This vegan French onion dip is as creamy and satisfying as any dairy-based dip you will find. Now I know what some of you may be thinking. Bad vegan substitutes for traditional dairy-based recipes are a one-way ticket to bitter disappointment. But this dip is the real deal. Promise! You want to know the secret to its rich and decadent texture?
It’s my eggplant-cashew base. Yep! Eggplant plus cashews. That’s it. The dip can be made in advance, which makes it perfect for parties. Serve it with a gorgeous platter of crudités.
It also happens to make a equally satisfying healthy lunchtime meal or snack. I love to keep this dip in the fridge with some raw veggies so that I have something I feel good about eating whenever the mood strikes.
- 1 large eggplant, weighing around 1 ½ pounds
- ¾ cup raw cashews
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large yellow onions, sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- juice of one lemon
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- As soon as you start preheating your oven, place the cashews in a bowl with enough water to cover them. Cover the bowl and set aside. The cashews need to soak for two hours. If they soak a bit longer, it’s okay but soaking for an extended period of time will thin out the dip.
- When your oven has reached 450, put the whole eggplant uncovered in a baking dish. Don’t prick it with a fork.*
- Bake for approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour. Your eggplant is done with a fork slides in easily to the center.
- Remove the baking dish from the oven and cover loosely until cool enough to handle.
- Cut the top off of the eggplant. Remove the skin of the eggplant and discard. Make sure that you retain any liquid that has seeped out of the eggplant; do not discard that liquid.
- When the cashews are just about done soaking, preheat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the onions and the bay leaves to the skillet. Stir the onions frequently and cook them down until they are caramelized. Do not be tempted to crank up the heat. You will burn the onions.
- When the onions are a nice caramel color, add the garlic and cook for a minute more.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Add the apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and cayenne and teaspoon of salt. Scrape the brown bits off of the sides and bottom of the pan to incorporate them with your onions.
- Remove the bay leaves from the skillet and discard.
- Set the onion mixture aside.
- Place your eggplant, together with any liquid from the eggplant that seeped out, in a high speed blender. Puree until smooth.
- Remove the cashews from the soaking liquid and place them in the blender together with the eggplant. Discard the soaking liquid.
- Pulse until the cashews and eggplant start to come together, scraping down the sides of the blender and redistributing the mixture as necessary.
- Blend the mixture at a high speed until smooth and creamy.
- Add the onion mixture to your blender. Pulse until the dip comes together but don’t over-blend. You should still be able to see small bits of onion in your dip.
- Spoon the dip into a bowl and transfer to the refrigerator to chill.
- When the dip is chilled, it's ready to serve!
- Makes a large bowl of dip. Excellent with crudités.
- * The eggplant will normally retain its shape but if it pops a bit and deflates, it's fine. Simply retain the liquid that seeped out and transfer it to your blender with the eggplant.
- Serves 8 to 10
