Here’s a favorite vegan appetizer that never fails to please — a tasty white bean dip that you can embellish as suggested in the recipe, or keep smooth and simple. Similar to white bean hummus, this bean dip is a great appetizer that goes well with bruschetta, fresh breads, pita, olives, and/or raw vegetables of your choice.
What sets this apart from hummus is that there’s no tahini, but there’s lots of onion that’s well sautéed and added to the mix before it’s smoothly processed — it adds plenty of flavor!
For the white beans, use cannellini or Great Northern. Both have a lovely creamy texture when pureed. This recipe makes about 2 cups, or roughly 8 servings as an appetizer.
Caramelized Onion White Bean Dip
Here’s an appetizer that never fails to please — a tasty white bean dip that you can embellish as suggested in the recipe, or keep smooth and simple.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 15-ounce can cannellini or great northern beans, drained and rinsed
- Juice of 1/2 lemon to 1 lemon, to taste
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Optional (use any 2 or 3)
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley or cilantro leaves
- 1/3 cup pitted cured black olives
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- Extra virgin olive oil for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and continue to sauté until the onion is just beginning to brown.
- Combine the onion mixture with the beans (set aside about 1/4 cup, if you’d like), and lemon juice in a food processor and process until completely smooth. Drizzle in 2 to 4 tablespoons of water, as needed to loosen the consistency. Stop and scrape down the sides as needed.
- If you’d like, add any of the optional ingredients: sun-dried tomatoes, parsley, olives, and/or tahini to the food processor and pulse on and off until well mixed into the pureed beans. Don’t over-process! Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Pat into an attractive shallow crock to serve. If you’d like, make a swirl over the top of the dip and drizzle in some olive oil. Top with reserved beans, if you set some aside.
- Serve at once with accompaniments suggested in the headnote.
If you like this white bean dip, you might also enjoy …
Sweet Potato Hummus with Artichoke Hearts
See lots more tasty vegan appetizers and snacks.
Leave a Reply