Vegan Onion Dip
Updated July 29, 2020
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
- Total Time
- 45 minutes, plus soaking and chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
1 cup raw cashews (about 4 ounces)
3 cups chopped yellow onions (from 2 medium onions)
¼ cup olive oil
Kosher salt and coarse black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained (about 1 cup)
4 teaspoons lemon juice, plus more as needed
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
Chopped chives, for garnish (optional)
Potato chips or crudités, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)
39 grams carbs; 377 calories; 13 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 21 grams fat; 8 grams fiber; 376 milligrams sodium; 13 grams protein; 5 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Add the cashews to a bowl and cover with water. Let the cashews soak at room temperature for 2 hours.
- Step 2
About 45 minutes before the cashews are finished soaking, combine the chopped onions, olive oil and a pinch of salt in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until they are deep golden brown and caramelized, about 30 minutes. To prevent the onions from burning and sticking to the bottom of the skillet, you can add a splash of water, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed. Let caramelized onions cool slightly.
- Step 3
Drain the cashews and add them to the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender with the beans and ½ cup water. Blend the mixture until smooth, about 5 minutes, stopping the mixer and scraping down the bowl occasionally.
- Step 4
Add the lemon juice, vinegar, onion powder, paprika and ½ teaspoon salt, and blend again until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Reserve about 1 tablespoon onions for garnish, then add the rest to the bowl. Fold the onions into the mixture, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight. (Overnight is ideal for the best flavor.)
- Step 5
Just before serving, give the dip a good stir and adjust the seasoning with lemon juice and salt as desired. Top with the reserved onions and chives, if desired, and a few grinds of black pepper. Serve with potato chips or crudités. Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Private Notes
Comments
Immediately upon mixing the remaining ingredients: "okay, this is...okay." After letting it sit in the fridge for an hour: "...oh my god, this is amazing." Totally worth the wait.
Onion powder gives you concentrated onion flavor - especially sweetness and savoriness - without the added moisture. Recipes often call for onion powder because adding the equivalent of fresh onions would add too much moisture, diluting the taste and changing the texture into something more watery.
Debby, I’m not a vegan, just a good home cook. Like you, I prefer fresh vegetables. But I also adore both onion and garlic powders and I use them often, sometimes in addition to fresh onion or garlic and sometimes alone. If you like the flavor of onion and garlic, you can really amp up the flavor in your cooking using these powders. They are especially good in dips and dressings where you don’t want to add additional moisture. Happy cooking!
I found this bland first time round, so this time I - added 1/4 cup+ nutritional yeast - more lemon juice, onion powder, paprika, salt - added a little cayenne + garlic powder Much better!
I followed the recipe closely. It was creamy but it was NOT dreamy. Barely edible IMO.
Waaayyy better the longer it sat. Really good 👍🏽