My dairy-free Lemon Fruit Dip is a fantastic snack to serve your family and friends. It has a sweet, tangy flavor that will brighten anyone’s day!
This recipe is unique in that it features an herb and fragrant essential oils. Plus, it’s dairy-free and contains low-glycemic sweeteners. Citrus lovers will keep coming back for more!
Table of Contents:
The Secret Ingredient
This lemon dip features an ingredient that most don’t. Organic dried lemon balm, or Melissa, is the secret ingredient to this recipe. Melissa elevates this dip to a whole new level. Here are a few things you should know.
- This ingredient can be found in the herb section of health food stores or Whole Foods. I found it at a local apothecary.
- Lemon balm promotes a sense of calm and has been used for ages to support emotional health (1).
- One study showed that users who ingested this herb showed a higher level of cognitive ability (2).
- Are you struggling with PMS? Try infusing your tea with dried Melissa. It’s been proven to help lessen the intensity of menstrual cramps (3).
- Because lemon balm helps with emotional support, it can also lessen the symptoms of being overstressed, such as headaches, insomnia, and general aches and pains.
- This herb is versatile! You can take it in a capsule, include it in your herbal tea blends, or blend it into a yummy smoothie or dip.
Why Go Dairy-Free?
If you can access raw milk from a grass-fed cow, consider yourself blessed! Most dairy cows are fed with a GMO feed pumped with hormones. These toxins affect the cow’s milk and, subsequently, everyone who consumes products made with that milk.
Studies have shown that women who consume more cheddar and cream cheese are at an increased risk for breast cancer (4). Increased dairy consumption is also linked to higher cases of prostate cancer (5).
Raw, unpasteurized milk is an excellent source of vitamins and nutrients—we consider it a superfood! Unfortunately, if you peruse your local grocery store, you’ll find only pasteurized milk products, which have removed almost all nutritional value.
You may be able to find unpasteurized cheese or yogurt products at your local health food store, but for convenience’s sake, we often prefer to stay dairy-free.
Many dairy-free products on the market taste great and are undetectable in recipes. Dairy-free cream cheese is a great example! It tastes just as smooth as the conventional variety and is a lot better for you.
A word of caution: Avoid soy products. They are worse for you than dairy! I recommend almond or cashew milk products.
Healthy Dip Ingredients 101
This recipe uses multiple lemon-infused ingredients to create a well-rounded flavor. Here’s what you need.
Natural Confectioners’ Sugar: This is my healthy alternative to powdered sugar. This recipe uses my Christmas Cookie Blend, which is a delightful mix of natural sweeteners. It thickens dips and icings perfectly without the use of white sugar. It’s effortless to make! I always keep a batch on hand because I use it in many recipes.
Unsweetened Organic Plain Coconut Milk Yogurt Alternative: We use an unsweetened plain coconut milk yogurt alternative to keep this recipe dairy-free. You won’t notice the difference! These products are relatively easy to find in stores nowadays because many consumers request healthy products that fit a lactose-intolerant lifestyle.
Dairy-Free Almond-Milk Cream Cheese or Plain Cream Cheese-Style Spread (Vegan): Daiya, Kite Hill, and Miyokos all offer excellent dairy-free cream cheese, which helps thicken this dip. No one will guess it’s not filled with dairy!
Organic Lemon Peel: This recipe uses every viable part of the lemon, including the peel! Lemon peel adds such a lovely texture and amplifies the lemon flavor. You can get this staple in dried pieces at the spice section of your local grocery store.
Organic Lemon Zest: I love garnishing my dip with extra zest to make it look pretty and prefer the lemon zester that makes the curls rather than a microplane. Use this as the garnish and top your dip off with a fresh leaf of lemon balm in the center if you have some.
Freshly-Squeezed Organic Lemon Juice: Fresh lemon juice gives this recipe the tang it deserves! Lemons are rich in vitamin C, which plays a crucial role in heart health (6). Lemons are naturally detoxifying and an excellent addition to any tea.
Pro Tip: To make recipe prep a breeze, keep freshly squeezed lemon juice in your fridge!
Essential Oils: Lemon essential oil contains d-limonene, which can boost the immune system, decrease anxiety, and improve overall mood (7).
