Vegan Cashew Dip Recipes - Vegan and Gluten-Free

Party worthy. Crisp fresh veggies and cashew dip.

Go Raw for a Creamy Dip

I've been eating hummus all week. Help. I can't stop. It all started when I whipped up a big batch of my tried and true favorite, a classic chick pea hummus recipe with tahini and lemon (though in full disclosure, I used lime juice instead of lemon). I munched it as a party worthy snack, with retro bunny carrot sticks as we rewatched some Mad Men episodes in anticipation of the coming season this Spring (sophisticated serial television that just keeps getting better and better, does it not?). Mad Men is a show with keen originality, surprises, and rare insights into sexual politics, power, culture, and marriage- not only enlightening those of us who lived through the sixties (I was- er, am- exactly Sally Draper's age, so many aspects of the show are akin to watching home movies), but connecting the dots that birthed our current consumer pop culture, in all its tarnished glitz and narcissistic glory.

Then I nestled dollops of the stuff on warm and comforting bowls of brown rice and stir-fried vegetables (recovering from said cultural insights, and newly minted wife-slash-copyrighter Megan's saucy rendition of Zou Bisou Bisou).

I ate and I ate.

And then there was no more. I was hummus-less. Without hummus. Bereft. An empty fragile goddess sans my favorite vegan protein complement.

So I began to scheme.

I pined for the opportunity to blog another hummus recipe, but I'd already shared not only my classic style hummus, but my irreverent upstart hummus with jalapenos, lime and peanut butter (which apparently, on some vegetarian forum raised an anti-goddess ruckus). Not to mention, my roasted red pepper hummus, perfect for 'Party On' mode (I hear tell there's a Big Game approaching). 

My thoughts did a shuffle play through new and cool possibilities.

And I remembered my raw cashew cream recipe. Why not make it thicker? Why not make it into a hummus style dip? So I did the sensible thing. I soaked some cashews. And guess what?

Raw vegan deliciousness ensued.

Bisou. Bisou.

Fresh, raw vegan candy for body and soul.

This raw cashew hummus style dip is light and creamy.

Raw Cashew Hummus Style Dip Recipe

Originally posted September 2010.

I'm a big fan of hummus in any variety. This particular "hummus" is light and creamy, a lovely dip for those eating raw. I love it as a veggie dip, and as a condiment to lightly stir-fried vegetables and rice.

Ingredients: 

1 cup soaked raw cashews* 

1 tablespoon raw organic tahini (sesame paste) 

Juice from 1 fresh lemon, or to taste 

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

1 teaspoon organic minced garlic 

1/4 teaspoon organic onion powder  

Pinch of sea salt, to taste

Instructions: 

Combine the soaked cashews, raw tahini, lemon juice,  extra virgin olive oil, onion, powder, garlic powder, and sea salt in a Vita-Mix or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. 

If it needs more silky body, add a little more extra virgin olive oil.  If you like a stronger tahini taste, add another tablespoon of tahini. Adjust the seasonings to your liking. 

Note- if your lemon does not yield enough juice, you may need more liquid; use two lemons if you need to. Taste test. 

Store in the fridge- in a covered glass bowl or storage container. The flavors get better as it chills. Chilling the hummus also thickens it. 

Use as a dip for fresh crisp veggies such as carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, zucchini sticks, yellow squash sticks, red pepper strips and broccolini. 

Serves four to six. 

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