This 7 Layer Vegan Bean Dip has a layer of homemade creamy refried beans, vegan cheese sauce, guacamole, and it’s topped with all your favorites! It’s a huge hit at parties and gatherings, but also makes a tasty meal for the family to dig into!
This week I found myself with an abundance of homemade pinto beans! First I made vegan refried beans, and my family went crazy for the recipe!
Since I still had a bunch of pinto beans to use, I thought why not make a 7 layer dip! It’s an easy vegan appetizer you can prepare in no time!
I made another batch, but this time I layered it with my vegan cheese sauce, a simple guacamole, and then topped it with diced onions, tomato, cilantro, black olives, and a few jalapeño peppers!
As I was making this recipe my husband and kids came into the kitchen multiple times trying to get a taste, but they have learned having a mom who’s a food blogger means they have to wait until I’ve taken my photos!
My son was eager to be my hand model! That’s his little hand digging into this dip! But being a hand model also meant he got to have a little taste before I finished my shoot!
You would have thought I had been slaving over this recipe all day from my husband and kids anticipation (this is actually a really quick and easy recipe). When I put it in the middle of the kitchen counter with a bowl full of whole grain chips they pounced!
It was a big time winner and they have already asked when mom’s bean dip is coming back into the rotation again!
This recipe is a combination of three of my popular recipes with some added toppings. I’ve simplified the guacamole layer, and given some additional time saving options if needed.
Why You’ll Love this 7 Layer Vegan Bean Dip…
- All whole food plant-based ingredients
- A layer of creamy refried beans
- Topped with a homemade vegan cashew cheese sauce
- And a quick and easy guacamole
- With a simple pico de gallo
- It’s perfect for parties, BBQs, and picnics
- Nutritious guilt-free ingredients
- Omnivore and kid approved
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Vegan refried beans-Use canned or make your own. See ingredients and directions for making homemade beans in the recipe card.
- Vegan cheese sauce-I recommend making this fresh and not using store bought vegan cheese. See ingredients and directions in the recipe card.
- Guacamole– Simply slice and mash an avocado with a bit of lime juice.
- Tomato-Diced
- Red or White Onion-Diced
- Cilantro-Finely chopped
- Black Olives-I used the canned and sliced version.
- Jalapeño Pepper-Fresh and sliced into thin rounds.
Tools You’ll Need
- Shallow bowl-For assembling your layered dip.
- Large Skillet-If making your own refried beans.
- Small Saucepan and High Speed Blender-To make the vegan cheese sauce.
How to Make 7 Layer Vegan Bean Dip – Step by Step
Step 1: Prepare refried beans. You can make your own vegan refried beans, or use canned. If using canned, be sure that it’s vegan by checking the ingredient label.
Step 2: Make the Vegan Cheese Sauce. This recipe takes about 15 minutes to make. Super easy and way better than store bought cheese. However, if you’d like to save time you can use a store bought vegan cheese, or leave this layer off.
Step 3: Spread warmed refried beans on the bottom of your serving dish. Layer with ½ cup of vegan cheese sauce. Top with ½ cup of guacamole.
Step 4: Chop ¼ cup of white or red onion, and a ¼ cup of tomatoes diced. Layer on top of the guacamole.
Step 5: Top with finely chopped cilantro, sliced black olives, and a few slices of fresh jalapeño pepper (optional). Serve with whole grains chips.
Top Tips for Making the Perfect 7 Layer Vegan Bean Dip
- Prepare each part of the dip (refried beans, cheese sauce, and guacamole) before assembling the dip to make it simpler.
- If you prefer to save time on preparing each of these ingredients you can use canned vegan refried beans, and store bough vegan cheese. I prefer the homemade vegan cheese sauce to anything you can buy in the store, so I really recommend making this layer fresh!
- Use a fresh jalapeño rather than jarred or canned. Be careful when slicing (I wear gloves) because it can burn your hands!
