Since we have been here in California I have really been getting back to my roots of making all of my own foods, right down to breads and dips, etc. I sometimes hate the extra time to make things I can buy at the store, but the quality is unmatched and the same goes for the health benefits. When you are making your foods from scratch, there are no unknown ingredients, no preservatives or other junk. Just good clean food.
It is hard to remember why you do it, when your life gets busy and the packaged food is glaring at you from the aisles of the store, with “wonderful” health claims like gluten-free, organic, all natural, non-gmo, etc. But remember this doesn’t necessarily mean it doesn’t have strange, unknown ingredients in it, still.
I was craving a snack the other day and didn’t want hummus again, but I wanted something similar but sans bean. This creamy spread is thick, still a tad bit chunky (depending on how long you process), and served best with crackers or fresh vegetables as a dip. It is also great spread on a slice of toast or fresh bread, or added to steamed veggies, pasta, rice, quinoa or other grain. It is perfect in a wrap or on a veggie burger and really nice in place of mayo or mustard on your favorite sandwich or in place of mayo in tuna (or mock tuna) salad.
[print_this]Chipotle Almond Spread / Dip (w/other Favor Variations) – Gluten-free, Vegan
yields just over 1 cup of dip
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup raw organic almonds, soaked overnight* OR 2 cups of leftover almond pulp (without vanilla or sweetener)
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice (from appox 1/2 lemon)
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 3 teaspoons liquid aminos (or soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon ground chipotle (or whatever herb or spice you prefer)
- sea salt, to taste
- 1/4 cup of water (you may or may not need this, and it may be less – you won’t need this if using almond pulp)
Optional add-ins to change the flavor profile:
- Spices like chipotle or smoked paprika.
- Fresh herbs like rosemary, cilantro, mint , basil, etc
- Vegetables like roasted red peppers, sun dried tomatoes, jalapeños
- Try roasting an entire bulb of garlic and adding that.
- The possibilities are endless.
You can really have fun with this dip and make it however you want. Add in whatever you’d like, make combinations. Just make it your own, the base stays the same, you can just tweak the recipe as you see fit. My three favorite flavors personally are chipotle, rosemary and roasted garlic.
Place all ingredients in your food processor and pulse just until chunky. You can either continue blending for a smoother spread, or stop while there are still little chunks of almonds. I like it to where it isn’t totally smooth and creamy and a tad bit of the nuttiness comes through. You may want to drizzle in a little water if it seems like it is too thick or chunky, use your own judgment.
*soaking the almonds is important to making this dip creamy, otherwise you would end up with almond butter if you processed it long enough.
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24 Responses
Yum! Can’t wait to make this. I’d put chipotle on my cereal if I could 🙂 xLinda
What kind of chips are those?
This looks amazing. I never thought to use nuts to make something like this. I cannot wait to try it. I think I will go with some fresh herbs like cilantro or basil. Yum.
Wow what a great idea. I would totally try this on a veggie burger instead of my vegan mayo. Brilliant.
Thanks Janet! It is so great on veggie burgers. Hope you enjoy.
This is going to be a staple in my house. I can already tell. Thanks for sharing.
Great! Hope you like it Victoria.
I’m totally going to try this – but I’m going to try it with my almond pulp! I hate throwing it out every time I make homemade milk. Some goes to our pup, but there’s always lots leftover. I’ll let you know how it goes 🙂
Thanks Beth!
Oooh such a great idea for the pulp. Please let me know how it turns out. I never even thought to do that. Thanks Maggie.
Oooh, you might be in my ‘hood! Where are you in California? This is interesting… your recipe is super close to a sauce sold at the San Diego farmer’s market, called Bitchin’ Sauce. (The guys have fun using the word in every way possible as you pass by… “Have a bitchin’ day!”) It’s major yum. The Fauxmartha re-created it here: http://www.thefauxmartha.com/2012/04/30/bitchin-sauce-chipotle. I am a big fan of the Bitchin’ Bowl… I do it a bit differently than she does, but the concept is the same: rice, beans, veggies. Thin your sauce a little, and you might like it that way, too! 🙂
Hey Jen! We are in Long Beach. Ooh that Bitchin’ Sauce sounds great and I agree definitely fun to say 🙂 I haven’t heard of it. I definitely have to try it thinned like this though, what a great idea. I have seen several versions of almond dips like this, a couple even at the farmers market here. In trying them, I realized this is something I ABSOLUTELY had to be making at home. It was too yummy and too simple not too. Thanks again for the suggestion, I never would have thought to try it thinned.
Awesome! I hope you like it. I haven’t tried making the sauce at home yet, mostly because the buying experience is so fun 😉 I might try swapping 1/2 the grapeseed oil in your recipe for pesto, since they stopped carrying that variety. Enjoy your time in the sunshine state!
Hi! I thought I had tried every healthy dip known to man until I saw this recipe! I love the ingredient list and the almonds as a nice change of pace. I will definitely add this to my “to-make” list. Thanks!
Thanks Karielyn. I hope you enjoy this when you finally make it.
How do you soak almonds? I’ve never done this before but I want to try this recipe! Do you leave them sitting on the counter or can you put them in the fridge while they soak?
Sorry Laurel, that is an excellent question and I should have mentioned that above. I soak my almonds by placing them in a glass bowl, putting enough water in the bowl to cover the nuts by a bit (maybe 1/2 – 1 inch), then cover and soak in the fridge overnight. Then drain and rinse them before using in the recipe. I hope that helps.
Thanks for the guidance! I soaked the almonds two days ago and whirred this up last night. Delicious! Love the little bit of mysterious umami flavor. We’re eating it with fresh spring carrots.
So glad you enjoyed it Laurel. Thanks for sharing!
Gosh, this sounds terrific, and terrifically versatile. We are always looking for/inventing new healthy dips but this is really very original. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Kellie!!
[…] Variations: One of the reasons I love the Chipolte Almond Spread recipe I used is because it is so versatile. However, I have never tried any of the other […]
Hi There!
I need to make a almond spread fast! Do you have to soak the raw almonds?
Thanks!
Paula
[…] a lot of different flavor variations you could make. Check out the original recipe from Beth at Tasty-Yummies.com, she has a lot of gluten-free and dairy-free recipes to […]
Thanks for the recipe. I live in the Vista area, and I am also a fan of the Bitchen’ Sauce. I was looking for a close recipe, and this looks like it. I have everything but the chipotle, so I will try it this weekend.
Joe