This vegan black bean dip is easy to make and packed with flavor! It’s the perfect appetizer that’s delicious and nutritious while being free from most major allergens. You can make it mild, spicy or somewhere in between.
Enjoy the dip served hot or cold with chips, crackers and veggies. This is also a great spread for sandwiches or wraps!
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Is Black Bean Dip Vegan?
Black bean dip recipes may be vegan, but people commonly use dairy products (sour cream or cheese). You can easily create a delicious, thick bean dip without dairy ingredients.
This recipe packs in flavorful spices, and you can add jalapeno peppers for a spicy option! Feel free to serve with vegan sour cream or mix in vegan cheese shreds. I like to serve with tomato salsa for some extra freshness.
Vegan Black Bean Dip Ingredients
This recipe uses simple ingredients, most of which you likely have on hand! Every ingredient, apart from the black beans, is used for flavor and you can customize them if you want to.
- Black beans: These are the base for the recipe and create a thick, delicious dip. To keep things simple, just drain and rinse some canned beans!
- Avocado oil: Use avocado oil (or any type of cooking oil) to cook the vegetables and spices. Oil adds richness to the recipe and creates a super satisfying dip.
- Onion and garlic: Build flavor in this recipe with onion and garlic.
- Jalapeno peppers (optional): Use these for a spicy black bean dip! You can add as much (or as little) jalapeno peppers as you like.
- Corn and tomato: Some corn and tomato go a long way to add flavor to this recipe. The tomatoes also add moisture which helps to blend the dip.
- Smoked paprika: Smoked paprika is one of my favorite spices and it adds a ton of delicious smokiness to this dip. If you don’t like smoked paprika, you can use a regular or sweet paprika. You could even use a spicy paprika if you like it hot!
- Ground cumin: Along with paprika, cumin adds smokiness and its distinctive flavor to this dip.
- Chili powder: Chili powder, where I live, is a blend of spices that adds a touch of heat and a ton of flavor to any recipe.
- Salt: Enhance all the other flavors with some salt. You can use more (or less) to taste.
- Cilantro: I can’t leave out one of my favorite herbs! Cilantro has a distinct flavor that adds lots of freshness to this recipe. If you don’t like cilantro, leave it out or substitute for another herb that you enjoy.
- Lime juice: Citrus is the perfect way to brighten this recipe. Lime juice adds acid which perfectly balances the strong spices and greatly improves flavor.
How to Make Dairy Free Black Bean Dip
This is an incredibly easy recipe to make. Simply cook a few vegetables with spices, then blend with the beans!
Step 1: Cook the Vegetables
Warm some oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
Add your diced onion and cook for 3-4 minutes. The onion should soften and turn translucent.
Next, add the minced garlic. If you use jalapeno peppers, add them to your pan now. Cook the garlic and jalapeno peppers with onion for about one minute.
Now add the diced tomato, corn and the spices. Cook this mixture until the tomato completely cooks down (until the tomato is complete mush).
Remove the pan from heat and allow your vegetable mixture to cool slightly while you prep the other ingredients.
Step 2: Blend with Black Beans
Drain and rinse away liquid from your canned black beans. Add them to a food processor.
Wash the cilantro and remove any large stems. Don’t worry about smaller cilantro stems as they’ll blend nicely. Roughly chop the cilantro before adding to your food processor.
You’ll also need to juice half a lime and add this juice to the food processor.
Next, add the cooked vegetable and spice mixture to your food processor. Use a spatula to scrape as much as possible from the pan; this is where all the flavor in this recipe is, so do your best to get it all!
Blend the dip until everything is well combined. You’ll need to scrape down the edges of your food processor a few times as you blend. Leave the dip slightly chunky or puree it until it’s completely smooth.
Step 3: Serve
Now you’re ready to serve the dip hot or cold.
Feel free to garnish with any of your favorite toppings, adding even more flavor. Some fun garnish ideas are:
- Extra cilantro
- Chopped tomato
- Roasted corn
- Sprinkle of smoked paprika
- Salsa
- Vegan sour cream
- Vegan cheese shreds
- Diced or sliced jalapeno peppers (pickled jalapenos are great too!)
How to Serve this Recipe as a Balanced Vegan Meal
Black bean dip is best eaten as an appetizer. Serve this before a lunch or dinner and use the main meal to help round out your nutrition.
However, if you’d like to serve this dip as a meal, here’s some things to consider.
The dip is high in protein and carbohydrates from the beans. There’s some fat from the oil, but lots of room to add extra fats. Avocado, guacamole, vegan sour cream or vegan cheese are all tasty ways to add fat to this dip.
As for vegetables, the dip contains some, but as a meal, it may be helpful to add some extra veggies.
How to Store Leftovers
Transfer leftover dip into an airtight container for storage. You can refrigerate it for up to a week. I haven’t yet tested whether you can freeze this dip. It makes a large amount, but you can easily cut the recipe in half if you’re concerned about not getting through it all in a week.
If you make this recipe, please rate and comment below to help others benefit from your experience!
Vegan Black Bean Dip
Equipment
- Medium-sized pan
Ingredients
- 4 ½ cups black beans (2 19 oz cans, drained and rinsed)
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- ¼ cup onion , diced
- 2 cloves garlic , crushed/ finely minced
- 1-2 tablespoons jalapeno peppers , minced (optional)
- ½ cup tomato , diced
- ½ cup corn kernels
- 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup cilantro
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
Instructions
Step 1: Cook the Vegetables
- Warm some oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Once warm, add the diced onion. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the onion softens and turns translucent.2 tablespoons avocado oil, ¼ cup onion
- Next, add the minced garlic. If using, add minced jalapeno pepper. Cook for another minute.2 cloves garlic, 1-2 tablespoons jalapeno peppers
- Add diced tomato, corn and spices (smoked paprika, ground cumin, chili powder and salt).½ cup tomato, ½ cup corn kernels, 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- Cook for another 2-3 minutes, until the tomato cooks down completely (turns to mush).
- Remove the pan from heat and allow to cool while prepping other ingredients.
Step 2: Blend with Black Beans
- Drain and rinse your canned black beans before adding them to a food processor.4 ½ cups black beans
- Wash the cilantro and remove any large stems. Roughly chop it before adding it to the food processor.¼ cup cilantro
- Add lime juice to the food processor.1 tablespoon lime juice
- Add the cooked vegetable and spice mixture to your food processor. Use a spatula to scrape every drop of delicious flavor from the pan!
- Blend your bean dip until everything is well combined, scraping edges of the food processor as needed. You can leave some chunky texture in the dip or blend until completely smooth.
Step 3: Serve
- Now you’re ready to serve the dip hot or cold.
- Optional to top with extra diced tomato, jalapeno peppers, cilantro, salsa, vegan sour cream, roasted corn, a sprinkle of smoked paprika – whatever you like!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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About Nicole Stevens
Nicole is a vegan Registered Dietitian (RD) and founder of Lettuce Veg Out.
She helps people thrive on a vegan diet with balanced recipes and easy-to-understand nutrition science.
Jeannette
Cilantro is one of my favourite herbs and I can never get enough!
So simple and delicious!
Alicia
Super easy and quick to make! It was also really good warmed up with some vegan cheese sprinkled on top, I will definitely be making this again!
Nicole Stevens
Yes it's delicious warmed up! Glad you liked it!!