Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip {Quick and easy!}

Creamy Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip – a gut-healthy recipe thanks to the prebiotic fibre in artichokes. Made with whole food ingredients, this dish gets my Nutritionist’s tick of approval – 10 ingredients, 30 minutes start to finish. Enjoy hot straight from the oven with a hunk of fresh sourdough!

Spinach artichoke dip is a hot, baked dip traditionally made from cream cheese, sour cream, parmesan, mozzarella, mayonnaise, garlic, frozen spinach and canned artichokes.

The traditional recipe isn’t healthy by any stretch of the imagination – all that dairy and saturated fat! And yet, how awesome does a stretchy, cheesy bowl of deliciousness sound right about now?

I’ve got you covered don’t worry – we’re giving this bad boy a healthy, plant-based makeover. Full flavour, no dairy or egg, and a lot friendlier on the old gut too.

How? We do away with the gazillion different types of dairy (and mayo), and whip up a creamy sauce made from cashews, oat milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic, onion powder and sea salt (in mere minutes might I add).

Dip your finger in for a taste – it’s AMAZE.

Then, we double the amount of spinach, add our artichokes, bake and enjoy.

The star of this dish is of course, the artichoke hearts – globe artichokes to be exact (Jerusalem artichokes AKA sunchokes are equally as awesome, but they aren't related at all to globe artichokes and aren't suited for this recipe).

They’re actually coming into the tail end of their season here in New Zealand now, but frozen or canned work perfectly fine too.

Cool things about artichokes

• Artichokes are a member of the thistle family, and flower once a year – a vibrant lilac coloured plume bees just love
• They are of course edible – but must be prepared properly first – removing the hairy choke inside until you get to the heart
• Artichokes contain a prebiotic fibre called inulin, which selectively provide a food source for the friendly bacteria in the gut, promoting their growth, encouraging diversity, supporting immune health and lowering inflammation
• Each cooked artichoke contains about 6g of fibre – roughly a quarter of your daily needs [1]
• They’re also packed with nutrients – B groups vitamins, iron, calcium and vitamin C
• Globe artichoke leaf is widely used in Herbal Medicine; to support digestive function – everything from IBS to nausea to fat intolerance to reflux, to protect the liver, increase bile production and flow, and lower blood lipids. It has a distinctly bitter taste, which is exactly what makes it such a proficient remedy!

This healthy vegan dip will serve around 6, with just under 8g each of fibre and protein per serve, not to mention all the micronutrients.

[bctt tweet="Creamy Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip – made with whole food ingredients, this healthy dish gets my Nutritionist’s tick of approval – 10 ingredients, 30 minutes to make, recipe here!" username="laurenglucina"]

Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip, ingredients

• Fresh spinach
• Fresh, frozen or tinned artichokes (in a plain brine, not oil)
• Cashews
• Oat milk
• Nutritional yeast
• Lemon juice
• Garlic
• Dijon mustard
• Onion powder
• Sea salt

The how-to

Let’s start with making that cheesy cashew sauce. Blend together the cashews with oat milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic, onion powder, sea salt and mustard.

You’re after a creamy texture – but don’t stress if there are a few crunchy nuts left over. Texture! [photos 1-2].

Next prep the spinach. My recommendation is to use fresh, as it’s easier to accurately measure out cup by cup. Trim off any long stalks, steam, blanch in cold water, drain, squeeze out excess fluid between paper towels and chop [photo 3].

If you’re using tinned artichokes, drain and rinse then roughly chop. Look for artichokes in a plain brine if possible.

If you’re using frozen, then thaw thoroughly, and chop as before. If you’re using fresh (amazing), then you will need to peel, cut and prepare them first, then steam and chop.

Add both spinach and artichokes to an oven-proof dish [photo 4].

The fun part – pour your prepared cashew cheese sauce over the vegetables [photo 5], and stir well to combine all ingredients [photo 6].

Bake at 200˚C (390˚F) for 20 mins, then descend upon this now bubbling, creamy deliciousness with hunks of sourdough and fresh chopped vegetables sticks. Just add Netflix and you’ve got the perfect Sunday afternoon!

Useful things to know

• My version of this recipe uses more spinach than most – always looking for an excuse to sneak more greens in!
• You can use frozen spinach, at a guestimate – I’d say about half to three quarters a cup
• You could swap the oat milk for canned coconut milk, for an extra creamy result
• You can make this recipe a few days ahead – in fact, the flavours only get better
• Serve this dip with sourdough, chopped fresh vegetables, or tortilla chips

Storing leftovers

This recipe is large enough to serve 6, but you can store your leftovers and enjoy them later:

• Transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for 2-3 days, or
• Freeze for up to 3 months
• To reheat, place in the oven (200˚C / 390˚F) for about 10 minutes or until warmed through

That’s it! Hope you enjoy – Hubby got stuck in with a baguette in front of the basketball – 10/10 from him.

More scrummy plant-powered dips

• Chocolate Hummus (oddly GREAT)
• Chargrilled Capsicum Hummus with Cashews & Miso
• Radical Roasted Beet Hummus with Sumac and Lime
• Greenilicious Hemp Seed Basil Pesto

If you make and enjoy this recipe, please leave a rating below. And better yet – leave me a comment to tell me how you got on, or just say hi – I LOVE hearing from you. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest to see more of my everyday recipes and wellness tips.

If you’d like to chat with me about essential oils, or book in a class, you can do that here. If you’re after a Naturopathic consult, read more here.

📖Recipe