This dip is absolutely delicious.  Today was the 3rd time I made this dip in the last 4 days, and I may or may not be sitting here with a bowl of it, eating as I type.  Don’t be too skeptical about the “cheesy” part, given this is coming from a vegan person.  Does it actually taste really cheesy?  Not really (coming from a vegan who still loves the taste of cheese).  But is the dip super tasty anyways?  YEA!

This dip came from the cook book eat, drink & be vegan by Dreena Burton.  I have gotten several other good recipes from her book and can vouch for their tastiness.  You can buy the book at Amazon or check out her blog here.

I actually made a couple alterations to the recipe, which I’ll put below.

Warm & Cheesy White Bean Dip

1 cup cooked cannellini beans or navy beans  (Great Northern work great too)
1/2 cup raw cashews
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 medium clove garlic, sliced
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp ground turmeric (for color)
3/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, minced (optional)
1/2cup +2 Tbsp plain rice milk
1 1/2-2 Tbsp olive oil
1-3 Tbsp plain rice milk (to thin dip as desired)

In food processor, combine the first 4 ingredients and puree to break down cashews. (I also should have added the garlic at this juncture to break it down more too.)  Add all other ingredients except the 1-3 Tbsp rice milk, and process till smooth.  You can at this point put the dip in a sauce pan and warm it up like a warm cheese dip (adding extra rice milk to thin as needed) or you can just eat it as is.  I didn’t bother to heat it up either time and it was delicious.  Serve with chips, carrots, salt-free pretzels, etc.

Alterations I made: 1 can of beans, 1/4c cashews to use the whole can of beans and cut back on the fat.  I only used a splash of soymilk because that’s all I had - you could even cut it out altogether for a thicker, hummus texture dip.  I didn’t have dry mustard so I just used prepared. Also I left out the olive oil in order to cut back on some of the fat. (CrunchyMamaLife didn’t lose 35lbs by consuming lots of fat you know. :)  )

This one is worth trying, even if you are worried about the vegan cheesy taste.  It is SO good.