Vegan Kale & Artichoke dip is a healthy spin on the classic spinach artichoke dip. It's the perfect appetizer for holiday parties or winter gatherings!

vegan / holiday / appetizers

Hey all, Jack here – now that it’s the end of the year, it’s holiday party time! And what does it normally mean to eat at a party in the winter? To a lot of Americans, that means spinach artichoke dip. I mean, what makes you feel like partying more than eating an entire loaf of bread dipped in cream cheese and mayonnaise?

Well, Jeanine and I don’t really think that’s much of a party any more. Our idea of a party is one where the next day you (or your guests) don’t feel awful. So we took a bit of inspiration from the classic party dip and made a spread that is still irresistible but infinitely more healthy. It uses two of our favorites for creamy vegan indulgences – sunflower seed puree and chickpeas. And the spinach is subbed out for kale, because why not?

I won’t lie though – I still ate way too much of this.

5.0 from 6 reviews

Vegan Kale & Artichoke Dip

  PrintPrep time 20 minsTotal time 20 mins Author: JeanineRecipe type: appetizerServes: about 2 cups of dipIngredientsfor the dip:

• 1 can artichoke hearts, drained
• ½ cup raw sunflower seeds
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup (cooked) chickpeas, plus more to put on top
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• juice of ½ a small lemon
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast (not baking yeast, see notes)
• 2-3 leaves of kale, chopped
• tiny bit of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives
• salt, pepper

for the crostini

• slices of toasted bread
• extra chickpeas
• optional: quick pickled onions (recipe in this post)
• a few pinches of red pepper flakes

Instructions

Place HALF the artichoke hearts in the blender, coarsely chop the rest and set aside. To the blender add the sunflower seeds, water, chickpeas, garlic, mustard, lemon, nutritional yeast, and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Blend until creamy. Taste and adjust seasonings.

In a small skillet, cook the chopped kale in a little bit of olive oil (with a pinch of salt) until wilted. Set aside.

Transfer dip to a bowl and stir in remaining chopped artichoke hearts, the cooked kale and chives. (Taste again). Chill until ready to serve.

Serve the dip by itself with crackers or toasted pita wedges - or make crostini with a few extra toppings: Add some more olive oil to your skillet and cook the chickpeas until lightly browned. Top each toast with a slather of dip, some extra cooked kale, roasted chickpeas, pickled onions (optional), and a pinch of red pepper flakes.

NotesIf you don't have nutritional yeast (and you're not vegan), you could sub 2T pecorino cheese (or more to taste). Or you could skip it altogether - it just helps give the dip a slightly richer cheesy flavor.3.2.2885
 

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