I'd be a liar and you'd never believe a thing I said if I told you that this vegan spinach dip tastes exactly like the full fat, full cheese, full mayo version. But I'd be an equally big fibber if I neglected to convey just how ridiculously good this spinach dip is.
To help you get the picture, let me start by sharing my mental dialog as I devour a normal batch of spinach dip at a party:
Bite 1: "OMG!!! This is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!"
Bites 2-5: "Ohhh... I reaalllly shouldn't... but I can't help myself"
Bites 6-10: "Now I'm thirsty, let me wash it down with a giant red Solo cup of soda."
Bites 11-∞:"It's gone and I ate most of it... What have I done... How could I have been so weeeak..."
Perhaps you can relate? Well, here's the internal dialog I had with myself as I scarfed down this vegan spinach dip:
Bite 1: "hmm... not quite the same...."
Bite 2-5: " But... this is pretty damn good!"
Bites 6-10: "Wow! I can't {MUNCH}... stop...{DIP}...eating... {CHOMP}... it"
Bites 11-∞: " It's gone... but I just ate 189% of my daily Vitamin A, 94% of my Iron, 82% of my Calcium, 72% of my magnesium, 57% of my protein, 56% of my vitamin C, 50% of my fiber for the day..."
And while I can't promise you won't feel any guilt at all (especially if you hijack that part of the buffet and slap away hungry hands trying to get a taste), but I can tell you that you won't have to go to confession at your cardiologist's office.
So what makes it so good? Well, first I use a combination of soft tofu with raw cashew nuts. The soft tofu brings a satiny smooth texture and creaminess like mayonnaise. The cashews mellow out the "soy" taste of the tofu while adding richness and just a hint of sweetness.
To get the cheese flavor, I add nutritional yeast. It may sound like a weird addition if you've never had it, but one taste and I promise even hardened carnivores will want some to sprinkle on their next steak. It's made by culturing a strain of yeast, which is harvested and sterilized before it's dried and packaged. The resulting yellow flakes have a cheesy, nutty flavor, that's bursting with umami producing amino acids.
Because real cheese undergoes lacto-fermentation it's always a little acidic. This is what gives cheddar it's "sharp" taste. To mimic this, I add a little apple cider vinegar. It not only makes it taste more like cheese, the hint of acidity helps lighten up the creaminess of the spinach dip ever so slightly.
Together with fresh spinach, crispy water chestnuts and a little smoked paprika and you have yourself a luxuriously creamy, spinach dip with all the right textures and flavors, keeping you reaching back for more.... until it's gone.
Other Cream Vegan Recipes
📖 Recipe
Units
Ingredients
- 400 grams soft tofu
- 100 grams raw cashew nuts (¾ cup soaked in water overnight and drained)
- 25 grams nutritional yeast (~¼ cup)
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 grams salt (~½ teaspoon)
- 260 grams spinach (175 grams cooked and squeezed)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 175 grams onion (1 medium )
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 100 grams water chestnuts (diced)
- extra virgin olive oil
- paprika
Instructions
- Add the tofu, soaked cashews, nutritional yeast, vinegar, and salt to the bowl of a high-speed blender (such as a Vitamix) and blend until it forms a smooth puree. If the blender won't spin, try adding a little water (or coconut milk) at a time and use the tamper to help it along. The mixture should have the consistency of pudding.
- Chop the roots off the spinach and put it into a large bowl. Wash the spinach under running water while agitating it with your fingers until the water is no longer muddy. Then, stop the water and give any remaining grit a chance to settle to the bottom of the water.
- Lift the floating spinach off the top of the water, leaving any remaining sand at the bottom of the bowl.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the spinach. Boil until the spinach is tender. 1-2 minutes.
- Drain the spinach, rinse with cold water and then squeeze the excess water out of the spinach.
- Chop the spinach into small pieces.
- Add the oil, onions and garlic to a frying pan and sauté over medium-high heat until the onions are a caramel brown color and have reduced to about ¼ of their original volume.
- Add the water chestnuts and spinach and, sauté to heat through.
- Turn down the heat and add the tofu and cashew puree. Stir constantly until the spinach dip is heated through. Adjust salt to taste.
- Drizzle with a little olive oil and then dust with paprika. Serve with vegetables and bread.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Emma, there's a couple areas that would worry me. Tofu tends to separate when you freeze it, so the defrosted dip may end up "spongy" with pockets of water where the ice defrosts. Also I would not recommend reheating it over a campfire because the bottom will likely burn before the top was fully reheated.
Emma says
Do you think I could freeze this, then thaw and reheat in a cast iron over a fire? Looking for ideas for a camping trip!
