Spinach Artichoke Dip
…made with butter beans!
Spinach artichoke dip is traditionally made with mayonnaise, sour cream, cream cheese, mozzarella and parmesan.
A polar bear could eat one teaspoon of the stuff and meet their recommended daily allowance of total calories from fat.
So, given I am not #blessed with the metabolic rate of a hummingbird, nor am I training for Paris 2024, I substitute the cheese and dairy with butter beans!
Spinach Artichoke Dip
Ingredients
Spinach Artichoke Dip
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes less if cooking for littles
- 2 cups butter beans dried beans, soaked and cooked. Canned beans dry out a bit too much.
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup marinated artichokes drained
- 1 tsp sea salt
- fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat broil function on oven.In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Sauté onions until soft. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for a minute. Add beans and basil and toss to coat. Reduce heat to medium low and add spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted.
- Add bean mixture to a blender or food processor. Add nutritional yeast, lemon zest, artichokes, salt and pepper. Pulse until combined, but some texture remains.
- Transfer the dip back to skillet and drizzle with olive oil on top and broil for 1 minute or until top edges begin to brown slightly. Serve with veggies, pita chips, naan, or pumpernickel bread.
Spinach Artichoke Dip : Recipe Notes
- Butter Beans: Canned beans are an option, but they may dry out your dip. For full details on how to prepare dried beans, see below. If you do go ahead and prepare beans from scratch, you can try my Butter Bean Piccata recipe. Perfectly cooked dried beans are worth the time and effort – they turn out out so creamy and delicious, and maintain their shape.
- Spinach: I used fresh baby spinach. Regular spinach, as long as it is fresh, will work well.
- Blending: A food processor or a blender would work, since we are not looking to purée the dip. I used a Ninja Blender.
Serve with:
- Pita bread
- Naan bread
- Pumpernickel bread
- Tortilla chips
- Veggies (carrots, peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, celery).
HOW TO COOK DRIED BEANS
Perfectly cooked dried beans will hold their shape and be creamy on the inside.
1. SORT AND WASH THE BEANS.
Pick through the beans and discard and misshapen beans. or debris you find. Place them in a strainer and rinse well.
2. SOAK THE BEANS.
Soaking dried beans rehydrates them and the water breaks down some of the starchiness. Put them in a large bowl, cover with water and add a pinch of salt. Place them in the fridge and soak them for four (4) to eight (8) hours. No more than one day.
3. DRAIN THE BEANS
Drain the beans and cover them with fresh water. Add a pinch of salt.
4. SIMMER THE BEANS UNTIL THEY’RE TENDER.
Bring the water to a boil, then reduce it to a very gentle simmer. Cook the beans uncovered until they’re tender. My beans were ready in 1 hour, but sometimes it can take longer (up to 2 hours)