Seriously, who doesn’t love a dip?!
I’m obsessed with female owned nut milk brand Three Trees. When I worked with them last year I fell in love with their incredible, creamy milks and instantly knew it would make the perfect base for a plant based dip. I’m also going to recommend some of my favorite tortilla chips from Xochitl for their ratio of thinness to dip-carrying-capacity.
Yes, this is a plant based “queso-style” dip and I put that in quotations in case you’re someone who does not believe in veganizing: I would hate for you to miss out on this dip for that reason. It’s just a great dip trying to be great! Made with simple plants and lots of flavor, we start by roasting the sweet potato and sautéing onions. This may seem like an extra step but don’t skip it, please. The name of the game to great food is LAYERING FLAVOR. When we roast and sauté our ingredients, we impart them with flavor before we’ve even blended and seasoned our dip. You can do this up to 2 days in advance, and then blend up later. Come over and make the recipe with me here!
Plant Based Roasted Sweet Potato Queso-Style Dip with Caramelized Onions
Serves 6-8
2 x medium sweet potatoes, 1 lb total
1 medium yellow or Spanish onion
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 small white onion
1/2 tsp cayennne powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 cups Three Trees original almond milk
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
4 Tbsps white wine or apple cider vinegar
2 tsp chipotle Cholula, and more for serving
Fresh cilantro
1 lime
Kosher salt
Coconut oil
Olive oil
OPTIONAL: 1.5 tsps corn starch for thickening
Xochitl Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
Preheat oven to 380F degrees.
Peel and cut sweet potatoes into rounds. Add to a mixing bowl with 1.5 Tbsp coconut oil and a sprinkle of kosher salt. Toss to evenly coat.
Lay sweet potatoes on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 30 mins or until golden on both sides, flipping halfway through. When finished, cut rounds down loosely into quarters for easier blending.
In the meantime, let’s make caramelized onions: take your medium yellow or Spanish onion and remove the top and bottom root end so that it’s flat on both ends. Peel off outer skin. Cut onion in half, top to bottom, and then slice into thin, half moons. Add all the onions to a large pan with a splash of olive oil. Cook 15-20 mins over low heat, stirring frequently. If the pan gets dry, add a splash of water and mix. If the onions are cooking too fast and burning, turn the heat down.
When the onions are significantly cooked down, add 1 Tbsp butter to the pan and continue to cook over low heat until they are a deep golden color. Add a sprinkle of kosher salt. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a pot with a splash of olive oil, sauté 1 cup of loosely diced white onion. After a few minutes when the onion has started to soften, add a sprinkle of salt and 1/2 tsp cayenne, cumin powder, smoked paprika and chili powder. Mix and cook together another minute or so.
Then remove from the heat and add sweet potato pieces to the pot along with 2 cups Three Trees almond milk. Blend using a food processor, immersion or standard blender until smooth.
Taste and add a touch more salt if it needs. Also add 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast, 4 Tbsps white wine or apple cider vinegar and 2 tsp chipotle Cholula. Once all blended, place back in the pot and bring to a simmer, mixing frequently so you don’t burn the dip on the bottom of the pan. Once it’s bubbling, add a slurry to the pot to thicken - 1.5 tsps corn starch with 2 tsps water. The heat will activate the starch, thickening the dip, so continue to cook and mix for a minute or two after adding.
Remove from the heat and let cool a few minutes. Top with plenty of fresh cilantro, juice of half a lime, and all of the caramelized onions. You can even add another splash Cholula if you like. Live your best dip life!