This vegan spinach and artichoke dip is packed with flavor and so easy to throw together! Bake it for a slightly caramelized final product or leave it creamy and smooth for unadulterated snacking. No mayonnaise or sour cream required!
My aunt introduced me to this vegan version of spinach and artichoke dip one Thanksgiving. I’ve never been a big fan of creamy white dips with a lot of mayonnaise, cream cheese or sour cream, so I was thrilled to find a dip without any of these ingredients!
The base builds flavor through a sautéed onion, some garlic, nutritional yeast, spinach and artichokes. 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), but it does, give a deliciously umami, savory, cheese-like hint to whatever you add it to.
Here are two other recipes I absolutely LOVE that use nutritional yeast.
Vegan Spinach and Artichoke Dip
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 7×11″ 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 4-5 minutes, until soft and lightly browned (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 helps brown the top and caramelize the flavors a bit more.
marlies
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
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
Caitlyn
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
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!