A super easy chunky basil & spinach homemade dip that can be whipped up in just five minutes. You need never buy another dip again.
Total Time Investment: 5 Minutes
Go to any supermarket, and you will find a large space in the chilled section dedicated to dips and spreads. The implication being that homemade dips are so time consuming to make that it is far better to just buy them instead. Which couldn’t be further from the truth.
A really good dip can be whipped up in the time it would take to even find a car park at the supermarket, let alone get into the store to grab a container of dip off the shelf. Sure, some homemade dips, like my walnut and lentil dip, take a little time as you need to cook some of the elements first. Not so this chunky spinach and basil dip.
You can whip up this easy homemade dip in less than five minutes with just the flick of a switch. To be honest, the hardest part of putting this chunky dip together is getting the skin off the garlic. And a little tip for you here. I find the best way to peel garlic quickly is to squash the garlic clove with the flat blade of a knife; put the flat blade against the clove of garlic and hit it lightly with the side of your fist. The pressure on the knife will cause the skin of the garlic clove to split, enabling the clove to be extracted quite easily.
I make this in my Thermomix, simply because the bowl is dishwasher safe. I have also quickly whipped it up in my food processor, and I see no reason why you could not also use a hand held blender if your container is big enough.
This tasty homemade dip doubles as a handy spread in our house. It is great on fresh bread with sliced tomatoes, and The Princess has been know to use it as a sandwich filling on occasion. If you find it too thick, add a little more olive oil to thin it out to a dipping consistency.
And as aside, I think any homemade dip is best served with a sturdy cracker. A good solid cracker will hold far more dip than a fragile water cracker, which enables you to scoop up more of the tasty spread. And with a heavily loaded cracker, the whole assembly is less likely to collapse on the way to your mouth. Just me??
I will admit that I have a certain weakness when it comes to this spinach and basil dip. It is so moreish that a fresh batch does not last long in my fridge. Good thing it is so quick to make.
Ingredient Substitutions
The Parmesan cheese in the recipe can be replaced with Pecorino, or any other hard cheese.
The cashews can be replaced with blanched almonds, or if you would like to make a nut-free version then use sunflower seeds.
Try replacing the spinach with rocket or sorrel, and/or the basil with parsley or coriander (cilantro).
Tips For Making The Best Homemade Dip
The trick to making a truly awesome dip is to taste it yourself before serving as it might need a little tweaking to balance the flavours. Once you have blended the dip, remove it to a bowl, and check the seasonings. Gently stir in more lemon juice, olive oil, or salt & pepper as required.
Whilst this basil and spinach dip can be served immediately, any homemade dip will taste better if allowed to rest for a few hours before serving. Resting the dip allows the flavours to mellow and mingle.
Also note that if making the dip in advance, the olive oil in the recipe will cause the dip to thicken in the fridge. Just allow the dip to sit at room temperature for at least 15 – 20 minutes before serving
[bctt tweet=”Never buy #dip again. Make Chunky Basil & #Spinach Dip in under 5 minutes #homemade #easy” username=”thecookspyjamas”]
The dip will last for up to a week in the fridge, but the oil may settle out during this time. This is not an issue. Just stir the dip gently to reincorporate the oil, and again bring it back up to room temperature before serving.
It does not matter if you over process this chunky dip and it ends up quite smooth in texture. The dip will taste just as good, so pretend you meant it to be like that.
5 Minute Super Easy Chunky Spinach & Basil Homemade Dip
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic
- 70 g (1/2 cup) cubed Parmesan cheese
- 100 g (3 1/3 cups) spinach
- 20 g (1 cup) fresh basil leaves
- 100 g (3/4 cup) cashews
- 40 ml (2 Tablespoons) lemon juice
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
- A pinch of nutmeg
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- Place the garlic and the Parmesan cheese into the food processor. Blitz until the cheese is finely grated.
- Add the remaining ingredients in the order listed in the recipe.
- Pulse briefly 3 - 4 times to achieve a chunky consistency. You may need to push the ingredients down between pulses to ensure everything is evenly incorporated.
- Scoop the chunky dip into a bowl.
- Taste the dip, and adjust the seasonings or consistency as required. Gently stir in more lemon juice, salt and peppers, or oil to thin the consistency.
- Whilst the dip can be served immediately, it is best left a few hours after making to allow the flavours to mingle.
- Store in the fridge for up to one week.
Notes
Nutrition
* This post was originally published in March 2014. The current post is a substantial improvement on the original.
Hi Tania, that does sound good. I will pin this one as I like to make all my dips and I like easy ones. I like the sound of using rocket, we have rocket galore here. I see you only replace some of the spinach with rocket. Is all rocket too strong?
Hi Glenda. I like it with all rocket and basil but it is quite strong. If you like rocket, that’s fine. As I mostly make this for The Princess for lunch I usually just use half rocket so I get less complaints 🙂 It is highly forgiving, so if you make it with all rocket and find it too strong just put a small amount back in your food processor and blend in more basil or some spinach. Stir this back through the remainder of the batch, adding a bit more olive oil or lemon if you need to to thin out the consistency.
This is beautiful and you have encouraged me to make this for the fussy one in my house. ill just add it to pasta
Thank you. I never thought to try it on pasta because we have been wolfing it straight but I like that idea. I will have to give it a go.
Hi Tania, is it possible to freeze this?
I haven’t tried to but I see no reason why you couldn’t. I freeze pesto all the time. I would probably freeze a small test batch first and if that works then move to freezing larger batches. Let me know if you try it.