Creamy Almond Dip
When Miles and I came home from our honeymoon we moved into a commune with some of our friends. One of our friends likes to tell people that it was a nudist colony, (which it wasn’t) but I also like that story. We ate a lot of fresh veggies, raised chickens, pressed our own cider, baked a lot of bread, carved overgrown zucchinis as jack o’ lanterns, hung prayer flags all over the house and took a lot of trips to the local co-op.
I loved the co-op there because it had every grain, nut, and spice in bulk. This is where I got familiar with a lot of the foods I cook with today, eating mostly a plant-based diet. Nutritional yeast was one of the ingredients that I loved right off the bat for its cheesy, umami flavor. It is super common in vegan diets because it satisfies the need for something cheesy without being dairy. You can find it in a lot of vegan “cheese sauces” or commonly sprinkled on popcorn. It has a lot of protein in it which is really nice too (2 Tbsp has 9 grams)! You can find it at any big grocery store and at Trader Joe’s.
If you’re looking for a good way to try nutritional yeast, this is a great recipe. Don’t be scared! I know you’ll dig it.
Have fun!
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- juice from 1 lemon
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- water
- Add almonds to a liquid measuring cup and add jut enough water to cover them. Let soak 3 hours.
- When almonds are done soaking, add them (plus the soaking liquid) to a high powered blender. Add remaining ingredients and blend. It should seem a little dry, so add a few Tbsp of water at a time and continue to blend until smooth. (see note)
- Drizzle with olive oil and serve with veggies and crackers. Also good on a sandwich or thinned out a little bit as a dressing!
- I recommend a high powered blender for this recipe like a vitamix. It will give you the smoothest texture! You could try a regular blender and just enjoy the dip at a chunkier consistency.
