I had been thinking about how chick peas and black beans tend to be the beans of choice for making dips and spreads, but I happened to have an abundance of red kidney beans. I thought, “Why not try making a dip with that instead? How different could it be?” I decided to lean into its red colour and combine it with roast tomatoes, basil, and a bit of feta, then used balsamic vinegar for the acid to complement them. This worked brilliantly giving birth to my own creative new dip for the cook who wants to use their kidney beans for something other than chili.
Carb-Up Roast Tomato Kidney Bean Feta Dip Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 medium tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Freshly ground black pepper, dried oregano, and kosher salt to taste
- One 15 oz can kidney beans, drained (*Or 1½ cups cooked kidney beans.)
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 oz feta, crumbled (*For vegan, sub with vegan feta or an extra tablespoon nutritional yeast for vegan.), saving some for garnishing
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (*Red wine vinegar also works if you don't have it.)
- 10-12 large leaves fresh basil, slicing a couple for garnishing
- Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
- Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
- Fine sea salt, to taste
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400F. Slice the tomatoes into ½-inch slices and place them in a large, oiled (or silicon) baking dish in a single layer. Sprinkle each with garlic powder, black pepper, oregano, and salt.
Roast in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until tomatoes are cooked, but not burning. Remove from oven.
Add roasted tomatoes, minced garlic, kidney beans, vinegar, nutritional yeast, olive oil, and feta to a food processor or high-powdered blender. Blend well. Add the basil leaves, and season with salt and pepper to taste, and pulse to combine. Pour into a bowl and top with remaining feta, sliced basil and chili flakes (if desired). Put in the fridge to chill at least 30 minutes. Serve with cut veggies, paleo crackers or bread for dipping. It also makes an awesome sandwich spread.
Did you make this carb-up roast tomato kidney bean feta dip recipe? If so, please let me know how it goes in the comments. Or if you share pics of your creations on Instagram, please tag me so I can see them. Enjoy! :)
