Super Yummy Vegan Appetizer

I made this amazing layered dip from Alicia Silverstone’s book ‘The Kind Diet’, over the weekend to take to my parents for a get-together and it was a hit!

 

The recipe suggest you bake it in the oven but I served it cold and it was deeelish….besides I am not a huge fan of warm avocados. I also used light regular sour cream as my local grocery store did not have to dairy alternative kind.

 

You can choose to go full tilt with this dish and be complete vegan or twist it up a bit and be ‘veganish’, either way its all good!

 

• 1 can (16 ounces) refried beans
• 3 large avocados
• 3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 2 containers (8 ounces) nondairy sour cream
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1/2 cup diced mild green chiles , drained (optional)
• 1/2 cup sliced black olives , or more if you like
• 5 tomatoes , chopped
• 2 cups shredded vegan cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread a layer of refried beans in the bottom of an 8×8 quart glass baking dish. Pit and peel the avocados, and place in a bowl. Mash the avocados together with the lime juice, and spread on top of the refried beans. Stir together the sour cream and taco seasoning, and spread over the avocado.

Sprinkle the chiles over the sour cream, and top with a layer of black olives. Add the tomatoes and sprinkle with the cheese. Heat the dip for 15 to 30 minutes or until heated through and the cheese is a bit melted.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note: We use Bearitos organic taco seasoning, but it does contain a touch of cane sugar. If you’re avoiding all white sugar, make your own by combining chili powder, ground cumin, onion powder, hot paprika or cayenne, and salt.

Variation:

For chips, there are some pretty healthy baked organic tortilla chips on the market, but you can also make your own by cutting up Ezekiel sprouted grain tortillas and baking them in the oven until crisp or dry-roasting them in a frying pan.

Enjoy!