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When trying to decide on an appetizer to bring to a potluck last weekend, I was tempted to go with an old standby, like hummus or my new favorite pesto.
In my experience, preparing food for a party isn’t the time to experiment with a radical new recipe. Unless, of course, you have a back-up plan ready when things go wrong.
Since I hate to miss an opportunity to try out a NEW recipe– especially when I know I’ll have a crowd of guests to act as my taste-testers– I decided to take a risk, and try my hand at a vegan cheese dip that would please a crowd.
Luckily, my risk paid off.
And now I have a big batch of vegan pesto that I don’t need to use as my backup plan anymore. (It’s a good thing it freezes well.)
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Red Pepper Cheese Dip (vegan)
makes 3 cups
inspired by Doris Choi
Ingredients:
2 red bell peppers, cut and seeded
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup Nutritional Yeast flakes
3/4 cup raw tahini
2-3 cloves garlic (I used 3, but I really like garlic)
1 1/2 teaspoons Himalayan salt
1/2 cup water
Directions:
Throw all of the ingredients into a high-speed blender, and blend until smooth and creamy.
Adjust seasonings to taste, then transfer to bowl and store in the fridge until ready to serve. The cheese sauce will thicken up when chilled, so I recommend chilling the sauce at least an hour or two before serving.
Serve with your favorite raw veggies, or chips, and enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 red bell peppers , cut and seeded
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 cup Nutritional Yeast flakes
- 3/4 cup raw tahini
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Himalayan salt
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Throw all of the ingredients into a high-speed blender, and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Adjust seasonings to taste, then transfer to bowl and store in the fridge until ready to serve. The cheese sauce will thicken up when chilled, so I recommend chilling the sauce at least an hour or two before serving.
- Serve with your favorite raw veggies, or chips, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Per Serving: Calories: 428, Fat: 32g, Carbohydrates: 24g, Fiber: 7g, Protein: 16g
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This recipe makes a LOT of sauce, so feel free to make a half-batch if you’re not hosting a party, or have a smaller family to cater to. (Or freeze the extras to enjoy for later!)
Personally, I’ve had no problem polishing off the leftovers–> I’ve poured this cheese sauce over everything from leafy green salads to warm steamed veggies.
It’s delicious either way.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
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Reader Feedback: What’s your go-to dish to bring to a potluck?
I was excited to make this but it unfortunately turned out way too bitter for me. I could really taste the tahini! I added some paprika, dill, and stevia to warm it up. It tastes better. But I wouldn’t make it again. :/ I used the 365 organic brand of tahini. Perhaps that made a difference.
Bad tahini is bitter from being overprocessed. A good quality tahini is not bitter but if processed for too long in a high speed blender can become bitter.
This looks awesome! Do you think I could use regular sea salt instead? Or does the Himalayan salt give it a certain taste?
I think regular sea salt would taste similar, so that should be fine!
This was too thin to dip, and when poured on noodles or salad, the liquid all fell to the bottom and the thicker part stayed at the top. I think with the juice from the bell pepper and the added water, there was just too much liquid.
It didn’t taste bad, but it wasn’t good enough to eat more then half of it.
Oh my goodness, this sounds fantastic!
Is that tahini brand as good as the amazon reviews? I use artisana, which I like very much…but that brand looks intriguing! (in part b/c it looks so bizarre! i visited the website…)
Yes, it’s really good! They carry it at my local Whole Foods, and I thought the label was really funny… but now it’s my favorite brand. 🙂 It’s a lot thicker and less oily than other brands I’ve tried.
That looks and sounds super good! I love nutritional yeast, I pretty much use it every day! So I’ve got to try this out. I hate tahini though, I wonder if raw cashew butter would make a good alternative? And broccoli and cheese-like sauce is the BEST combo! Hope your Thursday is great!
I generally don’t care much for the flavor of plain tahini, either, but for some reason it’s really hidden in this dip. I bet cashew butter would be a great substitute, though!
This is so amazing. A little less salt for me but everyone has a different taste. This was just so good I couldn’t believe it whenI tasted it. I am so impressed with your recipes and anytime I want to make something special and dairy free I alway look on your site. You truly are talented!
Have to try this… looks amazingly cheesy thick and smooth!
The bowl with the broccoli looks delicious…it’s like vegan cheese whiz!
My go to potluck dish is wine…but I’m french 😉
Yummy! This would make a perfect kale chip coating, too.
Ooh sounds yummy! I haven’t experimented much with nutritional yeast but this sounds like a good place to start. My go-to potluck dish is usually some sort of salad that contains a gluten free grain like quinoa or millet, a vegan-friendly protein like edmame, chickpeas, or other beans, and a bunch of veggies in some sort of vinaigrette. I have made many variations but it works every time for people that are either gluten sensitive, vegan, or vegetarian.