Easy Beet and Feta Dip
This Easy Beet and Feta Dip comes together so easily to form a dish that not only tastes fresh and delicious, but also captivates the eyes with its stunning bright color. With just a few simple ingredients and five minutes, you can have a healthy delicious snack that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
I love using white beans in dips. This Basil Tomato and White Bean Dip is a staple in my household.
This dip takes simple pantry ingredients and makes something you can’t find at any grocery store. A taste and color that will both be unique.
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Ingredients
- Cannellini beans: You can also use Great Northern beans. They are creamy and mild-flavored white beans, providing a smooth neutral base for the dip.
- Fresh feta: I always go for fresh feta packaged in water, not the pre-crumbled variety. This cheese adds a tangy and salty kick to enhance the overall richness. We put the feta in the dip, and drizzle some extra on top.
- Beets: Beets give the vibrant color, with earthy root undertones, contributing both color and a subtly sweet flavor to the dip.
- Chives: Fresh and mild onion-like herbs, lending a delicate onion flavor and a pop of green.
- Garlic: Roasted for a nice umami flavor.
- Lemon: Just a little bit of lemon juice to add some brightness and acidity.
- Salt: Essential seasoning to heighten and balance the flavors in the dip.
See recipe card for quantities.
What Beets should I use?
For the vibrant magenta color, use red beets. You can use other colored beets too, but the color will change significantly.
Pre-Cooked Beets: You can buy pre-cooked beets and use this in your recipe without any issue. The color will be more pinkish, but you will save a lot of time!
Beets Cooked at Home: This will yield the most vibrant magenta color. Cook your red beets in the oven at 400F. Just cut off the top, brush with olive oil, wrap in foil, and cook for about 50-60 minutes or until the beet is soft. Allow to cool, then peel off the skin. Cut into 4 pieces before adding to your food processor.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Prepare a small baking sheet.
- Prep the beet – Scrub the beet clean and trim the ends. Place it on a piece of foil, drizzle with olive oil, and wrap it up so it’s fully sealed.
- Prep the garlic – Slice about ¼ inch off the top of the head to expose the cloves. Set it on foil, drizzle generously with olive oil, letting it soak into the exposed cloves, sprinkle with salt, and wrap into a pouch so it’s fully sealed.
- Roast and Cool – Place both foil packets on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Roast for 40–50 minutes, until the garlic is soft and golden and the beet is fork-tender. Let cool for at least 10 minutes. Unwrap the beet and rub off the skin (it should slide right off), then roughly chop into 4 pieces. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins (you can squeeze this right into the food processor).
- Blend the dip – Add the roasted beet, roasted garlic, a can of drained white beans, feta, a handful of herbs (chives, basil, or dill), a big squeeze of lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper to a food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as needed. Taste and adjust with more lemon, salt, or olive oil until it’s bright and balanced. Serve with more crumbled feta on top or chopped herbs, with warm pita, crackers, or veggies.
Substitutions and Variations
This dip is so simple that substituting or modifying the ingredient will change the flavor profile. But, that’s not necessarily a bad thing if based on your taste! Here are some ideas.
- Herbs – Feel free to play around with the herbs here. I went with the simple chive, but adding fresh dill would be a lovely addition!
- Beans – I love the creamy, mellow nature of white cannellini beans in a dip. Chickpeas would be a perfect replacement based on availability or preference!
The two ingredients I would NOT substitute are this recipe’s namesake: the beet and feta cheese.
Storage
You can store this Beet and Feta dip for up to a week in an airtight container in the fridge.
Top tips
Pre-Cool the ingredients
One of the best parts about this dip is how easy you can make it on the fly, with a few pantry ingredients. I suggest leaving the can of cannellini white beans and cooked beets in the fridge at least 6 hours in advance so that the dip is nice and cold right away.
Use fresh feta from the Brine
I always use fresh feta in my recipes. What is fresh feta? It’s the type that is stored as a block, in a bed of water. As you use the feta, you can cut of the desired amount and crumble into your recipe. I do not recommend the pre-crumbled feta as I find it has a stale flavor.
Other dips I love!
These are my favorite dips:
Beet and Feta Dip
Ingredients
- 1 red beet
- 1 head garlic
- 1 can cannellini beans rinsed and drained
- ½ cup feta plus more for garnish
- ½ lemon juiced
- 2 tablespoon diced chives, basil, or dill plus more for garnish
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- crackers for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400℉. Prepare a small baking sheet.
- Prep the beet – Scrub the beet clean and trim the ends. Place it on a piece of foil, drizzle with olive oil, and wrap it up so it’s fully sealed.
- Prep the garlic – Slice about ¼ inch off the top of the head to expose the cloves. Set it on foil, drizzle generously with olive oil, letting it soak into the exposed cloves, sprinkle with salt, and wrap into a pouch so it's fully sealed.
- Roast and Cool – Place both foil packets on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Roast for 40–50 minutes, until the garlic is soft and golden and the beet is fork-tender. Let cool for at least 10 minutes. Unwrap the beet and rub off the skin (it should slide right off), then roughly chop into 4 pieces. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins (you can squeeze this right into the food processor).
- Blend the dip – Add the roasted beet, roasted garlic, a can of drained white beans, feta, a handful of herbs (chives, basil, or dill), a big squeeze of lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper to a food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as needed. Taste and adjust with more lemon, salt, or olive oil until it’s bright and balanced. Serve with more crumbled feta on top or chopped herbs, with warm pita, crackers, or veggies.
I made this for a spread and thought no one but me would eat it, but there was none left! Will be making again its healthy too!