This creamy white bean dip is an easy and versatile recipe you can make in a blender or food processor in 10 minutes.

It’s excellent as an appetizer or snack with veggie sticks, warm pita bread, or pita chips, but it’s also delicious as a spread in a sandwich, wrap, or crunchy crostini.

Our white bean dip recipe is luxurious, creamy, wholesome, and delicious. Bring it to your next potluck, barbecue, or game night!

White bean dip with pita and a hand

Dietary Note: This recipe is suitable for a vegetarian and gluten-free diet. Make it vegan with dairy-free yogurt.

Don’t have time to read the full blog post? JUMP TO RECIPE HERE!

What is white bean dip?

White bean dip served on crostini

Our creamy white bean dip is a dip or spread similar to hummus but made with white beans instead of chickpeas.

Our recipe yields an ultra-creamy, smooth, and light dip.

Here, we’ll share all the tips and secrets to making the creamiest and tastiest dip.

Similar recipes: roasted red pepper hummus, avocado spread, lentil hummus.

White bean dip in a bowl with scallions and a silver spoon

Ingredients for white bean dip

Ingredients for white bean dip

Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

White beans

You can use canned white beans or dry white beans that you previously soaked for 8 hours and cooked for 1 to 2 hours or until tender.

Any white bean type works, such as cannellini beans, navy beans, great northern beans, or Lima beans.

We use cannellini beans. Here’s our guide on how to cook white beans, should you need it.

White bean water (aquafaba)

White bean water, or aquafaba, is the liquid found in a can of white beans or the leftover liquid from cooking dry beans at home.

Adding some liquid to your white bean dip recipe makes it more creamy, flavorful, and airy.

We learned this trick from some of the best hummus makers, and we can’t recommend it enough.

Tahini

Tahini adds a rich, velvety texture and creamy consistency to the dip. It also has a beautiful nutty flavor.

We recommend using tahini made from 100% hulled sesame seeds, light in color and with a pourable consistency for best results.

Avoid dark, gritty, and pasty tahini, as it’s often bitter.

Greek yogurt

Thick Greek-style yogurt adds richness and makes the dip more luxurious.

You can use 0% or fat-free Greek yogurt or a fatter one; that’s up to you.

For vegans: Substitute a Greek-style non-dairy yogurt. We tried a soy-based one, and it worked wonderfully.

Lemon

Freshly squeezed lemon juice adds freshness and citrusy notes.

Olive oil

A good quality extra virgin olive oil improves the texture and flavor of the dip.

Garlic (optional)

Garlic is optional. We recommend against adding multiple garlic cloves as the raw garlic flavor intensifies as the bean dip sits in the fridge.

Cumin (optional)

Cumin is optional.

Salt and pepper

Choose sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper to make the dip spicy.

Garnish

  • Extra virgin olive oil.
  • Chopped herbs like fresh parsley, dill, fresh rosemary, chives, green onions, etc.
  • Grated lemon zest (optional).
white bean dip with homemade rosemary focaccia

How to make a creamy white bean dip

US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Add the white bean liquid (aquafaba), drained white beans, fresh lemon juice, garlic (if using), salt, and black pepper to a food processor.

cannellini beans with salt in a food processor

Blend for 3 minutes.

White beans after blending in a food processor

Add tahini, Greek yogurt, and cumin (if using).

Blend for 2 minutes.

tahini and Greek yogurt with white beans in a food processor

Now add the olive oil and, if necessary, some water to reach your desired consistency.

Blend for 2 more minutes.

White bean dip with olive oil in a food processor

Taste and adjust for salt before transferring to a serving bowl with fresh herbs.

White bean dip in a Mediterranean bowl with scallions and dill

Serving suggestions

This white bean dip recipe is perfect for appetizers, snacks, picnics and potlucks, barbeques, and game nights.

White bean dip in a bowl and hand holding a focaccia

Serve it as a dip

Serve white bean dip with:

White bean dip on crostini bread and colorful vegetables

Or serve it as a spread

Bean dip sandwich with avocado

Or as pasta sauce

Cook the pasta al dente and toss it with a generous dollop of white bean dip.

Add some whole white beans for extra texture, plenty of parsley, and a drizzle of high-quality olive oil.

In less than 15 minutes, you’ll have a quick, wholesome, and delicious family dinner on the table.

bean dip pasta

Variations

White bean dip with red beet

bean dip variations with red beet

You can easily vary this bean dip by following the same recipe and adding one ready-to-eat peeled and cooked red beet.

Other vegetables that you can easily add are:

Storage & Make Ahead

Make ahead: White bean dip is an excellent recipe for meal prep. It keeps well for days and is easy to store. You can make it beforehand and bring it to picnics, potlucks, and barbecues.

