Onside Dip-Off: Grilled Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip

Week 13 Browns v. Raiders

Going in for the kill

A winning streak? Unheard of!  That's right, the Browns have won 2 in a row for the first time since September of last year.  What a better way to celebrate than posting a recipe from one of my favorite vegan chefs, Cupcake Wars champion and stunning beauty Chloe Coscarelli.

There are plenty of tailgate dips that are "vegetarian" but are often loaded with cheese, sour cream, mayo, cream cheese, yogurt and just about every dairy product under the sun.  If it looks creamy at a tailgate, then it probably isn't vegan.  But who's to say a great creamy dip can't be plant based?  Chef Chloe is not one to mess around veganizing things, so her spinach artichoke dip was a must for the tailgate.

In the standard spinach artichoke dip, the cheesey creaminess presides over the flavor of the vegetables.  The creamy texture here comes from the soft tofu and nutritional yeast, but the garlic, artichokes and spinach stand out. I added a little Daiya cheese on top and bam! It was a winner with everyone at the tailgate.  If I didn't say anything, no one would've known it was plant-based and nearly fat free.  Enjoy!


Ingredients

A bit of olive oil
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
A few hefty shakes of crushed red pepper
5 ounces baby spinach (usually 1 bag)
1 14-ounce package soft tofu, drained
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
2 tablespoons lemon juice (or juice of a half lemon)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
14 ounces of canned artichoke hearts, drained
1/2 cup shredded Daiya cheddar cheese, to top (optional)
Pita chips for serving

Directions

Don't lick the bowl!

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Lightly grease a foil baking dish (you can use a pyrex or anything else if not taking to the tailgate)
3. Heat the bit oil over medium-high heat and saute onion until soft. Add garlic and red pepper and let cook a few more minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add spinach.  Cook until wilted.
4. In a food processor (I used a Cuisinart, but any blender will do), blend tofu, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, basil, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add artichokes and spinach mixture, and pulse about 15 times. Transfer to the foil baking dish.  Top with cheese (optional)
5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned on top. Cover with foil and keep in the fridge until the tailgate.
6. Throw the foil pan on the grill for about 15 minutes.  When it starts to bubble you are ready to go!  Dip with pita chips.

Gotta pre-bake in the oven

Cover this bad boy with foil and keep in the fridge/cooler until the grill is hot

The dip fits right in at a tailgate