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Beet Dip

Fresh earthy flavor combined with tangy lemon and creamy tahini makes this a flavorful and colorful dip!
A bowl of beet dip is served with jicama, carrot and celery sticks.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Makes: 2 cups
Nutrition Facts: View label

Ingredients

2 cans (14 ounces each) beets, drained and rinsed or 12 (2" round) cooked from fresh
¼ cup lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons cumin
¼ teaspoon each salt and black pepper
2 Tablespoons sesame tahini (optional)

Directions

  1. Wash hands with soap and water.
  2. Rinse or scrub fresh fruits and vegetables under running water before preparing.
  3. In a blender or food processor, combine beets, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper and tahini, if desired. Blend until smooth. For a thinner consistency, add 1 to 2 tablespoons water or beet juice.
  4. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
  5. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Notes

  • Serve with carrot, celery or jicama sticks.
  • Make a chunky version if you don’t have a blender or food processor; mash beets with a potato masher or fork to desired consistency.  Add remaining ingredients and water or beet juice if needed.

Comments

I never have tahini in my pantry, so I opted for the 1 cup cooked garbanzo beans suggestion.  My family preferred a little more cumin and a little more garlic powder when the beans were added. There is more volume and the garbanzos are fairly bland.  I found mashing the garbanzo beans with a fork before adding to the blender made it easier to get a smooth consistancy. I'm eager to serve to others and get their opinions.

I used canned beets, and did add the cumin and tahini. I agree with Erin that the texture could be improved. To improve the recipe, I added 1 cup of garbanzo beans and turned this beet dip into beet hummus. It went over very well with families! What a beautiful color!

The cumin in this recipe is overpowering. I just don't think beets and cumin are a good combo, but perhaps leaving it out and just using the garlic would be a better suggestion, or even adding parsley. Also, canned beets seem to make it quite liquidy, but fresh beets are better. More tahini would make it a better texture by adding a little more creaminess to it. I wouldn't make this again based on the cumin in it, but if left out and more tahini added, it would be better.

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