Healthy Spinach Artichoke Dip
With the Super Bowl coming up next weekend, I immediately begin to think about the snacks. As a Cincinnati Bengals fan, I’m not really rooting for the Chiefs or 49ers, so food will be my focus for the game. I have a love of dips of just about any kind, but spinach artichoke dip is by far my favorite. It’s creamy and cheesy and the name makes you believe that it might actually be healthy for you. While the vegetables in the dip are great, there’s usually enough mayonnaise, cream cheese, and parmesan cheese to drastically reduce the health benefits. So I set out years ago to try and make a healthier version without the unnecessary (though delicious) cheeses and mayonnaise.
I needed to find something that would create the creamy texture of the dip and tried using a can of butter beans, and wow! It was so delicious that I wondered why I hadn’t seen other people using beans instead of cream cheese or mayonnaise to make spinach artichoke dip. Beans are an incredibly under-utilized ingredient in American cooking, despite being a powerhouse for your health and the planet. Beans are incredibly high in fiber and a great source of potassium, magnesium, copper, iron, and B vitamins and have been found to protect against chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes as a result of these properties. In addition to physical health benefits, beans are also great for the planet; they return nitrogen to the soil, leading to improved soil health and less need for fertilizers. Eric likes to joke that my next career will be as a legume lobbyist for “Big Bean” because I eat beans most days and love to tout the benefits of beans to anyone who will listen.
For this recipe, I used white cannellini beans because my grocery store didn’t have any butter beans, but any white bean works for this recipe. You can also use dried beans and soak and cook them, or use canned; in this case, I was short on time and used a can of beans. For the artichoke hearts, be sure you use artichoke hearts in water and not in oil. This is a great way to use up any extra spinach you have as well; I generally use about half a bag of spinach, which is 2-3 ounces, but you can add as much as you’d like as you go. I personally also like to add some red pepper flakes at the end for a little spice, but feel free to leave those out if you don’t want any spice. I will occasionally add a spoonful or two of yogurt for a little extra creaminess, or you can always add some cheese on the top and bake in the oven to get some of the cheesiness of traditional spinach artichoke dip.
Every time I’ve made this, people have loved it and been surprised when I told them how it was made, so go ahead and add this to your Super Bowl spread and serve with chips, crackers, or crudites!
Recipe: Healthy Spinach Artichoke Dip
Beans are a versatile and incredibly healthy ingredient to use in cooking; they’re high in fiber, protein, and many vitamins and minerals, in addition to providing environmental benefits through healthier soil. They act as a creamy substitution for mayonnaise and cream cheese in this healthier take on traditional spinach artichoke dip.
Ingredients
14 oz can cannellini or butter beans, drained and rinsed
14 oz can artichoke hearts in water, drained
2-3 oz spinach
3-4 cloves garlic
Salt, to taste
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Procedure
Chop garlic; optional step to saute garlic and beans in olive oil on the stove, but not necessary.
Place beans, garlic, artichoke hearts, and spinach in a food processor and puree together until desired consistency of dip is reached.
Add salt and red pepper flakes to taste.
Heat dip in oven or microwave and serve hot with crudites, crackers, or tortilla chips and enjoy!
Preparation Time: 10-15 minutes
