This vegan Sunflower Seed Dip with cilantro and lemon is flavorful, gluten-free, and nut-free. Tip: You can easily make it into a delicious dressing if you add more water!
Attention cilantro lovers (cilantro haters, move one, there's nothing to see here for you :P), I've got the perfect dip for you! It's a vegan, gluten-free, and nut-free Cilantro Lemon Sunflower Seed Dip.
Sunflower seeds are great for the base of this dip, because they are reasonably priced and they get soft, when soaked in water, quickly, which makes it easier for the blender. They are also considered healthy and a superfood.
This dip is packed with flavor, it's perfect for chips, crackers, and veggie sticks. You can also use it in wraps and burritos. You can even thin it out a bit by adding more water and use it as a salad dressing. I just love versatile recipes so much!
How to make this Cilantro Lemon Sunflower Seed Dip
As always you will find the whole recipe with measurements in the recipe box below but I want to give you an overview of the ingredients and the process with step-by-step photos first.
The ingredients
You will need:
- raw & hulled sunflower seeds
- water
- fresh lemon juice
- fresh cilantro
- salt
The basic steps
Adjust the consistency: You can add more water for a thinner consistency (if you want to use it as a dressing) or leave it as it is for a dip.
I love my small blender for making sauces. It was such a good buy because it wasn’t expensive and it’s especially great if you don’t want to make a massive amount of sauce/dressing. You can also use a regular high-speed blender but you probably have to double the recipe, depending on the size of the container.
Serve it with…
- Oven-Baked Plantain Chips with a Cilantro Lemon Dip
- Vegan Potato & Spinach Strudel
- Baked Samosas filled with potatoes and spinach (vegan)
- Potato Wedges with Za’atar
- Crispy Bread Chips with Garlic and Herbs
Love it? Rate it!
I hope you enjoy this Vegan Cilantro Lemon Sunflower Seed Dip as much as I do! Let me know if you give it a try!
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Cheers, Bianca
Vegan Cilantro Lemon Sunflower Seed Dip
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- ⅓ cup water + more for soaking
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ⅓ cup fresh cilantro
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Soak the sunflower seeds in water for about 1-2 hours. Then rinse and drain them.
- Add the soaked sunflower seeds, fresh cilantro, salt, lemon juice, and fresh water into a blender.
- Blend until smooth. Adjust the consistency: You can add more water for a thinner consistency (if you want to use it as a dressing) or leave it as it is for a dip.
- Serve it with plantain chips, samosas, etc.!
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit says
Surprisingly I am not a cilantro hater! Despite my not so spicy tastes I actually quite like the flavor and smell of cilantro, and I love all things dip <3 How it can taste like soap to some people I've never understood, to me it tastes like salsa! I don't think I've ever had it in a non-mexican food application like this little number though. With all your beautiful dips and crackers around here you can play party/snack food mix and match :)
Bianca says
I'm so glad you're on the good side, Natalie :D I think it has a lot to do with how people grow up. We don't have cilantro here.. well you can buy it in Asia markets and nowadays at least sometimes in regular supermarkets, but my mother never cooked with cilantro.. so I was an early adult when I first tasted it. Of course it was kind of weird first.. but what ingredient doesn't taste weird trying it the first time :) But your connection to salsa, totally makes me want to make a tomato cilantro salsa... <3 Does that sound strange? I have no idea if that could work. There will be coming a lot more snacks in the next few weeks to the mix and match party :)
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit says
No not strange at all, so good! Many mexican restaurants here put cilantro in their salsa and it's fantastic!
Jenn says
Oh my gosh, I used to be the same way. I couldn't stand the taste of cilantro. I felt it tasted like soap too. But, then one day all of a sudden - I LOVED it! Now I can't get enough of the stuff - so so good!! This dip looks perfect!
Bianca says
Welcome to the club, Jenn! :) I can't wait for summer finally to arrive, I'll be eating so much avocados & cilantro, cilantro on nachos, cilantro on everything! The dip pairs especially well with "exotic" snacks like plantain chips.
Hannah Teson says
Oh man, I loooooove cilantro. I seriously put it on almost everything, but I don't think I've ever made a dip with it. That's for sure gonna change!
Bianca says
Hehehe, then this dip is just the right thing for you <3 I hope you'll like it, Hannah! :)
Marla says
Just made this for lunch. It was hard not to eat the entire batch;)
Bianca says
I'm glad you liked it, Marla! I felt the same way :D Thank you so much for the feedback <3
Sofia says
Do the sunflower seeds need to be raw?
Bianca says
I never tried it with roasted sunflower seeds.. it will taste different, probably more of a smoky flavor. But it should work. Let me know if you give it a try :)
Melody says
It is hard to find something that my husband and I can both eat and enjoy together, as he has several diet restrictions, but this looks like just the thing. I can't wait to try it. I just came across your page. I am looking forward to trying some of these recipes out. Thank you for sharing.