Spinach and Artichoke Dip (dairy-free and paleo

This dairy-free, paleo-friendly spinach and artichoke dip is creamy, flavorful, easy-to-make and sure to be a crowd favorite. This past week the weather has been absolutely frigid. Now, I know I’m a baby when it comes to cold weather, but 30 degree temps in SoCal is pretty darn cold I think for anyone’s standards. My parent’s house, while only an hour northeast of Los Angeles is at a much higher elevation, which makes a huge difference. I mean, we’ve even had snow this week. Snow…in LA County! So I’ve had to make a few emergency trips to my brother’s in Orange County to defrost in the much more “normal” 70 degree weather. When it’s this cold outside, all I do is dream of warm-weather destinations. And right now, I’ve got Portugal on the brain. Wanna know why? ‘Cause I’m going to Portugal in May!! I’m ridiculously excited as it’ll be a new country for me. The impetus for my trip is to attend a 4-day food photography workshop hosted by Marta and Sanda – two stellar food photographers who I totally admire. In the last 6 months (since learning to shoot RAW) I’ve become absolutely smitten with food photography and want to learn, absorb and soak-up every ounce of wisdom from those way more “pro” than me. But let’s be honest, eating good food and drinking wine in the Portuguese countryside with a group of fun, like-minded people…yeah, that was the clincher. I’ll be doing healthy travel research for Portugal over the next couple of months, but if you have any tips, to-do’s or must-see’s…let me know! I may even stay longer and toodle around the country for a while (where “may” = 95% likely). You know me and slow travel. This trip also means I need to get better at the whole recipe development planning thing – and soon. Other food bloggers have content calendars weeks (if not months) in advance – knowing exactly what recipes they’re going to post and when. Me, I whip stuff up as the mood strikes. And when new holidays or events pop up, I think “doh” as I’m already weeks behind when I should’ve posted something. Case in point: Super Bowl. Ooops. But yesterday I made this recipe and I think all will be forgiven once you taste it. Because it’s crazy good. I wasn’t sure if a dairy-free version of a spinach and artichoke dip was possible…but when it came out creamy, garlicky, and well, perfect on the first attempt, you know you’ve got a winner. My mom, who isn’t dairy-free even thought it was the bomb. So how does it get creamy? Soaked cashews and mayonnaise which turn into the most luscious, creamy mixture. This recipe makes quite a bit of dip – 4 cups worth – but you always need a ton for a Super Bowl party, right? And if you have too much, freeze half and save it for the following week (though I highly doubt you’ll do that as you’ll want to inhale it). I’m not 100% dairy-free (I consider myself dairy-light) – so I decided to add a little bit of goat cheese to half the batch. And I’m not gonna lie – it’s divine! If you do eat small amounts of dairy, I highly recommend the goat cheese. But either way, it’s unbelieveably good…especially with my herbed cassava tortilla chips. Enjoy! Spinach and Artichoke Dip (dairy-free and paleo)   Print Prep time 15 mins Cook time 20 mins Total time 35 mins   Author: Lisa Bryan - Downshiftology.com Serves: 4 cups INGREDIENTS 1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight 1 recipe mayonnaise (or 1¼ cups) ¼ cup water 16 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained 1 (13.5 ounce) can artichoke hearts, chopped and drained ⅓ cup onions, finely chopped 4 garlic cloves, minced ½ tsp salt ½ tsp pepper Optional 4 ounces goat cheese (or 2 ounces for half-batch) INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Add the cashews, mayonnaise and water to a food processor. Blend for 1-2 minutes, until creamy. Use a spatula to transfer the cashew mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add all remaining ingredients and stir together. Transfer the dip to an oven-proof dish and bake for 20 minutes. Serve with herbed cassava tortilla chips, cucumber slices or other vegetables. 3.5.3208 Other recipes you might like: Herbed Chevre, Spinach and Smoked Salmon Pinwheels Pulled Pork Street Tacos with Cassava Flour Tortillas Prosciutto-Wrapped Sweet Potatoes with Maple Balsamic Glaze ENJOY THIS ARTICLE? SHARE IT!FacebookTwitterPinterestYummlyGoogle+Stumble