Skip to main content

Eat Your Veggies: Delicious And Healthy Dip Recipes From Chef Dave Becker

healthy dips
Image used with permission by copyright holder
In the dead of winter, there are few things better than noshing on rich, flavorful foods with friends and family. With recipes ranging from from creamy kale and sausage soup and maple-roasted butternut squash to slow-cooked pot roast, it seems that winter is the season for intense flavors. But constantly eating heavy food can take a toll on your waistline. With spring and summer not far off, it’s time to switch gears to lighter fare. 

Eating well can be frustrating–it feels like you have to sacrifice flavor (sugar, fats, salt) in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. But that doesn’t have to be the case. You can eat well and enjoy your food at the same time. We’ve written before about how easy it is to snack in a healthy way, but we’re taking it to the next level with these flavor bombs.

We talked to Chef Dave Becker, the owner/chef of Juniper in Wellesley, Massachusetts and Sweet Basil in Needham, Massachusetts, about eating well without eating bland. Becker developed three recipes for dips that are packed with flavor but still good for your waistline, and he’s sharing them with The Manual. Lucky us. Becker has been working in kitchens for over two decades, and he has an intuitive understanding of what makes food work. 

“You have to please all the senses with the food you make,” he says. “You don’t need to throw together a million ingredients, but play with temperature, texture, color. You know, hot and cold, soft and crisp. Let your mouth be surprised. And always let the ingredients speak for themselves.”

The recipes Becker has developed are all simple: they each have less than 10 ingredients (including salt and pepper), and they take less than ten minutes to make. But don’t let the simplicity deceive you. These dips are packed with flavor. To boot, they’re great for sharing. Never again will you grimace when you’re told to eat your veggies.

Note: The photos in this post are of halved recipes.

Matbucha

matbucha prep
Image used with permission by copyright holder

8 tomatoes
2 red peppers
1 jalapeño
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 tablespoon paprika
⅛ cup lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
cayenne pepper to taste

Serves: 8-10 people

matbucha in skillet
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Chop tomatoes and red peppers. Sauté them over medium heat until they are cooked down, stirring occasionally, about five minutes. Add jalapeños, olive oil and lemon juice. Season with red chili flakes and paprika. Add cayenne to your liking. (Note: in the halved recipe, we still used an entire jalapeño, because we’re big fans of spicy food at The Manual.) Serve either warm or cold, though in taste testing, we preferred warm. Matbucha goes well with either tortilla chips or warm pita. 

matbucha healthy dip recipes
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Pair with an American pale ale. The hint of citrus and bite of hops will go well with the kick of spice in the matbucha.

Tzatziki

tzatziki prep
Image used with permission by copyright holder

1 quart of plain Greek yogurt
4 cucumbers
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic
4 tablespoons of fresh dill
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Serves: 8-10 people

tzatziki in blender
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Dice cucumbers and finely chop dill. In a food processor, combine all ingredients and puree until smooth. (We used a Blendtec Designer 725, a high-powered blender our brother site, Digital Trends, reviewed in 2014. It was more than enough to do the trick.) Serve with warm pita, garlic naan or cherry tomatoes for dipping, or drizzle over grilled chicken or steak. Or even falafel. One of our taste testers even combined this with the edamame hummus with positive results. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with this baby.

tzatziki healthy dip recipe
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Pair with a blonde ale, which will pick up the subtle lemon tang in the tzatziki very well. It’s basically like summer in your mouth.

Edamame Hummus

edamame hummus prep
Image used with permission by copyright holder

½ lb edamame beans (frozen or raw)
1 clove of fresh garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup water
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Serves: 6-8 people

edamame hummus blender
Image used with permission by copyright holder

In a food processor, puree beans, garlic and water until smooth. Add olive oil to mixture and continue to puree. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Serve with pita, chopped veggies (such as bell peppers or carrots), or tortilla chips. We even tried spreading it on whole wheat toast with a little kimchi butter, which was the perfect mid-day snack.

healthy dip recipes edamame hummus
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Pair with a pilsner. This refreshingly delicate, almost floral beer tastes like it was made to enjoy with edamame hummus.

Editors' Recommendations

Lisa Dunn
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Lisa Dunn is a writer with a background in investigative journalism and a love of tailored suits. Born and raised in New…
Coca-Cola used A.I. to create its next big drink because that’s ‘what the future tastes like’
We wonder if the future tastes like a dystopian hellscape
Coca-Cola

If you’re anything like us, you’re still a little wary of artificial intelligence (also known as AI). Maybe it’s because of movies like I, Robot or Terminator 2: Judgment Day, but we don’t think it’s so wrong to be at least a little cautious about artificial intelligence. The last thing we need is a robot uprising that eventually leads to the downfall of humankind, right? Well, clearly, Coca-Cola doesn’t share our fears of an impending AI-led apocalypse because it just launched a cola made with artificial intelligence. Well, co-created with AI.

It's called Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Y3000, and it was co-created by humans and artificial intelligence by “understanding how fans envision the future through emotions, aspirations, colors, flavors and more,” according to a Coca-Cola press release. It was created by Coca-Cola fans around the world as well as “insights gathered from artificial intelligence.” If that sounds kind of sci-fi, that’s because it really is. Robots and humans working in unison to create…cola? We’re sure that’s what people envisioned when they created artificial intelligence.

Read more
The pros and cons of a gluten-free diet, according to an expert
Looking for a gluten free diet list? Read this first
Gluten free cereals corn, rice, buckwheat, quinoa, millet, pasta and flour with scratched text gluten on brown wooden background,overhead horizontal view

Nowadays, everyone is a self-proclaimed nutrition guru. The real question is, who can you truly trust? With so many myths and misconceptions, finding the right path for your personal wellness journey can feel like a corn maze of confusion.

To help you navigate the maze of gluten-related questions, we've turned to an authority on the subject, Dr. Abigail Raffner Basson, RD, LD, a distinguished nutrition instructor at Case Western Reserve University. Together, we'll unravel the mysteries and set the record straight on gluten. There is a lot of information out there when it comes to nutrition, so let's get to the bottom of it.

Read more
MLB star Mookie Betts travels with his own portable kitchen so he can eat healthy no matter where he goes
All-Star MVP candidates gotta eat right, too
Mookie Betts playing baseball

 

Even a short road trip poses challenges to eating well, with tempting drive-through windows and enticing gas station snacks at every turn. Even the most disciplined can be lured by the alluring aroma of fast food. For MLB superstar Mookie Betts, veering off the healthy eating path while traveling isn’t an option.

Read more