Healthy Easy Bean Dip
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Easy Healthy Bean Dip is the perfect appetizer! Serve it warm or cold – it’s a low calorie, high protein snack that is done in under 30 minutes! Easily made vegan too!
We looooove a good dip in our house. My favorite is probably Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip, with Spinach Artichoke Dip coming in at a close second.
When we had one too many cans of black beans lying around, I thought..hmm… I wonder if I could make a dip with this…and so this Healthy Bean Dip was born!
There’s nothing better than a warm plate of cheesy dip with a biiiig bag of chips, don’t you agree? However, it’s even better when it’s under 215 calories, high in protein (13g), has low amounts of carbs (16g), and fat (11g) compared to other recipes!
Black beans are loaded with protein, fiber, and healthy carbs, making them the perfect base for a healthy snack. This dip is made with just 8 simple ingredients, no cream cheese – instead, we use greek yogurt for creaminess!
liz’s tips for healthy bean dip
- You can assemble this dip ahead of time and keep it in the fridge. When you’re ready to serve, you can bake it per the instructions – just make sure to take it out of the fridge up to 1 hour before you bake to prevent your dish from cracking, going from cold fridge to hot oven. You can also bake this and reheat it!
- Serving a crowd? Double or triple this recipe. This is a small batch of bean dip and only serves 4 people, so make sure to plan accordingly and make more if necessary!
Ingredients
Substitutions
Oil: You can use avocado oil or melted coconut oil in place of olive oil. Melted butter will also work. We don’t recommend skipping the olive oil because it adds richness to the dip
Beans: We prefer black beans in this recipe, but any bean will work! Pinto or kidney would be great. I haven’t tried this with refried beans, but depending on their ingredients you might need be able to omit the olive oil.
Vegan/ Dairy Free: We haven’t tested it but I think you can use dairy free cheese and dairy free yogurt.
Greek Yogurt: We haven’t tested it, but I think you could substitute dairy free greek yogurt or sour cream in place of greek yogurt.
Spices: If your black beans are salted, we recommend omitting the salt. You can adjust the other spices/seasonings to your taste – just taste a little bit of the dip from the food processor before baking.
Buffalo Bean Dip – If you love buffalo – try this Vegetarian Buffalo Dip!
Cheese: Any shredded cheese will work in this recipe. Pepper jack, cheddar, mozzarella, or Monterey jack will all be delicious!
Cilantro: If you don’t like cilantro – just skip it. You do not need it.
Spicy: If you want a spicy black bean dip – add 1 teaspoon chopped jalapeño to the dip before pulsing in the food processor
How to make Healthy Bean Dip:
- Pulse all of your ingredients (except cheese) until smooth.
- You can add water to thin the dip out. You want it to be smooth but not watery.
- Pour your dip into a baking dish.
- Sprinkle with shredded cheese.
- Bake at 450° for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling.
Can you make this in the crockpot?
You really don’t need to dirty your crockpot to make this healthy dip, but if you’d like to you can cook it on low for 2-3 hours in your slow cooker!
What do you serve with black bean dip:
There’s no wrong way to eat this black bean dip.. but here are a few ideas
- Chips – these tortilla chips are yummy!
- Pretzels – (I love these flat ones for dipping!)
- Veggies – Celery, peppers, and carrots go well with this.
- Over taco/taco salad – Use our taco seasoning when making them!
- In a quesadilla
- In a burrito
- A fun drink! Our Skinny Margarita Recipe is a great option!
Should you serve this dip warm or cold? This dip is best when served warm! You can eat it cold, but we wouldn’t recommend it.
Storing
Reheating: To reheat this dip, you can put it in the oven or the microwave. We recommend the oven. 450 for 5-10 minutes should warm it up perfectly. 1-2 minutes in the microwave should also work!
Freezing bean dip: I haven’t tried freezing this bean dip, but I think it would work. I’d recommend storing it in an airtight container.
Refrigerating: This dip will last for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
Other healthy appetizer recipes
Healthy Easy Bean Dip
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1.5 cups cooked black beans, drained & rinsed (15 oz can)
- 1/3 cup non fat greek yogurt
- 1/4 teaspoon salt optional
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro leaves optional
- 1 tablespoon water optional
- 3/4 cup cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450.
- Combine all ingredients except cheese in your food processor or blender until smooth. You can add 1-2 tablespoons of water if you need to to thin the dip out. You don’t want it to be watery, but you do want it to be somewhat smooth.
- Pour the dip into a baking dish – we used an 8.5 x 6.5 dish, but you can use an 8×8 dish. Sprinkle cheese on top of the dip.
- Bake the dip for 15 minutes until the cheese is bubbling. You can broil for 1-2 minutes to really melt the cheese!
I’m not huge on cheese – do you think this would work without it?
No, I wouldn’t recommend making it without the cheese. It’s a main part of the dip and I think it would lack flavor/texture.
Super good
Perfect dip for football Sunday! Super easy and cheesy
I doubled recipe, added 1/2 cup black olive juice, 1/2tsp. Red pepper, 1 cup Mexican cheese mix, should be good. TY!
I love all of your other dips and this is no different! So delicious and literally couldn’t be easier to make! I highly recommend!
So glad you liked it!
This recipe is super yummy and now a regular as are many recipes on this amazing blog! I love how rich and cheesy this dip is. It’s so easy to make and healthy! I enjoy mine with SIete chips or some English cucmbers.
So glad you like it, Monisha! Thank you so much!
This was so good! Will be making it often…so easy!
So happy you liked it, Christine! Thank you!!
So easy and so delicious! Even the kids loved it! It was a great snack for the whole family and healthy too!
So glad you liked it, Jess! Thank you!
So easy and so delicious! This dip takes no time to whip together and makes for a hot and tasty dip. I love that With such fee ingredients I always have the them on hand too!
Thanks, Kristen! So glad you liked it!
Wow, so good and super easy!!
Thanks, Rita! Glad you liked it!
This was awesome! I love how quick and easy it is to throw together. These ingredients (minus the cilantro) are usually things I have on hand so I’ll Definitely be making this more often. Thank you!!!
Thank you so much, Lauren! Glad you liked it!
This is SO good! Super quick and easy, and the perfect compliment to taco salad night 🙂
So glad you liked it, Jessica! It’s perfect with tacos 🙂
Made this for Cinco de Mayo and it was a hit with my family!! Easy to prepare and delicious!!! Liz – I have stuck with your recipes longer than any cook book I have sitting on my shelf. I have a folder full of print outs that I go to all the time! Thanks for all the wonderful recipes – this one is a must!
Thank you so much, Patty!! This makes me so happy to hear. Hopefully some day I will have a cookbook to add to your collection 🙂
Delish! Made this as a Cinco de Mayo treat and it did not disappoint. Flavorful and satisfying, it also was awesome as a lunch leftover in a burrito. Yum, yum!
So glad you liked it! Thanks Monette!
This is the easiest most delicious black bean dip recipe ever! We have tried many a bean dip and this is the best!!! The part I love is that there is zero guilt! It’s a healthy go to.
Thanks, Lisa! SO glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Super delicious and easy! I made two recipes, first with black beans and second with pinto. My husband saw the dish of black bean ready to go in the oven and said “you’d better make more that looks good” so i whipped up another batch – so easy! I think I cooked 3 min too long and would definitely recommend adding the water into the recipe even if you feel it’s too watery… Myself, husband and two girls (9, 10) ate about 3/4 of two servings as main dish with chopped chicken and lettuce on the side. Tortilla chips, sour cream and extra cilantro on the side!
So glad you all enjoyed it, Sharon! Thanks so much!!