This delicious Rich Thai Dip with Broccoli Trees uses an ingenious and nutritious ingredient to make this easy and tasty dip recipe. You can find this recipe and more from Alisa Fleming’s new cookbook, Eat Dairy Free. I received a free copy of Eat Dairy Free to review, all opinions are mine.
Disclaimer: Please check that all ingredients are suitable for your allergies and be sure to ask your medical care team regarding any allergy related questions (I do not share medical advice). As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Credit for this Recipe: This recipe is reprinted with permission from Eat Dairy Free: Your Essential Cookbook for Everyday Meals, Snacks, and Sweets by Alisa Fleming (BenBella Books, 2018). Photo by Nicole Axworthy.
Jump to RecipeRich Thai Dip with Broccoli Trees Recipe
I love to eat veggies as a snack and am always looking for easy ways to encourage healthy snacking. What’s extraordinary about Alisa’s recipe is that she uses sweet potatoes in the recipe! It’s a great example of how she uses nutritious ingredients to make dairy free versions of delicious food. I followed Alisa’s recipe for Rich Thai Dip with Broccoli Trees exactly as written except for the following:
- I used broccoli florets to save time.
- I used roasted sweet potatoes, I baked a whole bag of them for another meal and had a few leftover.
- I used sunflower seed butter, a nut free alternative.
- I used 2 tablespoons of soy sauce as written. I probably would have preferred a tiny bit less (readers who like the way I season my recipes take note, otherwise it’s just right for others who prefer more salt).
- I didn’t have any red chili flakes so I used a squirt of sriracha sauce which is just right for my family.
Alisa Makes It Easy to Eat Dairy Free
I first stumbled upon Alisa’s website, Go Dairy Free, when my son was first diagnosed over 11 years ago and I learned how to keep my child safe and to find additional resources. When she asked me if I would like a copy of her new dairy free cookbook Eat Dairy Free (affiliate) to review, to share a recipe (I picked her Rich Thai Dip with Broccoli Trees) and to host a giveaway, of course I said YES!!
You will LOVE her new Eat Dairy Free: Your Cookbook and Guide for Everyday Meals, Snacks, and Sweets with over 100 Dairy Free and Allergy-Friendly Recipes! If your family is dairy free, this is the perfect book for you.
Eat Dairy Free Highlights:
- The recipes in Eat Dairy Free are ingeniuous, she uses regular foods as dairy-free alternatives and recreates the flavor and texture of milk, cheese, or yogurt. How does one make dairy-free Vegan Quiche and Cheesy Twice Baked Potatoes? The recipes are in the cookbook!
- There are recipes for dairy free beverages and smoothies, breakfast and brunch recipes, snacks, vegetables, American comfort food, Mediterranean and Asian inspired recipes, desserts, and more.
- The recipes are satisfying, nutritious, budget-friendly, and tested and approved by both kids and adults. The book is filled with beautiful photos of food that I want to make and eat.
- Each chapter has a speciality diet reference chart so you can quickly narrow down the recipes that are just right for you.
- Many of the recipes are fully tested with gluten-free and egg-free options and there are many nut-free, soy-free dishes.
- Many of the recipes include notes regarding cooking tips, altitude adjustments, various flavor options, and/or nutritional information about key ingredients.
- Alisa also takes great care to photograph and give specific information about ingredients, such as the different kinds of coconut milk (how it looks like, how it’s used, etc.).
- Readers also have the option to download weekly lifestyle menu plans for busy weekdays, make-ahead meals, and entertaining, with a printable shopping list. Alisa makes living a dairy free life easy.
- If you are a fan of Alisa, you can enter the giveaway below or order her book now (affiliate). Also be on the lookout for an updated 2nd edition version of her book Go Dairy Free, to be released later this year.
Rich Thai Dip with Broccoli Trees from Eat Dairy Free by Alisa Fleming
While I truly enjoy this savory, sweet, and spicy thick dip with steamed broccoli, it also goes nicely with bell pepper strips, baby carrots, snap peas, or blanched cauliflower.
Ingredients
- 3 or 4 broccoli crowns
- 1/2 cup cooked mashed sweet potato see Sweet Potato Tips below
- 6 tablespoons creamy unsalted almond butter use sunflower seed or pumpkin seed butter for nut free
- 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons lime juice or rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons non-GMO soy sauce wheat-free tamari (for gluten free), or coconut aminos (for soy free)
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar or loosely packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon minced or grated fresh ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- Water or unsweetened plain dairy-free milk beverage as needed
Instructions
- Cut the broccoli into stalks and steam for 3 to 5 minutes. For dipping purposes, broccoli stalks that are relatively crisp-tender work best.
