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The Pancake Princess

The Pancake Princess

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Vegan Spinach and Artichoke Dip

by erika

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Getting out of bed was soooo hard today.

Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Dip // The Pancake Princess

It’s getting down into the 30s and 40s (Houston, WHAT??), so I doubled up on my comforters and wore sweats to bed and now I remember why I slept with two comforters all through high school. My favorite thing ever is getting under a heavy layer of blankets before going to sleep. So this morning I woke up all snug and comfy and my alarm was the only downside.

Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Dip // The Pancake Princess

On the other hand, I’m not complaining about the cold since I can now look for excuses to turn on the oven. Warm kitchen + baking = winter upside.

Over Thanksgiving, my aunt made this spinach and artichoke dip. She’s stuck to Vegan before 6 for a few months now and has discovered some super tasty vegan dishes in the process. I was never really a fan of spinach artichoke dip, but this dip is monstrously good. And super simple!

It’s basically a sautéed onion and some garlic and spinach and artichokes thrown into a blender with a pureed tofu + seasonings. The key seasoning is nutritional yeast, which is what some people refer to as the vegan cheese substitute. Nutritional yeast does NOT taste like gooey, stretchy, melty cheese (it comes in flakes/a powder form), but it does, give a deliciously umami, savory, cheese-like hint to whatever you add it to.

Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Dip // The Pancake Princess

This dip just tastes super fresh and healthy, but delicious at the same time. Sometimes even I equate “healthy” to “ew,” but this is healthy in a I’m-not-in-a-dairy-coma-afterwards type of way. No gooky cream cheese, sour cream or mayo <– ew ew.

Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Dip // The Pancake Princess

And! This dip pairs perfectly with my favorite chips ever. These have been hands down my favorite chips ever since I discovered them at Costco. They’re studded with flax, sunflower and sesame seeds, so even Costco-sized bags can’t make me feel guilty about eating them. Sometimes, when I snack on Erik’s blue bag tortilla chips, I get a salt hangover the next day because they’re so.salty. These totally don’t do that! They’re nutty and crunchy and wholesome tasting and I adore this combo.

Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Dip // The Pancake Princess

Here are two other recipes I absolutely LOVE that use nutritional yeast. Buy it, eat it, love it.

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Vegan Spinach and Artichoke Dip

This incredibly creamy and tasty dip is completely dairy-free--the base is made out of pureed tofu, but no one will be able to tell. One GIANT serving is only 110 calories!
Servings 8 servings
Calories 110kcal

Ingredients

  • ½ tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion diced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 10 ounces frozen spinach defrosted
  • 1 14- ounce package soft tofu drained
  • 1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • ½ teaspoon table salt
  • freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 14 ounces artichoke hearts drained (canned or frozen)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F; lightly grease an oven-proof dish. I used a 7x11" pan, but you could use a lot of different sizes; it'll just vary the thickness of your dip and you can adjust the baking time accordingly.
  • Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the oil, then the onions. Saute for a minute, then lower the heat to medium. Saute for another 2 minutes, until soft (keep an eye on them and add water if they are on the verge of burning). Add garlic and cook for a few more minutes, then add spinach. Cover and let steam until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat.
  • Blend together the tofu, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, basil, salt and pepper until smooth. Add artichokes and spinach mixture and pulse until the vegetables are finely chopped.
  • Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned on top. Let cool a few minutes before serving. You can also serve this warm from the blender, but the oven makes it oh so steamyhot and delish!

Notes

Adapted from here.

Did you try this recipe?

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For someone who used to eschew dips with a fiery passion, I sure seem to like appetizers. Ah well, tis the season. Here are a few of my favorite apps from the archives:

Baked Brie with homemade pie crust: omg if nothing else, make this dip just so you can eat 98234928309 crackers with this. This dip will cancel out that saturated fat. Trust.

bakedbrie

Shelby’s Loaded Guac: my bff’s best guac recipe. So loaded. So good.

shelbysguacamole

Pickled Onion Salsa: did you know you can pickle things, like, really fast? And that pickled onions make salsa 273468234x better? MAKE THIS NOW. (I eat it on everything.) (And then curse my garlic breath.)

pickledonionsalsa

Sardine Tartines: everyone thinks they hate sardines, but they secretly love them. They just don’t know it yet.

sardinetartines

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. marlies

    January 28, 2014 at 10:23 pm

    mmm just made this and its AMAZING! my food processor was too small to process the whole thing at once so i used my vitamix, and while it tastes awesome, it doesn’t look nearly as beautiful since its so blended, haha. first world foodie problems…

    • erika

      January 29, 2014 at 1:34 pm

      Yay!!! So happy to hear you liked this 🙂 Haha I can totally relate to first world foodie problems…although I actually made this in my Blendtec and my aunt made it in her Vitamix, so it’s definitely possible to make this a little less blended if that’s what you’re shooting for–as long as the tofu mixture is completely blended already, just pulse the veggies in until they’re chopped to your desired consistency.

      Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you! <3

  2. Caitlyn

    December 17, 2013 at 6:05 pm

    Erika, you are a genius. I stumbled across your blog recently, and this was the first recipe I found. I’ve made it twice already, both times for parties, and it has been a hit! This is addicting!!! I sauteed the onions and garlic with cayenne (and the basil), and added in some grated vegan cheese. It’s awesome. Creamy, decadent, and healthy. Thank you!

    • erika

      December 17, 2013 at 6:12 pm

      Caitlyn, I am literally sitting here smiling at my screen like a loon. Thanks so much for the kind words! I’m so excited you liked it and made it TWICE! The grated vegan cheese sounds like an amazing addition!

  3. Simply called food

    December 15, 2013 at 8:59 pm

    I’m definitely making this at Christmas! Thanks!

  4. Katie (The Muffin Myth)

    December 13, 2013 at 1:56 am

    Amazing! I’m straight up addicted to nutritional yeast – I put it on my popcorn, and even sprinkle it on steamed broccoli. Yum! I love spinach and artichoke dip, but it’s so heavy and greasy usually. This version looks so good! I’m going to have to try it out and see for myself. Thanks for the recipe!

    • erika

      December 13, 2013 at 11:09 am

      Oh yumm. What a great addiction! So much better than, say, cookies (ahem, me). Okay if you love nutritional yeast I’m pretty sure you’ll like this. Tofu’s easy to find in Sweden right??

  5. Rika

    December 12, 2013 at 7:46 pm

    The multigrain chips are my favorite, too! Good vegan chips, too! The vegan spinach & artichoke dip looks creamy and tasty – love mashed up marinated artichoke hearts.

    • erika

      December 13, 2013 at 11:10 am

      Oh, I didn’t even realize they’re vegan but they’re so good! I have three more bags so I’m thinking I’m going to have to make more of this dip to go with them 😉

  6. Kelly

    December 11, 2013 at 5:21 am

    I like spinach and artichoke dip but don’t have or make it very often since it tends to feel heavy. I love your vegan version with soft tofu and nutritional yeast – it sounds awesome Erika!

  7. Medha

    December 10, 2013 at 11:13 pm

    Tofu in Artichoke Dip! What a brilliant idea:) I love it! Such a healthy spin on traditional comfort food. We finally got our first snow today in Vancouver and I am already dreaming about spring now:)

  8. Ala

    December 10, 2013 at 5:16 pm

    Yeah, I just can’t wade through the sour cream and mayo dips anymore–I love a good tofu sub for dips! I am decidedly NOT an east coast/mid-west girl, but the one time I visited St. Louis in March (which, mind you, isn’t really “winter” anymore), I slept in my friend’s spare room with glass pane floor-to-floor windows and literally had on four layers (including a snow jacket), two pairs of pants, three pairs of socks, and my beanie. So props to you for even trying to crawl out of bed, because I didn’t attempt it until I looked like a giant puff ball. But yay for having the oven on, right?

  9. Mary Frances @ The Sweet {Tooth} Life

    December 10, 2013 at 2:41 pm

    I am the same way – I want to be cozy and so I have my two pillows and three blankets and down comforter – basically make it impossible for myself to get out of bed:) Honestly, I think I would get out of bed to eat this for breakfast, no joke. I LOVE spinach artichoke dip (it is my favorite!) and I have always wanted to try nutritional yeast. You are amazing Erika! Pinning!

  10. Two Red Bowls

    December 10, 2013 at 12:27 pm

    Girl, I’ll be honest — the only time I ever eat vegan is when I do it by accident (or I make cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, because, let’s be real, those are even better than non-vegan cupcakes). But if anybody other than Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Romero could entice me to go vegan for something it’d be you!! It’s no easy feat, let me tell you. This dip looks incredible, and love that it’s so ridiculously healthy (and really healthy, not just comparatively healthy or, healthy if you only have half a bite, or.. healthy if you only look at it.) Thanks so much for sharing!

