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An overhead shot of a vegan appetizer recipe for a pepperoncini and artichoke dip with kale. The dip is surrounded by radicchio leaves, crackers, and pieces of bread.
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Spicy Pepperoncini, Artichoke & Kale Dip

Spicy pepperoncini, artichoke and kale dip is super creamy, crowd-pleasing, dairy-free, vegan, and so delicious. A slight spicy kick brings it over the top.
Course Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine Dairy-free, Gluten-Free, Plant-Based, Vegan, Vegetarian
Diet Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Keyword cashews, fall, fall winter, garlic, holiday entertaining, holidays, kale, lemon, miso, mustard, nutritional yeast, pepperoncini
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 3 cups
Author Laura Wright

Equipment

Ingredients

DIP:

  • ¾ cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours and drained
  • 1 tablespoon light miso
  • ½ teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
  • 6 pepperoncini peppers, stems removed & divided (+ more if you want spicier)
  • sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
  • ¾ cup filtered water
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 12 oz frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups finely chopped fresh kale, packed

TO GARNISH:

Instructions

  • In an upright blender, combine the cashews, miso, lemon zest, lemon juice, Dijon, nutritional yeast, onion powder, 3 of the pepperoncini peppers, salt, pepper, and water. Blend the mixture on high until you have a thick but pourable cream. You should have about 1 ⅔ cups total of liquid. Set aside.
  • Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Chop up the remaining pepperoncini peppers and set aside. Add the oil to the pan and swirl it around. Add the chopped artichokes and pepperoncini peppers to the pan and stir. Sauté vegetables until fragrant and warmed through, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan and sauté until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add the kale to the pan and stir. Keep cooking and stirring until the kale is quite wilted and bright green, about 3-4 minutes.
  • Pour the cashew cream from before into the pan, scraping out every last bit with a rubber spatula. Stir to combine with all of the vegetables. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Once the dip is uniformly hot and seasoned to your liking, transfer it to your serving dish.
  • Serve the spicy pepperoncini, artichoke and kale dip with preferred garnishes and a selection of cut breads, crackers, and vegetables. Enjoy warm!

Notes

  • I prefer the flavour of frozen artichoke hearts over canned! It just seems cleaner to me.
  • I reheated leftovers of this with a generous and indulgent dollop of vegan mayonnaise, and honestly I cannot recommend it more.