One of my favorite things about vegan cooking is how it challenges me to explore new textures and flavors to recreate popular dishes. Case in point? Hearts of palm. I’d never even heard of these prior to going vegan and now they are a staple in my pantry for their mild flavor and seafood-like texture.
I’ve previously used hearts of palm to make “Shrimp” Scampi and it was phenomenal. You can find that recipe here. But this time, I wanted to take advantage of the hearts’ “shreddability” to create a vegan crab substitute for this crab dip!
I’m really impressed with how this dish turned out and I can’t wait for you to try it too. It’s perfect cold or hot, in sandwiches or salads, or literally just by the spoonful. (Trust me, I had several spoonfuls while testing the recipe)
Vegan & Gluten-Free Crab Dip
Ingredients
- 1 14 oz can sustainably sourced hearts of palm, drained
- 3/4 cup raw cashews
- 1/4 cup vegan mayo
- 1/2 cup unsweetened nondairy milk
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 4 sheets dried seaweed
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup roasted red peppers, diced
- 1/4 cup green bell pepper, diced
- 1/4 cup onion, diced
Instructions
- Using a fork or your hands, gently shred the hearts of palm until they resemble shredded lump crab.
- Pour boiling water over cashews and let stand for 10 - 15 minutes, until cashews are soft. Drain out the water.
- Run the dried seaweed under cold water to rehydrate it.
- Add soaked cashews, mayo, milk, vinegar, nutritional yeast, rehydrated seaweed, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper into a high-speed blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy, scraping the sides of the blender or processor as needed.
- Transfer the dip into a large bowl and add roasted red peppers, green peppers, and onion. Mix with a spoon until combined.
- Finally fold in the shredded hearts of palm.
- Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. Serve cold or warm.
