This White Bean Dip topped with caramelised onions is made combining cannellini beans, garlic, olive oil, tahini, and lemon juice. It's so simple and is one of my boyfriend's favorite dips I've ever made, so I hope you love it!
The cannellini white bean dip is a hit on its own, but topping it with the caramelised harissa onions takes it to the next level. I love serving it with tortilla chips, toast, or pitta.
If you're looking to pair this recipe with another dip, check out my popular bruschetta dip and while you're at it, why not make my 2 ingredient bread bites as the dipper!!
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Ingredients and Substitutions
Cannellini beans: this is one of my favourite white beans to use for this dip. Other white beans include butter beans or haricot beans.
Garlic: we want to use fresh garlic for this recipe.
Olive oil: good quality olive oil provides a lovely nutty freshness.
Tahini: aka sesame paste, you want to get a good quality tahini. It shouldn't be bitter, but a smooth nutty flavour. Make sure to give it a good mix before using. If you don't have tahini, you could either use sesame paste, or simply omit it.
Lemon juice: fresh lemon juice to bring out some acidity in our white bean dip. You could alternatively use ½ teaspoon of white wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar.
Onions: white onions or brown onions for our topping.
Harissa paste: this spicy paste adds a lovely flavour to our cannellini dip and goes well with the earthiness of the dip. Alternatively you could use tomato paste for a milder option, or gochujang for an Asian-inspired alternative.
Honey: this is to add a bit of sweetness to the caramelised onions. You could swap this out for agave, sugar, or maple syrup.
The full list of ingredients and measurements is at the bottom of this blog, just scroll down to find the recipe card!
Step by Step Instructions with Photos
Step 1: Place the drained cannellini beans, garlic, olive oil, tahini, salt, lemon juice and ground black pepper in a blender. Blend until smooth. Taste and season according to your preferences.
Step 2: Meanwhile, place a pan or skillet on medium heat and drizzle with vegetable oil. Add in the onions and fry for 10 minutes until softened.
Step 3: Add the harissa and honey into the onion pan and stir to combine. Fry for a further 5 minutes until caramelised and aromatic. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 4: Dish up the white bean dip and then top with the caramelised onions and a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy with pitta, chips, or sliced vegetables.
FAQs
In this recipe, we're using cannellini beans. But you could use haricot beans, butter beans, or even chickpeas.
No, we use honey in the caramelised onions. But to make it vegan, simply swap out the honey for some brown sugar.
I love serving it with pitta, my 2-ingredient bread bites, crisps, or carrot sticks. It also goes really well on toast.
If you tried this White Bean Dip or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thank you!
White Bean Dip (my boyfriend's favorite)
Equipment
- 1 blender
Ingredients
For the white bean dip
- 400 g cannellini beans drained (the full weight of the beans including the bean juice should be around 570g)
- 1 garlic clove large (or two small cloves)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1 teaspoon flaky salt
- ½ lemon juiced
- 10 grinds black pepper
For the topping
- 1 white onion halved and thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoon harissa paste
- 1 teaspoon honey
Instructions
- Place the drained cannellini beans (white beans), garlic, olive oil, tahini, salt, lemon juice and ground black pepper in a blender. Blend until smooth. Taste and season according to your preferences with more salt, pepper or lemon.
- Meanwhile, place a pan or skillet on medium heat and drizzle with vegetable oil. Add in the onions and fry for 10 minutes until softened.
- Add the harissa and honey into the onion pan and stir to combine. Fry for a further 5 minutes until caramelised and aromatic. Season with salt and pepper.
- Dish up the white bean dip and then top with the caramelised onions and a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy with pitta, chips, or sliced vegetables.
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