Whipped Almond Dip with Pickled Beets & Sourdough

Believe it or not, this creamy whipped almond dip is entirely vegan, and made with ingredients you already have in your pantry!

A perfect starter or light lunch, we served this whipped almond dip with pickled beets and slices of fresh sourdough bread (but feel free to treat it like you would hummus, paired with fresh vegetables, soft pita, or even crispy chickpeas).

This recipe was inspired by a dish we had in Sydney, Australia this past fall. On our last night there, we randomly found ourselves in an adorable restaurant down the street from our apartment called Dead Ringer.

One dish on the menu that immediately grabbed our attention was an appetizer of creamed almonds with beets and housemade sourdough. I’m a sucker for anything with beets, and so we ordered it not really knowing what exactly ‘creamed almonds’ would be.

Turns out creamed almonds are downright magical. Somehow, without any cream or dairy whatsoever, the almonds whip up into a creamy, fluffy dip with a texture falling somewhere in between hummus and whipped ricotta. With little more than a splash of lemon juice, a glug of olive oil and a garlic clove, it’s surprising just how flavorful this dip is.

In an effort to recreate the original as closely as possible, we topped ours with a drizzle of olive oil, pickled beets, fresh dill and and homemade sourdough.

The pretty pink powder is actually a mix of beet powder and sumac, which gives the dip a tart lemony twist (the beet powder is mainly for looks, so feel free to leave it out, though I’d argue the sumac is not optional since it adds so much flavor).

We realized after the fact that we forgot the black sesame seeds, which would have added another level of visual interest. Next time! (because we will certainly be making this again!)

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