Name: Vegan Kale Artichoke Dip
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients: 1 small yellow or white onion, diced; 4-5 cloves garlic, minced; 8 ounces firm tofu, drained (see note 1 for substitutions); ½ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk of choice; Juice of 1 medium lemon (about 4 tablespoons juice); ¾ cup nutritional yeast (see note 2); 1 teaspoon dried basil; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1 - 1 ¼ teaspoons sea salt; 2 packed cups kale, stems removed, chopped (or use spinach); 12-13 ounces (340 grams) artichoke hearts, drained (see note 3); ¼ cup vegan cheese for topping, optional (see note 4)

Creamy, cheesy, and surprisingly healthy, this Vegan Kale Artichoke Dip is absolutely delicious and super easy to make. This baked dip is super full of flavor and great to serve at a party or as a casual snack or appetizer.

Skip to the Recipe!

Hey Internet, so I’ve had this vegan kale artichoke dip on my blog FOREVER and I decided it needed a makeover. It is already delicious, but I hope these new photos (PLUS A VIDEO!) help show how tasty this dip really is.

I’ve seen some recipes out there for spinach artichoke dip… and that’s cool, you can use spinach here too… but I’m always looking for great ways to make kale more palatable.

Why? Spinach is really good for you. But KALE has different nutrients and it’s good to get a variety of those micronutrients in.

Kale is also a cruciferous vegetable which has all kinds of cool health benefits.

I always like to get extra kale and challenge myself to a few more salads during the week to eat it all up (ah, the life of a food blogger. Great on the taste buds, not on the waistline).

I also feel like the kale has just a little bit more texture than the spinach when it wilts, making this dip that much more chunky and delicious.

Anyway, this vegan artichoke dip is pretty amazing. It’s great hot or cold, but I prefer it straight from the oven, bubbling and gooey.

It’s also really darn easy to make, doesn’t have any pesky cashews (so expensive!) and will delight any guests you serve it to. The last time I made this my husband left me about an eighth of it.

I highly recommend serving it with tortilla chips or toasted french bread slices. It’d also be great with crackers.

You can serve it right from the skillet or baking dish, or spoon it into a bowl and feature it on a vegan charcuterie board.

Let’s hop into this easy vegan recipe.

What You’ll Need

Fresh onion and garlic: I highly recommend sauteing fresh onion and garlic for this recipe as it adds a lot of flavor, but if you’re short on time or ingredients, skip the sauteing part and use onion powder and garlic powder in the blending step.
Firm tofu: This is the creamy low fat base of our dip. You can substitute equal parts white beans, soaked raw cashews, soaked raw sunflower seeds, or store-bought vegan cream cheese. Any of the alternatives (except the white beans) will result in a richer taste so keep that in mind if you would prefer a more decadent vegan kale artichoke dip.
Non-dairy milk: Use any you like, but make sure to buy unsweetened and unflavored (it’s sometimes called “Original” as opposed to vanilla or something like that that would not be suitable in this recipe). Broth or water can work in a pinch but non-dairy milk is better.
Lemon juice: The juice of a medium lemon--fresh is best.
Nutritional yeast: It doesn’t have a super strong flavor in this recipe, but if you don’t like it or don’t have it, I’d omit it, use a little bit of onion and garlic powder (even if you’re using fresh onion and garlic) and reduce the amount of non-dairy milk as much as possible (only use enough to get the mixture to blend) as the nutritional yeast does thicken the mixture as well as flavor it.
Dried herbs: I used basil and oregano to flavor this recipe a bit. Feel free to switch it up and use thyme or chives or whatever you like.
Sea salt: If using table salt, use half the amount of sea salt that’s called for in this recipe.
Kale: I used 2 packed cups of fresh kale here, which was about ½ a bunch. Remove the stems and either compost them or reuse them. I save some in my fridge to give to my dog--she loves them. I often chop up the rest and add to a stir fry. You can substitute fresh spinach (baby or adult) if you’d like. You can use frozen spinach or kale, but defrost it and squeeze out all the excess water in a strainer first or your dip will be watery.
Artichoke hearts: I highly recommend using marinated artichoke hearts if you aren’t oil-free. I usually use canned artichoke hearts in brine for this recipe as I prefer not to eat oil, but my store was out of them when I made this most recently and I had to get the marinated and herbed kind in the jar that does have a bit of oil. And my goodness, they were so good! They added extra garlic and seasoning to the recipe so I highly recommend it. I discarded most of the oil/liquid mixture that they came in, though I could see using it to saute the onions and garlic or saving it to use on salad or pasta. If you are using artichoke hearts packed in just brine, you may want to add a little more herbs to the mixture.
Optional, vegan cheese for topping: I like to top the dip with a little bit of vegan mozzarella cheese (a light sprinkle), but this is optional. You could also use vegan parmesan cheese. If you prefer not to use processed vegan cheese, you could use breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast, or my plant based vegan parmesan topping that takes only 2 minutes to make. Or don’t add anything on top and it will still be delicious.

How to Make Vegan Kale Artichoke Dip

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (218 degrees Celsius) and grease a 10” oven-safe skillet (I use an enameled cast iron skillet) or 8-9" baking dish. I’ve also made this in my 8” square baker and it works just as well, but I noticed that the cast iron does give it a nice crust around the edges and bottom (and is easier to clean).
Start by sauteing your onions in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. If you’re cool with oil, add a little neutral oil to the pan first -- or use some of the oil mixture from the jar of artichoke hearts (if you’re using marinated artichoke hearts). Saute for 3-4 minutes, until translucent.
Add the garlic and saute a minute more.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let it cool for a moment.
In a food processor or blender, add the tofu, non-dairy milk, lemon juice, cooked onions and garlic, nutritional yeast, dried herbs, and sea salt. Blend until very smooth.
Add in the chopped kale or spinach and the drained artichoke hearts. Pulse a few times until lightly chopped up but don’t over blend. We want this mixture to be chunky!
Transfer the mixture to your greased baking dish. If you’d like, top it with a sprinkle of vegan cheese, breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast, or my vegan parmesan topping if you prefer homemade.
Bake for 20-30 minutes until the mixture is bubbling and lightly golden brown.
Let cool for a moment and enjoy! I like to serve this with tortilla chips, toasted sliced bread, and a few veggie sticks.
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

More Great Vegan Appetizers

Anything Else?

As always, I hope you love this recipe--I know I do, and Mr. Zardyplants does too. He told me the other night after we filmed this, as he was eating ⅞ of the pan, that I really knocked it out of the park on this one.

This vegan kale artichoke dip is:

Creamy
Cheesy
Gooey yet chunky
Savory
Lush
Cozy
Satisfying
Perfect for serving to guests
And oh so delicious!

Let me know in the comments below if you make this recipe or tag me @Zardyplants on Instagram so I can see your beautiful recreations! If you tag me on IG, I will share your post in my stories :)

Also, one quick request: if you love how this recipe looks or tastes, please leave me a 5-star rating and a nice comment–ratings help more people find my recipes which helps me keep providing them! Thank you!

<3 Liz

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