Garlic Parmesan White Bean Dip

This creamy white bean dip is flavored with roasted garlic and nutty parmesan cheese. Serve it with pita chips or veggies for a delicious appetizer or snack. 

If you can get my socially anxious self to a party, you can reliably find me in one of two places: in the corner hanging out with the hosts’ cat or dog, or posted up by the appetizers.

Even better if I can have a plate full of appetizers while I hang out with the cat or dog. 

Bonus points if there are dips aplenty as part of that appetizer spread. I don’t know about you, but dips are one of my all-time favorite food groups.

And even though I do tend to gravitate toward cheesy dips and spreads, such as homemade pimento cheese, cranberry cream cheese dip, and whipped feta dip, I love lighter ones as well.

Sit me down in front of a bowl of roasted garlic hummus or homemade tzatziki with a bag of pita chips and I’m gonna be one happy camper.

Or give me a big bowl of this garlic parmesan white bean dip. I’ll see you when the bowl is empty, thanks.

Savory garlic parmesan white bean dip

This is one of those sneaky dips that tastes amazing and is surprisingly healthful. We’ve got lots of protein from the white beans, good fats from the olive oil, and boatloads of flavor from the roasted garlic and nutty parmesan cheese.

Add in the creamy texture and this is a dip that you’ll find yourself munching on with all of your favorite fresh veggies, pita chips, or even using as a spread for sandwiches and wraps.

Plus, it’s super easy to throw together. The part that takes the longest is roasting the garlic, and that’s all hands off. Once you mix everything together in the food processor, this white bean dip is ready to go.

Set it out as an appetizer for your holiday dinners, dig into it during the big football game, or nosh on it as an afternoon snack during the work week. The options are endless.

How to make my white bean dip

This is the kind of easy dip that you may just find yourself whipping up on a weekly basis to enjoy as part of your regular lunches and afternoon snacks. 

Ingredients you’ll need

For my garlic parmesan white bean dip, you will need:

• 1 whole head of garlic
• 2 (15.5-ounce) cans white beans (cannellini beans, great northern beans, or navy beans), drained and rinsed
• Juice of 1/2 of a lemon
• 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 6 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil (divided use)

Since there aren’t a lot of ingredients in this recipe, I suggest using a nice parmesan cheese and good olive oil if you can manage it. 

Don’t get me wrong, you don’t need to spend a full mortgage payment on the best of the best of either ingredient. But using a nice nutty parmesan and a fruity olive oil will add so much great flavor to this dip.

And yes, we are fitting an entire head of garlic into this recipe and no, we are not going to apologize for it.

Making this dip

Before you mix this white bean dip together, you will need to roast the garlic.

If you’ve never roasted garlic before, it’s really simple! Use a big, sharp knife to cut the top 1/2-inch or so off the head of garlic to reveal the cloves inside. Discard the top.

Set the rest on a piece of aluminum foil and drizzle it with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Wrap it in the foil and pop it into a 450°F for about 25-30 minutes. 

The garlic is done when the cloves are soft and turning golden. Let the roasted garlic cool before moving on to the next step.

Now squeeze the cloves out of the head of garlic. This should be very easy to do! 

Place the roasted garlic cloves in the bowl of a food processor along with the rest of the ingredients except for the olive oil. With the food processor running, stream the olive oil in until the dip is smooth, creamy, and well combined.

Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to get everything well mixed.

Transfer the white bean dip to a bowl or airtight container and refrigerate until you are ready to serve it.

Make-ahead and storage tips

This white bean dip is definitely a recipe you can make ahead of time. In fact, I actually think it tastes better when it has had some time to chill in the refrigerator, so I recommend it!

This dip will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days, so feel free to make it up to a day or two before your party. After all, we love crossing things off our to-do lists ahead of time!