Dairy-Free Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe (Baked)

Forget the cream cheese and sour cream alternatives. This dairy-free spinach artichoke dip uses a delicious blend of whole food ingredients, and just a touch of cheese alternative (don’t worry, it will melt in this recipe!) to create amazing flavor and richness. Plus, it’s vegan-friendly, naturally gluten-free and soy-free, and takes just minutes to prepare!

Dairy-Free Spinach Artichoke Dip that’s Baked to Creamy Perfection

This recipe was created by Tami Noyes, back in her busy cookbook creating days. Here’s the quick story of how it was developed.

Recently, I got a note from one of my tester friends, Kip Dorrell, who had added spinach and artichoke hearts to the Fettucine Alfredo sauce from my cookbook, American Vegan Kitchen. With a sprinkling of vegan cheese, she magically turned it into baked dairy-free spinach artichoke dip.
Of course, I had to head to the kitchen and play with this recipe even further. I kept some of the basic elements of the sauce, but couldn’t resist making further tweaks and additions to perfect this creamy vegan dip. We happen to like mozzarella-style cheese in this, but I’m sure dairy-free Monterey jack or the pepperjack shreds would also be delicious.
We were pleased with the results and plan to have it again for New Year’s Eve. It will be perfect paired with champagne. Thank you, Kip!

Special Diet Notes: Dairy-Free Spinach Artichoke Dip

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, and vegetarian.

Dairy-Free Spinach Artichoke Dip

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

35 mins

The ingredient list may appear long, but in reality, this gourmet dish comes together quickly. It can also be prepared earlier in the day, and popped in the oven 20 minutes before your guests arrive. Serve it with crusty bread, tortilla chips, crackers, and/or vegetables, for dipping.

Author: Tami Noyes

Recipe type: Appetiser

Cuisine: American

Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients

¾ cup cashews (see Nut Note below)
⅔ cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon capers
2 scallions, chopped
Juice from ½ lemon
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon salt
Generous pinch black pepper
½ cup frozen chopped spinach, drained and squeezed dry
½ cup drained and chopped artichoke hearts
½ cup dairy-free shredded mozzarella cheese alternative (like Violife; see Cheese Note below)
2 tablespoons minced sun-dried tomatoes
Pinch smoked paprika

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375ºF.
Add the cashews, broth, pine nuts, vinegar, capers, scallions, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper to your blender. Process until completely smooth and no grit remains.
Stir in the spinach, artichoke hearts, cheese alternative, and sun-dried tomatoes.
Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Grease a 9- or 10-inch pie plate, skillet, or shallow baking dish or ramekin.
Spread the dip into your prepared baking vessel and sprinkle lightly with the paprika.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until the edges are just starting to brown.
Serve hot with the dippers.

Notes

Nut Note: Do not soak the cashews or the pine nuts. The nuts help thicken this dish by absorbing the broth. If pre-soaked, they will be too saturated. If your blender isn't great at creaming nuts or making nut butter, pre-grind the cashews into a powder in a spice grinder before adding. Pine nuts are quite soft, so they puree well in most blenders.

Cheese Note: If you like the taste and melt of the cheese alternative you are using, you can also sprinkle some on top before baking. If not, just use it in the dip. Because there is moisture in the dip, most brands of cheese alternative will melt just fine when baking.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: about ⅓ cup Calories: 121 Fat: 8.8g Saturated fat: 2.1g Carbohydrates: 8.4g Sugar: 1.2g Sodium: 360mg Fiber: 1.3g Protein: 3.2g