I don't always make white beans avocado dip. Although I very frequently make Avocado & Greek Yogurt Dip! It's roughly a cross between hummus and guacamole, but works with a wider variety of dishes and lasts infinitely longer in the refrigerator than anything with avocados in it tends to! As much as I like to toss fresh avocados on everything, they have about a 24 hour period of being perfectly ripe. Anything outside of that single day window? And that avocado is too hard to cut into or has turned brown and mushy! I particularly don't like the kind of stringiness that the Hass avocados that we typically find in the continental United States get. Although that might be a personal problem!
Regardless of the reason, avocados are finicky. And I absolutely know that I cannot rely on my ability to pick and eat perfectly ripe avocados in a timely manner. So, the only way to eat avocados absolutely every day of the year? Means that I must make something with avocados that is less persnickety.
Avocado Dip
What I I to do is to make avocado dip. Guacamole is a good option, but we all know that it still browns rather quickly and, while it's great with Mexican and Latin American food, it's less of an everyday dish. I have a similar feeling about hummus. Absolutely delicious with Greek, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean-inspired food, but not quite something that I want every day.
Combining the two together, though? Is one of my favorite things in the world. It consists of avocados, Greek yogurt, tahini (or other types of nuts), freshly squeezed lime juice, olive oil, and a dash of salt and pepper. Every now and then I toss in Spinach, Dill, or Hot Peppers. Although I've been thinking about making a a white bean hummus variation. I adore white bean hummus and, since hummus is an obvious inspiration in this dip, it would likely make a good vegan substitute for Greek yogurt!
And I'm incredibly glad that I did. This White Bean Avocado Dip is truly the best thing that I've made this season. I ate an entire loaf of bread with it this weekend.
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Can cats eat lima beans? Esmérelda certainly decided that she wanted to try! And, while yes, cats can consume lima beans, they're not exactly the type of nutrients that cats are looking for. So, while it probably shouldn't be a part of their everyday diet, don't be worried if they steal a bean or two.
Variations of Dip w/ White Beans
I feel like I forget that white beans make a great dip sometimes. It's easy to think about making refried beans or some kind of pinto and black bean dip. Although, white beans ordinarily cook in a fraction of the time and have a much smoother consistency. They're great in avocado dips, hummus, or mixed and matched with other bright and summery flavor profiles.
1lbs.baby lima beans~2 cups (or white bean of choice)
3avocados
3clovesgarlic
2lemonsjuiced
1c.walnuts
2tbsp.olive oil
dashsalt
dashpepper
Instructions
Prepare Ingredients
Cook the white beans. This takes about 2-3 hours if you don't soak them ahead of time. This can be cut down to 1½-2 hours if you soak them overnight. The beans just get blended into the dip, so either option is fine depending on how much effort you want to put in!Canned beans are also fine as long as you drain and rinse them. The consistency will be a little bit grittier, but this recipe also combines in walnuts. So, the texture isn't as big a deal as it would be for something more like hummus where I would absolutely not recommend canned chickpeas!
Purée Dip
Add all of the ingredients to a food processor. Process for 2 minutes, or until smooth. Make sure to scrape the sides occasionally.
Serve chilled. It's perfectly fine at room temperature and can be served immediately in a pinch. Although I would recommend refrigerating for about an hour.Avocado dip is also a great meal to make ahead of time and keeps without discoloration for about a week. Garlic, lemon juice, salt, and olive oil all serve as natural preservatives. So, while avocados tend to go bad rather quickly, the natural browning and spoiling process is vastly reduced in this recipe. It keeps incredibly well.
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
For more tips and tricks for what avocado is, how to make it, and what other ingredients are fun to play around with, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Avocado & Greek Yogurt Dip. It's essentially a mix between hummus and guacamole, but is easier to make, lasts longer, and goes with a wider variety of dishes. It's one of my favorite things to make for potlucks or just on a lazy summer day.
As a general rule, I don't like to edit images. Food styling, editing, alteration, and even faking entirely is just as rampant a problem in the recipe realm. Cooking is a very visual art and you can tell when a lot of foods are cooked based on the color. So, when this is altered and you can't use the coloration as a gauge, it makes it quite difficult to follow some recipes. I have an entire article about Food Styling and Unrealistic Expectations of Recipes. My place has very warm lighting, though. So, sometimes my camera overcompensates and ends up with an unnatural hues. I've adjusted the hues, levels, and/or cropped the following images:
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