We truly love a simple dip and streamlining any aspect of our summer cooking is key! The one thing that’s doing great in our garden this year is herbs. They’re all growing like weeds. It’s so nice to step out with a pair of pruners and grab what we need in the warm months. The vibrant green of this edamame dip comes from the edamame beans themselves (obviously!) and a hearty handful of mint, green onions, and jalapeno. This dip is super fresh tasting and just a nice change of pace from our go-to’s that are usually chickpea, cashew or eggplant-based.
Edamame (“stem beans” or “beans on a branch”) are immature soybeans that you may recognize from being served steamed in the pod with a sprinkle of salt in Japanese restaurants. I love that sensation of popping one into your mouth with the salty pod as seasoning. Perfect in its simplicity! The slightly buttery edamame are also a bit sweet, similar to garden/English peas that pop up here in the Spring. Fans of edamame may also love my lentil edamame salad.
Soybeans were originally cultivated in China and the first traceable documentation of “edamame” dates to the year 1275, when the Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren (whose teachings/school branch from Mahayana Buddhism) thanked a parishioner for a gift of edamame that was left at his temple. Many Mahayana schools of Buddhism tend to encourage vegetarianism, but there are shades of opinion and variation on this. I could not find anything authoritative within the context of Nichiren’s own way of life. Some say that he was a dedicated vegetarian, others say that he eventually denounced the lifestyle in favour of a general approach of modesty.
Hope you enjoy this quite untraditional (de-branched, de-shelled and… pulverized!) preparation of beautiful bright green edamame! We grind them up with some smooth nut/seed butter (recommendations in the recipe), loads of fresh mint, jalapeño, garlic, and lime juice. So nice with some fresh cut vegetables and crackers. We love to turn dip into dinner, especially in the summer months when we’re avoiding heat-based cooking as much as possible. Stay cool and vibrant out there :)
Edamame Dip with Jalapeño, Mint and Lime
Ingredients
- 1½ cups shelled, frozen edamame
- ¼ cup mild nut/seed butter (such as tahini, cashew or watermelon seed butter)
- 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded if necessary & chopped
- ½ cup fresh mint leaves
- 2 green onions, chopped
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 2-3 tablespoons ice water, if necessary
Equipment
Notes
- Other soft herbs would taste great in this dip. Think: cilantro, basil, parsley, or a combination.
- I’ve been working with watermelon seed butter lately, which is a new ingredient for me. It swaps in anywhere you would use tahini. Feel free to use tahini here or a mild nut butter like raw cashew.
- If you want to keep this oil-free, you can omit the olive oil! Just use an extra tablespoon of your nut/seed butter of choice.
Instructions
- Place the frozen edamame in a small saucepan and cover with water. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat off and drain the edamame.
- Transfer the edamame to a food processor fitted with the “S” blade. Pulse until the edamame becomes a very chunky puree. To the edamame, add the nut/seed butter, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, jalapeño, mint, green onions, salt, and pepper. Run the motor of the food processor until you have a smooth and thick puree, stopping the machine a couple times to scrape down the sides with a spatula. To get the dip to a more fluid/loose state, drizzle in some ice water through the feed tube, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Check the dip for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Transfer the dip to your serving bowl/platter. Garnish the dip with a drizzle of olive oil, extra mint, extra sliced green onions, and any other toppings you might enjoy. Serve the edamame dip with cut vegetables, crackers, chips etc! Keep the edamame dip in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Just made this for my kids as a snack… they’re demolishing it! just so happened I had everything in the fridge, so whipping this up was a great way to use up some of the mint and green onions that were hanging around. Used tahini and it took the 3tbsp of ice water to smooth everything out. This will be a keeper!
Made this dip the other night – half the recipe with mint, and half with cilantro, and both were delicious! We really enjoyed it as part of our grain bowls. However, seemed to be a dip that needs to be eaten rather quickly (ie within 2 days), vs a hummus that can be in the fridge for a week. But I would definitely make this again with that in mind! Thank you for another delicious, plant focused recipe, Laura!
Wow! This dip is incredible. It is really hot where I live. This dip with fresh veggies and whole wheat French bread hit the spot. Very refreshing!
Just tried the recipe with cilantro in place of mint, which is also excellent!
I made this dip last night for my family and they loved it! It was gone very quickly. A perfect summer recipe, using mint and green onion from the garden. Very unique and super tasty. Thanks so much for sharing, Laura!!
Just wanted to say that I made this dip last night to set out for my expanded pandemic household while continuing to make dinner and it was absolutely delicious. Adult kids were immediate fans and we will all add to our repertoires. Had lovely early summer produce from the garden — radishes, the coolest heirloom purple podded/green pea snap peas, carrots and cucumbers — along with fresh mint and a snagged young jalapeño. Couldn’t have come together easier and been lovelier to behold on the counter as we were gathering and working. I agree with a prior poster that the leftovers may be destined as a spread on a toast accompanying some leftover cauliflower soup for my lunch. That is, unless someone gets to it first! Thanks for your beautiful images, which drew me in, and the tasty outcome, that sealed the deal and gave me a perfect opportunity to share your blog.
It looks so tasty! I look forward to trying it! I really like the taste of mint in dips and spreads. On the subject of vegetarian and Buddhism, I happen to be a practicing Buddhist, but not strict vegetarian. Actually I used to be vegan, and have since changed my view.
In a nutshell it comes down to dedicating the life to changing what is bad not by choosing something outside to be your target – whether the meat and dairy industry or something else – but really beginning with removing the all source of selfishness and wrong inside your own self. Just in case anyone is curious to understand more about a different point of view, I wrote an article about it some time ago for a blog I write about the practice of meditation and Buddhism: https://believeinwhatyousee.com/2018/10/03/why-we-are-not-vegetarian/
I hope by the way I am not offending anyone by posting this comment on a vegan blog!! I’m not wanting to persuade anyone to my point of view, just to offer up a different perspective and maybe some thinking points :) Thank you by the way for your great recipes, I have been reading your blog for several years now and consistently enjoy the food I make from here, as well as your good humour and appreciation of actual potatoes (as opposed to the sweet variety, lol)
Hi Eva!
I so appreciate your comment and perspective here. Looking forward to reading your blog post and learning more. I promise to keep the potato recipes coming ;)
-L
Yum! This would be soo good in a veggie sandwich! Cannot wait to try it!
OMG she’s a beaut. Adding it to my cooking list!
Can this dip be stored in the freezer for a time?
Hi Karen,
I’m really not sure about this as I’ve never frozen a dip before. If I were trying this, I would transfer the dip to a sealable container and pour a thin layer of olive oil covering the entire top surface to preserve the green colour. If you try it, please let us know about your results.
-L