Healthy Bean Dip Recipe

Healthy Bean Dip Recipe {with Kombu}

Mmm… bean dip, the perfect satisfying and wholesome party snack. Bring this dish to your next potluck and friends will be licking the bowl clean, blissfully unaware that they’re eating something healthy.

There’s just one caveat I should warn you about, this is a “from scratch” recipe that requires overnight bean soaking. Other than that tiny bit of preparation this is totally easy to make!

Black beans are your friends

Black beans, when properly prepared, are loaded with nutrients like molybdenum, folate, fiber, copper, manganese, vitamin B1, phosphorus, magnesium, protein, and iron. Yeah, it’s a long list. All these things are great for your colon, digestive system, balancing blood sugar, heart health, and even reducing your risk of cancer.

What about the … toot toot?

One of the reasons some people avoid beans is because they can.. um, cause flatulence. But that’s only if they’re not soaked and cooked right! Soaking the beans overnight makes them more gut-friendly and digestible by removing the “anti-nutrients” they naturally contain. That, coupled with the addition of kombu, a seaweed that is also rich in both nutrients and flavor, will help the beans happily flow through your body delivering all the beneficial nutrients without any digestive upset. Yay!

Let’s make some bean dip!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of organic dried black beans
• 2-3 cups of stock, homemade veggie or bone broth are perfect here
• 1 small onion, or 2 shallots, sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 strip of kombu (optional if you can’t find it but really preferred for taste, nutrition, & digestion)
• 1 Tbsp. Butter or ghee
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme
• 1 tsp. sea salt or to taste

Directions:

1. Soak the beans overnight, or for up to 24 hours.
2. When ready to cook, sauté the onion and garlic in butter or ghee with a little sea salt.
3. When the onion/garlic mixture is fragrant and almost caramelized, add the soaked and strained beans for a few minutes, mix.
4. Add 2 cups of stock or broth, then the kombu and thyme.
5. Mix, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium, cover and allow to cook for about 2.5-3 hours, stirring occasionally and adding more stock when the beans look dry. You want to have enough liquid for the beans to be moist and saucy, but not too much in the end.
6. Add salt at the end, mix, taste, make sure the beans are soft and fully cooked.
7. Remove the thyme, but the kombu can stay in.
8. Allow the beans to cool, then pour into a food processor and blend.
9. Refrigerate for a little bit before serving, then serve with scallions or other favorite toppings.