinner for me. This was a perfect appetizer and both my friend and husband raved! We will have this again!
Deborah- That’s awesome to hear! I’m so glad that you loved the dip. The mayo is very useful in many of my recipes. Thank you for the terrific feedback.
Oh man Terri! This is AMAZING! I did use a different vegan mayo recipe than the one you have listed here because I already had it made in the fridge, but I could seriously sit down and eat this whole thing by myself in one sitting! You have so many recipes that I LOVE… thank you so much for sharing them. Some of my favorites: Cheese sauce, vegan mozzarella, meatloaf, tangy tomato dressing and vegan nachos to name a few. Thanks again!
Debbie- I LOVE this feedback! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know. It’s very encouraging to hear. 😀
Love this recipe! Can it be made ahead and frozen?
Debbie- I haven’t tried freezing it but, because it has tofu in it, it might not work too well. Tofu changes texture when it’s frozen which will alter the consistency and texture. That probably wouldn’t be a good idea for this recipe.
Which Silken tofu? Firm, soft..etc?
Hi Elizabeth- I’ve used soft, firm, and even extra firm with great results.
Can freeze the leftover
Hi Pam- I haven’t tried freezing it so can’t say for sure.