Savoury, creamy and addictive, this Butternut Squash and White Bean Dip is the perfect healthy appetizer to add to your Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving menus.
This post was sponsored by Vitamix — Makers of my favourite high-performance blenders! All opinions expressed are my own.
I love this time of the year, there's a refreshing crispness to the air, the trees get all beautifully coloured and the markets are bursting with fresh and local produce that we can transform into delicious meals. And with the holidays quickly approaching there are plenty of occasions to prepare some fabulous food to share with family and friends.
Healthy Bean Dip
This delicious and healthy Butternut Squash and White Bean dip is great for serving as an appetizer or as a side dish. The white kidney beans and the butternut squash are rich in dietary fibre and antioxidants which make this dip good for you! Spices such as cumin, coriander and cayenne help to flavour this dip and make it savoury and delicious.
Jump to:
How to Make it
The best part is this dip couldn't have been any easier or faster to make than in my blender. In very little time, the Vitamix effortlessly blended all of my ingredients into a creamy and ultra-smooth dip.
Here's a picture of the ingredients you'll need and one of the blender in action. Below is an overview of the ingredients and directions for making this butternut squash dip.
Ingredients Overview
- White kidney beans or use the same amount of chickpeas for a butternut squash hummus.
- Butternut squash approx. 950g.
- Tahini
- Lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Garlic
- Ground coriander and cumin
- Sea salt
- Ground black pepper
- Cayenne pepper (optional)
- Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) for topping (optional)
Steps Overview
- Place a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat oven.
- Cut a butternut squash in half (lengthwise). Using a spoon, scoop the seeds out of the squash and discard. You will only need 1/2 of the squash for this recipe.
- Rub the flesh of the butternut squash with a touch of olive oil and sprinkle it with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Place the squash cut side up and bake for approximately 35 to 45 minutes or until the flesh of the squash is easily pierced with the tip of a knife. Remove the squash from the oven and let it cool to room temperature. Once cool, scoop out 1/2 cup of the roasted butternut squash.
- Drain the kidney beans, reserving the liquid as you will need some for thinning the dip.
- In a high powered blender, add all of the dip ingredients and blend on high to purée, thinning with the reserved liquid, a little at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
- If desired, you can garnish the dip with pepitas, a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of smoked paprika or cayenne for some heat.
- Serve the dip with pita chips, vegetables, or crackers.
How to Make Pita Chips
- With a sharp knife cut pita bread into desired chip size.
- Place on a baking sheet and lightly brush chips with extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkle with a bit of paprika and place under the broiler to crisp and colour the pita chips. Watch the chips carefully to avoid burning them!
Here's a video demonstrating how to make this butternut squash dip.
Serving Suggestions
Transfer the dip into a shallow bowl and garnish it with pepitas, a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a pinch of smoked paprika or cayenne for some heat. Serve it with homemade toasted pita chips, veggies and crackers.
Storage Instructions
Store any leftover squash and white bean dip in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
A great thing about this dip is that it's easy to bring along to potluck gatherings so you can share with family and friends.
Enjoy!
More Delicious Dips
Butternut Squash Dip
Ingredients
- 19 oz can white kidney beans or chickpeas 540 ml.
- 1 small to medium butternut squash approx. 950g.
- ⅓ cup tahini
- ¼ cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2-3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil plus 1 tsp. for rubbing onto squash (for roasting)
- 1 clove garlic medium
- ¾ tsp. ground coriander
- ½ tsp. ground cumin
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ½ tsp. freshly ground pepper
- ⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper optional
- 1 tbsp. pepitas for topping optional
For Pita chips:
- 2 pitas
- 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp. smoked paprika
Instructions
- Place a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat oven to 400ºF.
- Cut a butternut squash in half (lengthwise). Using a spoon, scoop the seeds out of the squash and discard. You will only need 1/2 of the squash for this recipe.
- Rub flesh of butternut squash with one teaspoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Place the squash cut side up and bake for approximately 35 to 45 minutes or until the flesh of the squash is easily pierced with the tip of a knife. Remove squash from oven and let cool to room temperature. Once cool, scoop out 1/2 cup of roasted butternut squash.
- Drain kidney beans, reserving the liquid (you will need some of it for thinning the dip).
- In a high powered blender, add the kidney beans, roasted butternut squash, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic clove, coriander, cumin, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper (if using). Blend on high to purée, thinning with the reserved liquid, a little at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
- If desired, garnish the dip with pepitas, a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of smoked paprika.
- Serve the dip with pita chips, vegetables, or crackers.
- To make pita chips:
- With a sharp knife cut pita bread into desired chip size.
- Place on baking sheet and lightly brush chips with extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkle with a bit of paprika and place under the broiler to crisp and colour the pita chips. Watch the chips carefully to avoid burning them!
Notes
**If you don't own a high powered blender, you can also use a food processor to make this dip.
Sabrina
Tuesday 27th of September 2016
This sounds so delicious! Perfect for the season :)
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits
Tuesday 27th of September 2016
Thank you Sabrina, I think so too!
Taylor Stinson
Thursday 22nd of September 2016
This looks absolutely delicious Fida! I love anything butternut squash come fall!
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits
Thursday 22nd of September 2016
I know what you mean, there is so much we can make with butternut squash, I just made a loaf with the remaining squash from this dip and my kids loved it!
Robyn @ Simply Fresh Dinners
Thursday 22nd of September 2016
I love this combination of ingredients, Fida, and can't wait to try it. We are a big family of 'dippers' so this will be a welcome addition to our Thanksgiving feast! Beautiful :)
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits
Thursday 22nd of September 2016
Thanks so much Robyn! This is really a good dip with tons of flavour, your family will love it!
Redawna
Tuesday 20th of September 2016
This looks (and sounds) spectacular! I can not wait to try it.
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits
Thursday 22nd of September 2016
Thanks so much Redawna, I hope you'll find it's a delicious dip!
Jess @ Sweetest Menu
Sunday 18th of September 2016
I simply adore homemade pita chips but with homemade dip too? Gorgeous! Love this!
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits
Thursday 22nd of September 2016
Thanks Jess, homemade pita chips are really perfect with this dip!