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Luscious Eggplant Dip with Walnuts, Lemon, Tahini & Yogurt

5 from 4 reader reviews
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 1.5 Cups
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Ingredients

Dip Ingredients

  • 1 medium-large eggplant
  • ¼ cup walnut halves, toasted
  • ¼ cup tahini
  • ⅓ cup thick non-dairy yogurt of choice (I used Anita’s coconut yogurt)
  • 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
  • ½ teaspoon ground Aleppo pepper
  • sea salt & ground black pepper, to taste

To Garnish

  • finely grated lemon zest
  • extra Aleppo pepper
  • extra chopped walnuts
  • chopped parsley
  • olive oil

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
  • Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and place both halves face down on the baking sheet. Bake eggplant until quite soft and wrinkly on the exterior, about 45 minutes. Remove eggplant and let cool slightly.
  • In a food processor, pulse the walnuts until they are finely ground. To the food processor, add the tahini, yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, garlic, chili, salt, and pepper. Scoop the soft flesh out of the cooled eggplant and transfer it to the food processor as well.
  • Run the food processor motor until you have a smooth and luscious dip, scraping the sides down if necessary. Adjust the dip for seasoning if necessary.
  • Serve the dip at room temperature with cut vegetables, pita chips, crackers, olives etc!

Equipment

Recipe Notes

  • I use Anita’s coconut milk-based yogurt (plain, unsweetened). It’s my plant-based yogurt of choice, but feel free to use whichever brand you like.
  • For my omnivores that may be making this with dairy-based yogurt: start with only 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and see how you like it. Dairy yogurt tends to be tangier, and you can always add more lemon later.
  • This dip is naturally oil-free if you omit the little swoop of olive oil as a garnish.
  • This dip is best at room temperature. It keeps in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 5 days.
  • To make this nut-free, I would replace the walnuts with the same amount of toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
This eggplant dip is rich and flavourful with toasted walnuts, tahini, lemon, and coconut milk yogurt. Naturally vegan and delicious! The inspiration point for this dip and the eggplant preparation is baba ganoush.