    • erika

      December 10, 2013 at 12:43 pm

      Hahaa I had a good giggle at “comparatively healthy or, healthy if you only have half a bite”…aka a lot of what I try to justify as being healthy. So true. But anyway thank you!! Such a compliment. I thought my vegan eating ways were actually over for awhile when I started LiveFit because I was eating egg whites and fish like there was no tomorrow. But food like this reminds me why vegan food is amazinggg.

      • Two Red Bowls

        December 10, 2013 at 2:21 pm

        (P.S. Are we IKEA tea towel twins?)

  11. janet @ the taste space

    December 10, 2013 at 9:30 am

    Erika, this looks great. I haven’t been into dips and such either, but with all my recent potlucking, appys have been fun to explore. I like the look of this one because it would be protein-packed! I will have to think how I could serve this fresh from the oven, though, for my next potluck experience. 😉

    • erika

      December 10, 2013 at 11:17 am

      Yes, that’s one of my favorite things about this too! You can get your protein fix instead of just carbing up on appetizers like I usually do 🙂 Honestly, you could probably skip the baking and just microwave it when you get to your potluck–the baking just gets it nice and warm. I’ve been eating it cold straight from the fridge too though and I think it’s fine either way 🙂

  12. Joanne

    December 10, 2013 at 7:07 am

    I’ve heard of so many people doing Vegan Before 6 and having so much success with it! I’m usually not that into spinach and artichoke chip because it’s a bit overly creamy but I love healthified versions of it. This sounds awesome!

    • erika

      December 10, 2013 at 11:19 am

      Yeah my aunt loves it and is looking really fit! It seems like a really good program. And I’m like you–traditional spinach + artichoke dips are SO HEAVY and filled with gooky stuff I’m not a fan of! I was a big fan of this though 🙂

  13. The vegan 8

    December 10, 2013 at 2:55 am

    Oh man this looks so delicious Erika!! I’m loving those chips with it too. I have been meaning to make a vegan spinach artichoke dip forever because it’s one of my favorite dishes, but it’s on my mile long list of recipes to do! It has me salivating and I can just smell it!!

    • erika

      December 10, 2013 at 11:20 am

      Ooh I’d love to see your spin on spinach artichoke dip! I know you don’t eat tofu, but I’ve seen a bunch with cashew cream and that sounds intriguing too!

  14. Kristi @ My San Francisco Kitchen

    December 9, 2013 at 11:12 pm

    I feel you girl!! I am hating this freezing weather 🙁 Lovely dip!

    • erika

      December 10, 2013 at 11:20 am

      I know…I said I wasn’t going to complain, but my toes are complaining. So cold! Thanks Kristi!

  15. Natasha @ The Cake Merchant

    December 9, 2013 at 9:59 pm

    This looks awesome! I love spinach artichoke dip, but rarely make it since it’s so unhealthy, so I’ll definitely have to try this. I also found the sweet potato surprise recipe on your Pinterest board and have made it several times. Stay warm!

    • erika

      December 10, 2013 at 11:22 am

      Ooh hope you like it! I LOVE that sweet potato surprise…I usually leave out the noodles and sub in squash or sliced sweet potatoes instead. So. Yum. You too! Idk what the weather’s like in Dallas but I’m sure it’s not tropical!

  16. The Wimpy Vegetarian

    December 9, 2013 at 8:02 pm

    This looks wonderful, and what a GREAT way to use tofu!!!

    • erika

      December 10, 2013 at 11:23 am

      Thanks Susan! This is possibly my new favorite use for tofu 🙂

  17. Kayle (The Cooking Actress)

    December 9, 2013 at 7:28 pm

    whoa, that’s amazing! I can’t believe you veganized spinach/artichoke dip! Yumminess for all!

    and omg the cold…ugh it sucks

    • erika

      December 10, 2013 at 11:24 am

      Oh gosh poor child…can’t even imagine how cold it is in NYC! Yikess. Good thing you’re moving to the even colder (?) Midwest soon! Ha :p

  18. yummychunklet

    December 9, 2013 at 6:22 pm

    Great healthy alternative!

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