This butter bean dip is silky, garlicky and bright with lemon, topped with crispy fried sage, toasted walnuts and a drizzle of sage-scented oil. It takes about 20 minutes from a can or jar of butter beans, and it looks like a starter you planned weeks ago.
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Recipe Highlights
TASTE: Creamy, garlicky, lemony, with crisp sage and nutty walnuts
WHAT'S SPECIAL: No tahini, but it tastes like there is
BEST BIT: The crispy sage and the sage oil drizzle
SEB'S RATING: Gave it 2nd place (only because he loves the Cranberry Whipped Feta Dip) so much!
Ingredient Notes
- Butter beans. A can or a jar both work. You need 320g once drained, so weigh them. Keep the liquid, because it's what you'll use to loosen the dip.
- Salt. This depends on how your beans were packed. If they came in stock or were already salted, you probably won't need any more. If they were canned in plain water, you'll want about ¼ tsp. Taste the blended dip before you add it.
- Garlic. One (very) small clove, and it goes in raw. It's there to be noticed, not to take over.
- Lemon. Use the zest and the juice. The zest adds brightness without adding sharpness, so it earns its place even if you like a mild dip. Start with 1½ tablespoon of juice and taste.
- Sage. Fresh leaves only, as dried won't fry into crisp leaves. The sage is a topping, not an ingredient in the dip itself.
- Walnuts. Just 20g, toasted for flavour. They're a finishing crunch, not the main event.
- Olive oil. The oil you fry the sage in becomes your drizzle, so don't pour it away.
Find the full ingredient quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.
Method
Toast the walnuts
Chop the walnuts and toast them in a dry frying pan until they're just browned and smell nutty. Watch them, as they catch quickly.
Tip them onto a plate to cool, then wipe the pan clean. You'll fry the sage in it next, and stray walnut bits will burn in the oil.
Blend until completely smooth
Drain the beans, keeping the liquid. Blitz the beans, garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice in a blender or food processor for longer than feels necessary, until the dip is completely smooth.
Butter beans blend smooth far more easily than chickpeas, so there's no fussing involved. Add the reserved liquid only if the dip needs it, a little at a time.
What can go wrong?
Too thick? Add more of the reserved liquid, a little at a time.
Bland? Check the salt and the lemon first.
Grainy? Keep blending.
Fry the sage
Heat the olive oil in the clean pan and drop in the sage leaves. Fry for 1 to 2 minutes, until crispy, and lift them out onto kitchen paper. The gap between crisp and burnt is short, so stay close to the pan.
Leave the oil to cool slightly before you drizzle it, so it doesn't land on the dip scorching hot.
Plate up
Swoop the dip into a shallow bowl or plate. Drizzle over the sage oil, then crush some of the crispy sage over the top and leave the smaller leaves whole. Add the toasted walnuts and finish with a little extra lemon zest.
What To Serve With Butter Bean Dip
Sourdough crackers are the obvious dipper. The Sourdough Discard Crackers With Herbs suit the sage well, and the Seed & Fruit Sourdough Crackers and Sourdough Baguette slices give you something sturdier for a generous scoop.
Toasted sourdough, warm pitta and raw vegetables all work too. It sits happily on an autumn or Christmas appetiser platter, where it's a bit more interesting than the usual dip.
It makes a great spread for sandwiches and pitta pockets, as well as an addition to Buddha bowls.
Recipe FAQs
Strictly, no. Hummus is traditionally made with chickpeas and tahini, and this dip has neither. It's a butter bean dip that you can use exactly as you would hummus, as a dip, a spread or the centre of a platter. If you've been looking for butter bean hummus without tahini, this is the one.
Yes, the dip is both, as long as your beans and whatever you dip into it are. Check the label on the can or jar, especially if the beans are packed in stock.
Yes. Soak and cook them until very soft first, then drain and weigh them. About 130 to 160g of dried beans should give you the 320g cooked weight the recipe needs. Keep a little of the cooking water to loosen the dip in place of the can liquid.
How To Store And Make Ahead
- Fridge: keep the dip in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: make the dip up to 2 days ahead and toast the walnuts up to 3 days ahead. Fry the sage on the day, because it softens as it sits.
- Serving from the fridge: the dip firms up when cold. Take it out about 20 minutes before serving and stir in a splash of the reserved bean liquid or water if it has tightened up.
- Freezing: not recommended. Bean dips can turn grainy or watery once thawed.
More Dips, Snacks and Bites
If you're building a platter, the Beetroot Dip With Feta and the Roasted Cranberry Whipped Feta Dip sit well alongside it!
Butter Bean Dip with Crispy Sage, Walnuts and Lemon
Equipment
- Blender or Food Processor
Ingredients
Butter bean dip
- 320 g (11.5 oz) butter beans drained (from a can or jar), liquid reserved
- 1- 2 tablespoon (15 to 30ml) reserved bean liquid, for loosening
- 1 small garlic clove minced
- zest of ½ lemon
- 1½ to 2 tablespoon lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
- ¼ teaspoon salt only if your beans were canned in plain water (see notes)
Crispy sage and topping
- 20 g (2 tablespoon) walnuts roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 10-12 sage leaves
- extra lemon zest to finish
Instructions
- Toast the walnuts. Chop the walnuts and toast them in a dry frying pan until just browned and nutty. Tip them onto a plate to cool, then wipe the pan clean. You'll use it again for the sage.
- Blend the dip. Drain the butter beans, keeping 1 to 2 tablespoon of the liquid. Put the beans, garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice in a blender and blitz for a good while, until completely smooth. If it's too thick, add a little of the reserved liquid. Taste before adding salt (see notes).
- Fry the sage. Heat the olive oil in the clean pan. Drop in the sage leaves and fry for 1 to 2 minutes, until crispy. Lift them out onto the paper towel. Leave the oil to cool down slightly.
- Plate up. Spread the dip in a shallow bowl or plate and drizzle with the olive oil. Crush some of the crispy sage over the top, leave the smaller leaves whole and scatter them on. Add the toasted walnuts and finish with a little extra lemon zest.
Notes
Nutrition
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