Party Favorites: Easy White Bean Dip Recipe

Mom’s easy white bean dip recipe is a family favorite. With just a few ingredients, it’s ready in a flash and goes great with crunchy vegetables & crackers. This post is part of the Entertaining with Town House at Target #WaysToWow #ad hosted by #CollectiveBias and its advertiser. All opinions are my own.

Christmas is right around the corner and my kids are just bursting with excitement. Between trying to find out where the Elf on the Shelf will hide next, making any last minute requests for Santa, and begging us to make their favorite holiday recipes, our kids are bouncing off the walls. Their excitement is incredibly contagious and even in my most frazzled “Oh my God, there’s just SO much left to do!” moments, their happy conversations snap me right out of any grumpy moods that might be sneaking in.

To be honest, it’s really, really hard not to get sucked into their endless enthusiasm. I think that’s why I love Christmas. It’s all about family, togetherness, kindness and anticipation. We often use the weeks leading up to Christmas to spend lots of time together as a family. We go on more nature walks, we watch movies, we go to holiday light shows…and during our time together, we talk about all that we have to be thankful for each day.

So yesterday morning, when the kids bounced out of bed asking me if it was time for their sleepover yet, I knew they were up to something. You see, every year we host an annual sleepover with our kids, our niece and our nephew, and we have a Gingerbread House Making Contest. Each kid gets to design whatever they want and we make all sorts of wacky houses. Last year, my nephew made an awesome zoo, my niece and daughter made beautiful blitzed out princess houses, and my son made a really cool pirate ship. The event always falls right around my sister and brother-in-law’s wedding anniversary, so they get to have a Date Night and we get to gorge on kid food. (In my opinion, everyone wins!)

So as they stood in my room (instead of getting ready for school), they started pleading with me to let them build a “test” Gingerbread house after school. Apparently, they had both come up with new ideas for this year’s contest, but they weren’t sure if they would like them when they were finished. I wasn’t really in the mood to destroy my freshly cleaned kitchen, but their enthusiasm won me over, so I agreed.

I wasn’t fully prepared to do this, so I ran out to Target while they were at school and picked up some items for them to work with. Since they were going to be making them right after school, I didn’t want them loading up on candy, so I got them some Town House crackers, yogurt covered raisins, semi-sweet chocolate chips, icing, and some cool little reindeer graham crackers. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with their “test runs”, but we spent the afternoon building houses, and as always, I was impressed (and amused) by their creativity.

While they were busy decorating their houses, they asked me to make them a snack. My kids love Town House crackers and once they saw them in the house, I knew they were going to ant me to make a dip for them. I happened to find a can of white Cannellini beans in the pantry, so that meant one thing: Mom’s White Bean Dip! It’s really easy to whip up and is pretty healthy too. My kids don’t like anything too spicy, too garlicky, too anything – and Mom’s recipe suits their tastes perfectly. I like to eat it with pita chips, but the kids devour it with Town House crackers.

We had a great time hanging out, listening to Christmas music, and snarfing down dip. Does it get any better than that? But what about you? I’d love to hear about your family’s traditions? Do you make gingerbread houses? Do you have a family recipe that you love? Leave us a comment below and let us know a bit more about you!

EASY WHITE BEAN DIP RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 (15-ounce) can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (Great northern or white navy beans work too.)
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon parsley paste (1 tablespoon fresh parsley or 2 tablespoons dried parsley also works.)
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Salt, pepper to taste
Black sesame seeds for garnish

Directions:

Step 1: Place the beans, garlic, lemon juice, 1/3 cup olive oil, parsley, paprika in a food processor or blender. Pulse until the ingredients make a thick paste. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the bean puree to a small bowl and garnish with black sesame seeds. Serve with Town House crackers or pita chips.

#WaysToWow #CollectiveBias

Happy Holidays,

Denine

P.S. Click here to find more great recipes and holiday entertaining ideas with Town House.