Refrigerator: Keek the dip in an airtight container in the fridge for three days.

Freezer: We don’t recommend freezing this recipe.

White bean dip and hand with a pita chip

Tips

Use soft white beans: Sometimes, canned white beans can be as hard as a bullet, which is not ideal when making a creamy white bean dip recipe. If that’s the case with your beans, we recommend boiling them in their canning liquid for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender.

Don’t forget the bean liquid or aquafaba: That’s the liquid in a can of beans (or the liquid leftover from cooking your dry beans). The best hummus makers use it to make dips that are light, fluffy, and packed with flavor. It works beautifully in this recipe, so don’t forget to add some.

Cook your beans: To cook your dry white beans, soak them first in plenty of water for 12 hours or overnight.

Rinse them and add them to a large pot, cover with water by about 5 inches (12 cm), add a teaspoon of baking soda, and simmer until very tender (about 1 to 2 hours, depending on the size and age of the beans). Add two teaspoons of salt 30 minutes after they start boiling.

White beans after cooking on a white plate with a spoon

More white bean recipes

More dips and spreads

Are you looking for a quick snack idea or inspiration for an appetizer board? These dip recipes are easy to make and with few ingredients:

White bean dip with female hand holding a pita

White Bean Dip

By: Nico Pallotta
5 from 5 votes
This creamy white bean dip is an easy and versatile recipe you can make in a blender or food processor in 5 minutes.
Our white bean dip recipe is luxurious, creamy, wholesome, and delicious. Bring it to your next potluck, barbecue, or game night!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Course: Appetizer, Side dish, Snack
Cuisine: American, Mediterranean

Equipment

  • Food processor or standing blender

Ingredients

  • 2 cans (15 ounces each) white beans or 3 cups cooked white beans / you can use Navy beans, Cannellini, Lima, or Great Northern beans
  • ¼ cup aquafaba the liquid in a can or the cooking liquid of white beans / substitute water
  • ½ cup fat-free Greek yogurt substitute non-dairy Greek-style yogurt
  • ¼ cup tahini from 100% hulled sesame seeds, light in color, and of pourable consistency
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon salt + 2 twists black pepper
  • 1 clove garlic optional
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin optional
  • 1 pinch dill substitute parsley, chives, spring onions

Instructions 

  • To a food processor, add ¼ cup aquafaba, 2 cans (15 ounces each) white beans (drained), 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 clove garlic (if using), ½ teaspoon salt, and 2 twists black pepper.
    Blend for 3 minutes.
    cannellini beans with salt in a food processor
  • Add ½ cup fat-free Greek yogurt, ¼ cup tahini, and ¼ teaspoon cumin (if using).
    Blend for 2 minutes.
    white bean dip in a food processor
  • Add 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, and, if necessary add more water to reach your desired consistency.
    Blend for 2 more minutes, then taste and adjust for salt before serving in a bowl with 1 pinch dill or other fresh herbs.
    White bean dip in a Mediterranean bowl with scallions and dill

Notes

Nutrition information is an estimate for 1 large serving of white bean dip out of 4 servings.
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Nutrition

Calories: 275kcal, Carbohydrates: 30g, Protein: 14g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 1mg, Sodium: 306mg, Potassium: 664mg, Dietary Fiber: 7g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 32IU, Vitamin B6: 0.1mg, Vitamin C: 4mg, Vitamin E: 1mg, Vitamin K: 6µg, Calcium: 141mg, Folate: 96µg, Iron: 4mg, Manganese: 1mg, Magnesium: 80mg, Zinc: 2mg
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Nico and Louise in the kitchen

Hi! We are Nico & Louise

Welcome to The Plant-Based School, a food blog with easy, tasty, and wholesome recipes.

Our aim is to help you and your family eat more veggies through delicious recipes with simple ingredients.

Easy right?

5 from 5 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




4 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Just made this quick and easy recipe for lunch. We put it on homemade bread and added microgreens, tomatoes and spinach. Yum. Thank you

    1. Fantastic, Teale – that sounds like a delicious (and beautiful!) lunch idea. Well done!

      Thank you so much for your feedback. All the best,
      Louise

  2. I love your recipes and am wondering what you would suggest I use instead of tahini ( allergies here !). Many thanks ! I can’t wait to continue to follow and make your recipes !

    1. Hi Jan, thanks so much for your kind comment! Tell me, what kind of foods are you trying to avoid?
      When we’re out of tahini, we’ve used these:
      – Greek yogurt (or vegan greek yogurt)
      – Other nut butters (cashew butter or sunflower seed butter)
      If you use yogurt, you might wanna add extra lemon juice for an added tangy flavor.
      I hope this helps. Let me know.
      Kindest, Louise