How to Serve
The best and most popular way to serve a 7 Layer Vegan Bean Dip is with tortilla chips! Finding plant-based tortilla chips can be tricky if you’re avoiding oil. I look for ones that are organic and whole grain.
Another way to enjoy this dip is to make your own oil free tortilla chips.
You can also serve this dip with whole grain crackers, or even veggie sticks!
We had some leftover dip and wrapped it in some corn tortillas to create a mini burrito!
How to Store and Keep
Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to a day. Because this recipe contains avocado that quickly browns it cannot be kept for long periods of time.
The other ingredients are more resilient. If you are preparing this dip in advance it’s probably a good idea to leave the guacamole layer off, or assemble the ingredients just before you’re ready to serve.
Variations
- Time Saver-Use canned refried beans, and store bought guacamole.
- Don’t Like Olives or Jalapeño-Leave them off! I moved the jalapeño peppers onto my portion when I was serving this dip up to my kids.
Check out these other vegan dip recipes!
If you’ve tried this 7 Layer Vegan Bean Dip Recipe, please rate it and let me know how it turned out. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for more plant-based vegan family recipes your whole family will enjoy!
Vegan Bean Dip: 7 Layer Mexican Dip
Ingredients
Refried Beans
- 3 cups pinto beans cooked
- ½ cup white onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½-1 cup vegetable stock
Vegan Cheese Sauce
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1 ½ cups vegetable stock
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ¼ tsp ground mustard
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Guacamole
- 1 avocado
- ¼ cup lime juice
Toppings
- ¼ cup onion diced (red or white)
- ½ cup tomatoes diced
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- 2.25 oz black olives canned and slices
- 1 jalapeño pepper sliced into rounds
Instructions
Prepare Refried Beans (or use 1 15 oz can of vegan refried beans)
- Dice onion and mince garlic. Heat skillet to medium high. Add ¼ cup of vegetable broth or water to the pan. Add onions. Sauté for 5 minutes or until translucent. Add minced garlic and sauté an additional minute.
- Add chili powder, cumin, and salt to the pan. Stir to combine, and heat for a minute to allow flavors to meld together.
- Add cooked beans to the pan. Stir to combine. Cover and heat on low for 5 minutes. Add ½ cup of vegetable stock or water. Mash beans using a potato masher. Add an additional ¼-1/2 cup of vegetable stock or water to achieve the creaminess you desire. Spread on the bottom of a shallow serving dish.
Prepare Vegan Cheese Sauce
- Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan. Add cashews. Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes or until cashews have softened and plumped.Drain cashews.
- Add drained cashews, vegetable stock, nutritional yeast, spices, and lemon juice to high speed blender. Secure lid. Blend until smooth and creamy, starting at the lowest speed and slowly increasing to the highest speed.
- Transfer to a small saucepan. Bring to a bubbling boil, whisking constantly until thickens, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add about ½-3/4 cup of cheese sauce on top of the beans. Reserve the rest to enjoy later!
Guacamole
- Mash avocado with ¼ cup of lime juice until smooth and creamy. Gently spread over cheese sauce.
Add the Toppings
- Dice onion the onion and tomato. Layer on top of guacamole. Drain olives, sprinkle on top of tomatoes and onions. Thinly slice jalapeño pepper, and place on top (optional). Serve with whole grain chips!
Video
Notes
- Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. It’s best to prepare this dish fresh and serve immediately.
- If you’re pressed for time you can use canned refried beans.
- I recommend not using store bought vegan cheese for this dip. The homemade version is much better.
Yum!! I’m pinning this for when we have supper club again!!
I brought these to a party and they were such a hit! Everyone loved all the layers and it was gone in no time! Delicious.
Yum! This looks so delicious! I can’t wait to make this!
With summer entertaining happening, this is perfect for parties. I love the fact I can please meat lovers and vegans at the same time. Easy to make. Always a hit.
Yum! this is my kind of summer appetizer or dinner…lol!