- Put the sweet potato, nut butter, 2 tablespoons lime juice or vinegar, soy sauce, sweetener, oil, ginger, and crushed red pepper in your blender or food processor and blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Taste, and if desired, blend in the remaining 1/2 tablespoon lime juice or rice vinegar.
- Serve the dip immediately with the steamed broccoli stalks, or cover and refrigerate it for 1 hour to thicken before serving. If it becomes too thick, whisk in water or milk beverage, 1 teaspoon at a time, to thin.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Recipe Notes
- Sweet Potato Tips: To cook whole sweet potatoes, peel and cut them into 1/2-inch disks, then steam for about 15 minutes. Steaming preserves more of the flavor and nutrients than boiling. For a super-fast dip, you can use canned sweet potato puree. If you don’t have sweet potatoes or sweet potato puree on hand, squash, carrot, or pumpkin puree makes a tasty substitute.
- Credit for this Recipe: This recipe is reprinted with permission from Eat Dairy Free: Your Essential Cookbook for Everyday Meals, Snacks, and Sweets by Alisa Fleming (BenBella Books, 2018). Photo by Nicole Axworthy.
Related Posts:
Vietnamese Dipping Sauce: Nuoc Cham – a clear amber dipping sauce
Nut-Free Vietnamese Dip Recipe for Spring Rolls -also great for eating with spring rolls and cut veggies
Peanut Free Pad Thai That You Can Eat Everyday – serve as a main dish along with the rich Thai dip and broccoli
Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies, Nut-free & Dairy-free – dairy free chocolate chip cookies
Eat Dairy Free Cookbook Giveaway (completed)
I will always appreciate how Alisa’s website helped me as a newbie food allergy mom get a grip on how to live life with food allergies. It’s only fitting that to share your helpful insights, tips, and positive encouragement to help each other. Your best food allergy tips will be your entry to this giveaway of Alisa’s new book, Eat Dairy Free, see entry rules below. If you can’t wait, order the book today via Amazon.
- CONGRATULATIONS KATIE D, she is the winner for the cookbook giveaway!
Thanks for reading, please help Nut Free Wok!
If you like this post or recipe, please be sure to give a 5 star rating, leave a comment, and share this post! Your support means a lot to me.
Subscribe to Nut Free Wok’s email subscription (be sure to respond to the confirmation email). You will be notified by email next time I publish another post or recipe and I won’t send you spam or share your email address with anyone.
Disclosure/Disclaimer:
I may mention the names of stores and/or brand names of products that I use because readers ask and I share products and sources which I use and think may be helpful to readers, all opinions are my own. Please note that manufacturing practices and ingredients can change at anytime without notice and readers are always responsible for assuring allergen safety before buying or consuming foods. NutFreeWok.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Thank you for reading!
Food Allergy Tip: Always carry your medication,if the doctor has prescribed emergency medication for you.
This is the first time I’ve heard of pumpkin seed butter! We can’t use almond butter, or any other nut butters, and I’m the only one who likes sunbutter in this house! I’m on a mission to find pumpkin seed butter now! Yum!
Don’t let food allergies exclude you from an event! Remember that there are friends and family to enjoy and memories to be made! We either bring our own food or eat before/after. Being together with friends and family almost always outweighs not being able to eat the food.
It’s all about mindset. <3
Thank you so much for this Sharon! Such a wonderful review – it really made me smile 🙂
You’re welcome Alisa, congratulations on your new book. You are an amazing lady, thanks so much for all you have done and continue to do all these years.
Use wine vinegar instead of regular (grain-based) vinegar — some people who cannot have gluten due to celiac or rheumatoid arthritis *are* that sensitive that the unbelievably tiny amount left after distilling can cause a reaction! Also serve wine or tequila instead of beer or whiskey to your GF friends ?
Thank you, Cathy! That’s really useful information on how to substitute vinegar so that people with gluten intolerances can enjoy. A vinegar company once told me that they are GF b/c the fermentation process removes the gluten…um, probably not!
I just ordered this book! So excited to read it!
I love this book! I really appreciate how she had budget and easy to access ingredients in mind while writing this book, both of which make managing special diets challenging.
I agree, I think that finding Alisa early on in my food allergy journey had an influence on me to prefer to use budget friendly easy to find ingredients rather than substitutes.
This looks so good and I would love to check out more that she has to offer!
There are so many good recipes and a lot of them are simply brilliant.
Great review Sharon and wonderful choice of recipes to share!!
Thank you, Jane! <3
Always read product labels in the store, at home and again prior to serving.
Check it 3x! And I find it helpful to have another person read the labels too.
Alissa is such an inspiring member of the allergy community and i love her recipes!!
Agree 100%, Alisa is wonderful!