Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip

Meet the dairy-free dip of your dreams! This Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip has all the flavor you love, without using cheese. It’s rich & creamy, and super-easy to make!

Ingredients You’ll Need

What is Spinach Artichoke Dip made of? The traditional version is made with a trifecta of mayo, sour cream, and cheese, making it ultra-indulgent, but this version is lightened-up, using simple real food ingredients.

Here are the basic ingredients:

• Cashews (I use unsalted & non-roasted ones)
• Lemon juice
• Apple cider vinegar
• Salt
• Canned artichoke hearts
• Spinach (fresh or frozen!)

I also like to include sautéed onion and garlic for extra flavor. This dip can be assembled in 20 minutes or less, so it’s perfect for your next at-home gathering. I love how low-maintenance it is!

How to Make It

To make this Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip, start by sautéing the onion and garlic. Be sure to use an oven-safe skillet that can go in the oven later, like a cast iron skillet.

Go ahead and preheat your oven to 400ºF, too.

While that’s cooking, chop the fresh spinach.

If you would rather use frozen spinach, you’ll need to remember to thaw it in the fridge the night before you plan on making this recipe. Once it’s thawed, be sure to place it in a strainer over the sink, and press well to remove excess moisture. (You don’t have to do this with fresh spinach.)

I never remember to thaw frozen spinach in time, so I prefer to use a bag of fresh spinach, which simply needs a few chops to help it fit in the pan and cook faster. No one wants to get a huge, stringy bite of spinach later, so chopping helps prevent that.

Fresh spinach shrinks down quite a bit when you cook it, so add it one large handful at a time, then cover the pan with a lid and wait about 60 seconds for that batch to shrink, before you add more. I use a 5-ounce bag of fresh spinach for this recipe, and I add about 1/3 of it at a time, to help it shrink down and fit in the pan.

Drain and rinse the canned artichoke hearts, then chop them on a cutting board. I like to chop them as finely as possible, so you’ll get a little bit in each bite.

Alternatively, you can chop the artichokes in a food processor, but I prefer to simply use a cutting board, so I don’t have another appliance to clean later.

Add the chopped artichokes to the pan with the other veggies, and season with a 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir well, then turn off the heat while you make the sauce.

In a high-speed blender, add the cashews, water, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt. Blend until very smooth, then pour it into the skillet.

Stir well, to make sure the vegetables are evenly distributed in the sauce. It will appear runny at first, but when you bake it the sauce will thicken up.

Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven and bake until the sauce looks thicker, about 15 minutes.

How to Serve It

Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip is typically served warm from the oven, with chips, bread, or sliced veggies for dipping. Try it with my baked sweet potato chips, for a healthier crunch.

This healthy dip is also delicious cold, if you don’t feel like heating up the leftovers later. I use it as a sandwich spread (or try it in my favorite veggie wraps!) and as a topping to stir into pasta for a fast weeknight dinner.

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5 from 12 votes

Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip

This Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip is dairy-free and tastes like the original! It's the perfect healthy dip for a party, made without cheese or sour cream.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine vegan

Keyword vegan spinach artichoke dip

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 8

Calories 114kcal

Author Megan Gilmore

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion , chopped (about 3/4 cup)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 (14 oz.) can artichoke hearts , drained & rinsed
• 5 ounces fresh spinach (or 8 oz. thawed frozen spinach; drained)
• 1.5 teaspoons fine sea salt (11 grams; I use Real Salt brand)
• 1 cup whole cashews (151 grams; unsalted & not roasted)
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice (6 grams)
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• black pepper, to taste

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, and saute the garlic and onion until the onion is translucent, but not brown, about 5 minutes.
  
• Chop the fresh spinach, to help it fit in the pan. You may need to add the spinach in large handfuls, then cover briefly for 30 to 60 seconds with a lid, to help it shrink down. I usually do this in 3 batches for a 5-ounce bag of fresh spinach. If you're using thawed frozen spinach instead, be sure to squeeze out excess moisture before adding it to the pan.
  
• Chop the artichokes into tiny pieces, then add them to the pan with the other veggies. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and stir well.
  
• Turn off the stove top while you make the cashew sauce. In a high-speed blender, add the cashews, water, lemon juice, vinegar, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Blend until very smooth, then pour over the veggies in the pan.
  
• Stir well, to make sure the vegetables are evenly distributed in the sauce. Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven, and cook until everything is hot and the sauce looks thicker, about 15 minutes.
  
• Serve warm, with your favorite chips, bread, or sliced veggies for dipping. Leftover dip can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. I like this dip cold, but if you reheat it, you might need to add an extra splash of water, to help thin out the sauce again.
  

Notes

Nutrition information is for 1/8 of this whole recipe, which is about 1/4 cup. This information is just an estimate, and not a guarantee.

Nutrition

Calories: 114kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 455mg | Potassium: 223mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1662IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 2mg

More Healthy Dip Recipes

Need another healthy dip? Try one of these!

• Vegan Cashew Queso
• Best Bean Dip Ever
• Almond Pulp Hummus (perfect after making almond milk)
• Brownie Batter Hummus (dessert dip!)
• Zucchini Hummus (bean-free)
• Vegan Ranch Dressing
• Classic Hummus

If you try this Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like it. And if you make any other modifications, I’d love to hear about those, too!

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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite dip to serve at parties?