This quick and easy Egyptian beetroot dip is healthy and looks beautiful on the table, which makes it perfect to serve at holidays, parties and family get togethers. Nobody will be able to resist that vibrant color. Serve it with crackers for a crunchy, creamy combination.
I can never resist a good dip on the table. And I think dips are the perfect party food because they are so shareable. People can actually stand around a dip, keep dipping their crackers in while the conversations going.
And they are always a cinch to make. The food processor does most of the job really. At most parties, I usually have three or four dips along with bowls of crackers to keep people munching while they get to know each other. My garlicky yogurt dip, this egyptian beetroot dip, a quick salsa, and my favorite creamy hummus (remind me to share the recipe with you) usually make an appearance!
In fact at the last party there was a round of which dip is the best going on. I have no idea what the winner was! I was just happy to know that people were fighting over them.
The ingredients in this recipe are extremely simple and inspired by Egyptian flavors. The most time consuming part is cooking and peeling the beetroot, and I have a few options below.
Cooking Beetroot for this dip
There are various ways to cook beets for this dip. The first is roasting them in the oven, which is my favorite method because slow roasting really concentrates the flavor of the beetroot and makes them sweeter, and taste earthier. However, if you don’t have an oven, you can boil them unpeeled in water for 30 minutes or till they are fork tender. You can also microwave them for 10 minutes with a little water in the dish – this effectively creates steam in the microwave, and is the fastest way to cook beets. Another way to cook beets is to steam them in a steamer for 30 minutes. This reduces any nutrient loss and keeps most of the color intact too.
Once you have the beets cooked, peel and chop them into smaller pieces and then just blend everything in a food processor till smooth and creamy. I like using greek yogurt in this recipe because it keeps things healthier, but I have tried this dip with cream cheese if you want to be more indulgent. The salt in the cream cheese really balances the sweetness of the beets. However, if you are using cream cheese, don’t add any extra salt to this recipe.
Tell me, can anybody resist that beautiful pick color? Or that sweet and salty earthy flavor that’s going to make this Egyptian Beetroot Dip so irresistible that you’ll be saying – maybe one more dip.
Egyptian Beetroot Dip
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
- 5 Beetroots medium sized
- 3-4 Garlic Cloves
- 1 cup Greek Yoghurt
- 1/4 cup Lemon Juice
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil Extra Virgin
- 1/2 teaspoon Cumin ground
- 1/2 teaspoon Coriander Powder ground
- 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon ground
- 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/8 teaspoon Pepper ground
- Toasted Pine Nuts Pistachios and Feta for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220 degrees celsius.
- Cut off the beetroot stems 1 cm from the roots. Scrub the beetroots and wrap them individually in aluminium foil. Wrap the unpeeled garlic pods also in foil.
- Bake the beetroots for 1 hour in the oven. Place the wrapped garlic pods also in the oven 40 minutes after placing the beets to bake.
- Cool the beets. Peel both the beets and the garlic. Chop the beets roughly. Place the beets, garlic, yoghurt, lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and paprika in a food processor and process till smooth and creamy. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill till required. Serve with warm, crusty bread or crackers.
Notes
- Look for beetroots which have fresh, green leaves and roots which smooth and firm and are not bruised
- Cook the beets either in the oven, or with a little water in the microwave at high for 10 minutes
- You can also boil the beets in water on the stove till tender
Nutrition
is it possible to avoid cooking the beetroot completely and have it raw?
It won’t blend properly if you don’t cook it
It does not have the color like on the picture. And is very runny.
Hey Mia, did you use canned beets? If you used freshly cooked beets, did you drain the water completely?
Thank you for this recipe, I made it tonight, I read the reviews and was concerned about the mixture being watery, so I decided to strain the yogurt first so it would be thicker. Maybe I should have strained it overnight. Mine was still very watery so I decided to add fresh ricotta which helped thicken it up. Once refrigerated I’m sure the oil will help it solidify. I liked the flavour but it was annoying that it was watery. I just happened to have ricotta in the house, for a moment I was going to add more of the vacuum sealed beetroot until I remembered I had ricotta. However thank you again.
I’m sorry this turned out a little watery for you. Are you using pre-cooked or tinned beetroot? We use freshly steamed beetroot, which does not change the texture
I just made this beetroot dip with tinned beetroots and it is very runny. I also used the Greek natural yoghurt. Will it thicken on standing in the fridge overnight? I am having it at a party tommorow night. Any suggestions for thickening it?
Hey Wendy, tinned beets usually have liquid, which is why I recommend freshly cooked beets. I think it should thicken a little in the fridge but I’m not sure.
Nice!
I put some pomegranate molasses in it and it tasted nice.
That’s such a great addition!
Can vacuum packet beetroot be used ?
Any form of cooked beetroot can be used for this recipe
How long can this survive in the fridge? with yogurt and with cream cheese?
It’s good for 2 days.