I first encountered spinach and artichoke dip when I was living in the US and this creamy deliciousness was a complete hit with my pre-dairy-free self. Not to mention it was usually served in a bread bowl (this was also my pre-gluten-free self)! Since my diet has unfortunately become more limited, I have definitely had to get more creative with recipes but one of the positive side effects has been that the recipes usually (not always I’m afraid) end up a lot healthier than their original inspiration!
This dip swaps out the sour cream, cream cheese and mayonnaise often found in the recipe and swaps in my humble friend, the chickpea (is there anything you can’t use them in???) as well as almond milk and nutritional yeast to make a dip that’s packed full of taste AND nutritional benefits.
It’s also super simple, taking about three minutes to whizz together and really versatile – try it with crackers, tortilla chips, with pasta, spread on toast or piled into a jacket potato. Food-based bliss!
Makes a big bowl
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tin/400g (drained weight 240g) chickpeas, drained
- 1 tin/390g (drained weight 240g) artichokes, drained
- 2 cups/110g packed spinach leaves, washed and drained
- ¼ cup/60ml almond milk (or other dairy-free milk)
- ¼ cup/14g nutritional yeast
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp lemon juice
METHOD
- Put all the ingredients except the chickpeas into a food processor and blitz until combined but still chunky.
- Add the chickpeas and blitz quickly, again aiming to keep the texture rough and chunky.
- Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary, then serve – it goes great with tortilla chips as a dip or (my personal favourite) as a filling for baked sweet potato.
- Store any remaining dip in the fridge and use within 3-4 days.