It’s perfectly safe to ingest essential oils if you use wisdom. To use essential oils in your culinary endeavors, you need a dispersant. This recipe contains ingredients that act as dispersants, distributing the essential oils evenly. Without these dispersants, your mouth would be irritated. Remember, you never want to ingest an EO neat!
Lemon-Flavored Liquid Stevia: Liquid stevia blends beautifully, and it has no aftertaste. One of my favorite things to do with recipes is to match my liquid stevia flavor with the recipe. For example, lemon stevia works best with lemon recipes, like this dip!
Make Dairy-Free Lemon Fruit Dip
This recipe comes together in 10 minutes, but it needs at least 8 hours of chill time to set. I love prepping this dip the night before a gathering. Making this recipe ahead of time leaves more time to mingle with friends!
Lemon Fruit Dip (Vegan)
Supplies
- Blender OR food processor
Ingredients
- 1 cup Natural Confectioners’ Sugar
- 4 droppersful lemon-flavored liquid stevia
- 1 cup vegan sour cream OR 1 cup unsweetened organic coconut milk yogurt alternative OR unsweetened vanilla-flavored organic coconut milk yogurt alternative
- 1 (8-ounce) container dairy-free almond-milk cream cheese OR plain cream cheese-style spread (vegan)
- 1 teaspoon organic dried lemon peel
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed organic lemon juice
- 3 drops lemon essential oil OR 1 tablespoon organic pure lemon extract (if using the essential oil, you can add up to 6-9 drops to enhance the lemon flavor to taste.)
- 1 tablespoon organic dried lemon balm *
- Organic fresh lemon zest to garnish
Instructions
- Place the Natural Confectioners’ Sugar, liquid stevia, vegan sour cream, dairy-free cream cheese, lemon peel, lemon juice, lemon essential oil, and lemon balm in a food processor or large blender and blend for 1-2 minutes, until thoroughly combined.
- Transfer to a serving dish and refrigerate overnight to set. Garnish with lemon zest, if desired. Serve with fruit and/or gluten-free crackers or gluten-free pretzels.
Notes
Natural Confectioners' Sugar (Vegan)
Supplies
- Blender OR food processor
Ingredients
- 2 rounded cups Christmas Cookie Blend
- 2 cups organic arrowroot powder OR organic non-GMO cornstarch
Instructions
- Place the Christmas Cookie Blend and cornstarch in a gallon-size Ziploc bag. Shake to mix.
- Blend in a high-powered blender or food processor until well-mixed. I prefer milling this recipe in the dry goods container of a Vitamix. You may have to divide your mixture in half depending on the size of your blender. Then, I open the blender, stir and repeat the process. The final color of your product will differ based on the brand of sweetener you use. Store in quart and pint-sized glass jars at room temperature. Use as directed in desserts and dips.
Notes
Christmas Cookie Blend (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 6 ounces organic coconut sugar
- 11-16 ounces organic date sugar (based on your available container sizes)
- 6 ounces organic maple sugar
Instructions
- Place the coconut sugar, date sugar, and maple sugar in a gallon-size Ziploc bag. Shake to mix thoroughly.
- Place mixture in a blender and blend until powdery. I prefer milling this recipe in a Vitamix dry goods container. I start blending on one, then slowly increase until the mixture is fully blended. Then, I open the blender, stir, and repeat the process. The final color of your product will differ based on the brand of sweetener you use. Use in place of regular sugar in all your favorite baked goods. Store in a glass jar.
Notes
Step One: Blend Ingredients
Place the powdered coconut sugar, yogurt alternative, dairy-free cream cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon balm, lemon essential oil, and stevia in a blender or food processor.
Blend for 1-2 minutes or until the ingredients are perfectly combined.
Transfer to a large serving bowl and refrigerate overnight to set. Serve the next day with your choice of dippers. We love serving our dip with fruit or healthy cookies. Enjoy!
Looking for a Fall-inspired dip? Check out my Vegan Pumpkin Dip! It features a blend of essential oils that perfectly mimic pumpkin spice. I know you’ll “fall” in love with it!
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15272110/
- https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/6/11/4805/htm
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4557408/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5998914/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17704029/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11022052/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20625233/