Emma says
Thanks Marc! I might try substituting garbanzo beans and coconut milk, as suggested by a few folks in the comment thread, to help with the freezing issue. I need to be able to make stuff today to be thawed and reheated over the weekend for my birthday camping trip. I'll be sure to use the stove to reheat it, and let you know how it goes. I'm so excited to try this recipe!
Marc Matsumoto says
Good luck Emma, and Happy Birthday!
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Emma says
It turned out amazing, Marc! I ended up using white beans instead of tofu and adding lemon juice and artichoke hearts. It freezes beautifully and was a huge hit. Thank you so much for the recipe and answering all my questions, I can't wait to browse more around your blog.
Marc Matsumoto says
Glad to hear you enjoyed it Emma!
Yasmeen Wilcox says
This looks amazing! My only question is, my sister does not eat soy, is there anything I could possibly substitute the tofu with?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Yasmeen, thanks for the note. You could probably do this with soaked and pureed raw cashews.
Mary says
Hi Marc, I am really looking forward to making this recipe! Can I make this a day ahead of time and then reheat it in the microwave?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Mary, I haven't tried to completely cool and reheat this so I'm not 100% sure, but I think someone left a comment once that they did this and it turned out okay.
Linda says
This needed some work. More nutritional yeast, some of Myoko's farmhouse cheese, some lemon juice, chipotle and berbere spice. Really need more flavor.
Terry J says
Do you have to use Tofu? Any substitutes?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Terry, it's a core part of this recipe which lends creaminess and umami to the dish. You could create a new recipe using other ingredients, but I don't know of a 1:1 substitute.
Tanvi says
What is the use of nutritional yeast and apple cider vinegar in this recipe?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Tanvi, nutritional yeast has a taste similar to cheese and it contains loads of amino acids that give the dip an umami-rich taste. Cheese on the other hand is naturally acidic (that's what gives cheddar it's sharp taste), the cider vinegar mimics the tartness of cheese. I hope that helps.
Dorothy Gallardo says
Would it be ok to bake inside 1 tube of refrigerated pizza crust
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Dorothy, thanks a super interesting idea. I'd never really thought about it, but I guess it would end up kind of like a Calzone. Let me know how it goes if you try it out!
Melissa Frye says
I've made this several times and it is GREAT!! I've made it with frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed dry) and its just as good. As for substitutes for soy and nutritional yeast, I'd say find some other spinach dip recipe? This is just perfect for my dietary peculiarities!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Melissa, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Beth says
We absolutely LOVE this dip. We've made it as a dip, and also to stuff pasta shells (and then cover with tomato sauce). We add sliced artichoke hearts, and we use chopped frozen spinach instead of fresh for convenience (thawed and I squeeze out as much water as I can). We've had non-vegan guests ask for the recipe. It's AWESOME!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Beth, I'm glad to hear you've been enjoying this, thanks so much for letting me know! I love your idea of stuffing it into pasta, I'm going to have to try that next time!
Beth says
This recipe kicks ass! We make it with chopped, frozen spinach (thawed) instead of fresh because it's just faster. And for the cashews, what I like to do is grind them in a coffee grinder (that I reserve only for flax seed and cashew grinding) and it goes in very fast and easy (no soaking!). I use an immersible blender (hand blender) and that way it never gets stuck, and I don't have to add any liquids. We also add chopped artichoke hearts (from a can, in water, no oil). We use it as a dip, or to make stuffed shells covered in tomato sauce, and even as a filler in lasagna! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this dip. It's AMAZING!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Beth I'm so glad to hear you've been enjoying this, and thanks so much for all the great suggestions! I'd never really thought of using this as a filling, but it totally makes sense. Have you tried my onion dip? https://norecipes.com/vegan-french-onion-dip/
Beth says
The onion dip looks amazing. We'll definitely be trying it next. Thank you! I forgot to add that we've been sprinkling smoked paprika on the Spinach dip. It really adds a great flavor when it's smoked .. just when I thought this dish couldn't get any better!
Marc Matsumoto says
Thanks Beth! Such a great idea to use smoked paprika, I bet it adds a nice meaty depth to the dip.
Ana says
I've never tried the original style of spinach dip, so I have nothing to compare it too, but this is divine!
Marc Matsumoto says
Glad to hear you enjoyed it, thanks for dropping by to let me know!
Michelle says
Amazing. My boyfriend and I loved this recipe !
Marc Matsumoto says
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know!
Nadine says
SO good! Loving all the tips in the comments. Thanks for this recipe Marc.
Marc Matsumoto says
Thanks Nadine😀