Creamy White Bean & Broccoli Dip
PIN IT!Sometimes, you just make something that is so good…it’s stupid. Where you are literally laughing at yourself while you eat it because it’s freaking delicious and all you can think to call it is “stupid.” A recipe that makes your educated vocabulary and years of work as a journalist disappear and you type like a cave man. “DIP GOOD. MUST EAT. UGGA UGGA UGGA.” Folks, this creamy white bean & broccoli dip is one of those recipes.
Caveman linguistics aside, this dip was made for skinny Super Bowl eating. It’s creamy, thick and full of amazing flavors like cilantro, lime, toasted pine nuts and pepper. It’s a symphony in your mouth. And the best part ever? It has only 5 grams of fat per 1/4 cup serving! Which trust me, you won’t have any trouble consuming.
To give this dip even more depth (and a bigger punch to the gut of healthy things), I added a head of roasted broccoli, chopped up little carrots and some garlic. Can we talk about how much I love little carrots? Not to be confused with baby carrots, these are like…teenager carrots. Young adults. Old enough to sneak out of the house with boys they met online and then kiss said boys in their old Dodge Durango. Old enough to sneak out of their best friends house, go visit a boy and get violently ill on Dutch brown liqueur. Totally rebellious young adult carrots, wouldn’t you say?
If you don’t want carrots, don’t use them. This dip is really customizable and you can add whatever veggies you love. However, I highly recommend NOT omitting the cilantro. It adds such an amazing flavor to the dip that you just can’t get with any other herb. Unless you are one of those people who literally accosts your face if you ask them if they want cilantro. “ARE YOU KIDDING ME? CILANTRO? I CAN’T AND WILL NEVER EAT IT.” If you are one of those people, here’s some advice. Calm down, it’s just an herb. And you can sub out something else, no need to rip my face off.
This dip totally trumps any weird quesos or chunky white “vegetable” dips you can buy at the store. Plus, it’s super healthy, really easy and so good you’ll want to stick one of those swirly straws in it and suck away.
Creamy White Bean & Broccoli Dip
Yields about 2 1/2 cups, serves about 10.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 can (15 ounces) white canneloni beans, drained
- 1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3/4 cup chopped carrots
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 ounces low-fat cream cheese
- Salt and pepper
- About 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- Juice from one lime
- About 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- About 2 tablespoons water*
*Add water if mixture is too thick. Totally optional.
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a baking dish liberally with nonstick cooking spray. Add broccoli, carrots and garlic to the pan. Liberally season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 10 – 12 minutes, or until nicely browned. Remove from pan and place into a food processor. Add white beans, cream cheese, olive oil, cilantro, lime juice and salt and pepper. Pulse on low until mixture is thick and smooth. Add water if too thick.
- In a skillet over medium heat, toast pine nuts for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Garnish the dip with pine nuts and additional cilantro and enjoy!
Nutritional information per 1/4 cup:
Calories: 114
Fat: 5 grams
Carbohydrates: 11.7 grams
Fiber: 2.75 grams
Protein: 4.9 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 3
(b) I want to dive into that bowl of dip. For real.
Nails are good too!