Healthy, easy spinach artichoke dip that's also dairy-free and vegan. This is a copycat Houston's Restaurant spinach artichoke dip recipe! Options provided for this to be nut-free with no cashews, too.
Spinach artichoke dip is traditionally loaded with calories and fat. This lighter, healthier, dairy-free plant-based artichoke dip recipe is so delicious you'll keep coming back for more.
This recipe is naturally gluten-free, as well, if served with gluten-free toasted bread or with baked tortilla chips.
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🧄 Ingredient notes
You'll need the following ingredients to make this plant-based spinach artichoke dip:
- thawed, frozen chopped spinach (can substitute more fresh spinach instead)
- fresh baby spinach (can substitute more frozen spinach instead)
- onion
- garlic
- bell pepper
- canned artichoke hearts, quartered, packed in water
- vegan sour cream (either store-bought or homemade)
- For best taste and richness, use this Vegan Sour Cream (cashew cream).
- For the lowest calorie, lighter option, use this Vegan Tofu Sour Cream.
- For a nut-free, soy-free option, use this Vegan Sunflower Seed Sour Cream.
- nutritional yeast
- sea salt and black pepper
- To serve: salsa, extra sour cream, toasted bread, tortilla chips or raw veggies
🔪 Instructions
This dairy-free spinach artichoke dip is chock-full of onion, garlic, bell pepper, artichoke, spinach and made creamy using vegan sour cream. You can use store-bought vegan sour cream. Or, you can make one of my easy recipes.
- For best taste and richness, use this Vegan Sour Cream (cashew cream).
- For a low calorie, lighter option, use this Vegan Tofu Sour Cream.
- For a nut-free, soy-free option, use this Vegan Sunflower Seed Sour Cream.
👨👩👦👦 Serving suggestions
Serve hot on lightly toasted french bread or - my favorite way - with baked tortilla chips, salsa and more of your preferred vegan sour cream on the side.
This is also yummy served with raw veggies, like:
- carrot sticks
- celery sticks
- cucumber slices
- sugar snap peas
💭 Tips
Here's a tip about no oil tortilla chips:
If you don't want to bake your own homemade fat free tortilla chips (they're pretty easy!), then use store-bought baked tostadas broken into smaller pieces.
This brand, Charras, is readily available at most grocery stores here in Houston, Texas. They are baked with no added oil and are an oil-free, lighter substitution for tortilla chips.
❓ FAQ
Yes, you can freeze most spinach artichoke dips. To thaw, microwave or bake until hot in the center. Or, place in refrigerator overnight to thaw, stir then eat cold. For this recipe, if you use cashew sour cream, it will freeze well. I have not tested if the tofu sour cream option freezes well. If you try it, please let me know in the comments how it turned out!
This will vary a lot, depending on what ingredients your spinach artichoke dip is made with. For example, this recipe offers a few options for the vegan sour cream to use as the base. Vegan sour cream made of cashews is 720 calories, 56g fat, 20g protein for about 2 cups. Vegan sour cream made of silken tofu is 180 calories, 8g fat, 24g protein for about 2 cups. If you use cashew cream, it will be higher in calories and fat than if you use silken tofu sour cream. The good news is you have options to make it lighter, if you want!
No, not usually. Typically, spinach artichoke dip is made with dairy cheese and sour cream, which are animal products and not vegan. However, you can easily make a vegan artichoke spinach dip using vegan sour cream and it's quite delicious!
If you're eating a vegan spinach artichoke dip made with vegan sour cream, then it can be eaten either cold or hot. They are both delicious!
Artichoke dip is typically served with small pieces of toasted bread, tortilla chips, raw veggies like carrot sticks, celery sticks or cucumber slices. It's also delicious served with tomato salsa and extra sour cream on the side.
Houston's Restaurant spinach artichoke dip
Have you ever been to Houston's? I'm talking about the restaurant, not our fair city. It is a fine dining restaurant that we've gone to several times over the years, especially for anniversary dinners.
Houston's Restaurant has the perfect spinach artichoke dip on their appetizer menu. Perfect.
They serve it hot, with salsa, sour cream and tortilla chips. All other spinach artichoke dips are rated in comparison to that one, in my book.
However, that dip is loaded with fat, dairy and cheese. So, I was bound and determined to create a healthier, dairy-free copycat version I could make at home.
💜 More recipes you'll love
If you love this vegan spinach artichoke dip recipe, then check out my other appetizer recipes. They're all plant-based and vegan!
Love this recipe? Please rate it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below in the recipe card. And, if you make it, please tag me on Instagram or Facebook in your posted photos! I would love to see your creations. 😄
📖 Recipe
Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip
Ingredients
Spinach Artichoke Dip
- 1 sweet yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ red bell pepper diced
- 14 ounces artichoke hearts drained and diced
- 8 ounces fresh baby spinach roughly chopped
- 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach thawed and liquid squeezed out
- 3 green onions thinly sliced
- ¾ cup vegan sour cream store-bought or homemade
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- sea salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
For Serving
- ¼ cup vegan sour cream store-bought or homemade
- ½ cup tomato salsa
- tortilla chips store-bought or homemade oil-free chips
- toasted bread or crostini
Instructions
- In a 3 quart deep skillet, sauté the onions over medium-high heat until translucent. Add a tablespoon or two of water, as needed, if they start to stick.1 sweet yellow onion
- Add garlic and cook for 60 seconds3 cloves garlic
- Add bell pepper and and diced artichoke and cook for 3 minutes½ red bell pepper, 14 ounces artichoke hearts
- Add spinach in batches. Stir and add more until all the spinach is wilted and heated through.8 ounces fresh baby spinach, 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach
- Add salt and pepper.sea salt, black pepper
- Turn off heat and mix in the green onions, nutritional yeast and sour cream thoroughly. Taste the mixture at this point and adjust seasonings salt and pepper, as needed. Optional: add a dash of Cholula hot sauce.3 green onions, 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, ¾ cup vegan sour cream
- Serve with toasted french bread, raw veggies or tortilla chips, salsa and extra sour cream.¼ cup vegan sour cream, ½ cup tomato salsa, tortilla chips, toasted bread
Notes
- For best taste and richness, use this Vegan Sour Cream (cashew cream).
- For a low calorie, lighter option, use this Vegan Tofu Sour Cream.
- For a nut-free, soy-free option, use this Vegan Sunflower Seed Sour Cream.
- the frozen and fresh spinach can be substituted for each other. You can use all fresh or all frozen. I like the combination of the two.
- Bell pepper - use sweet bell pepper for this recipe. Yellow, orange or red bell peppers will all work. Do not use green bell peppers.
- Nutritional yeast add a cheesy flavor. I highly recommend adding it, but it is optional. You can omit it if you like.
Lari Taylor says
I love how you laid out your pictures and showed the step by step. Vegan cream cheese is soooooo good!
Abi Cowell says
Thank you so much, Lari! I have to agree with you. So yum.