This vegan 7-layer Greek dip is inspired by the incredible flavours I experienced while traveling in Greece. It brings together fresh Mediterranean ingredients into one epic layered dip that’s perfect for sharing as an appetizer or party snack.
A Greek-Inspired Vegan Dip
The way I travel these days is with The Getaway Co. Not only does one of my best friends own and operate this vegan travel company, but she also does an amazing job curating plant-based holidays around the world. I honestly wouldn’t trust anyone else to do it. I feel so lucky that I get to support the company while experiencing new places, incredible vegan food, and meeting amazing people while hosting these Getaways.
After spending time in Greece, I wanted to create a recipe that captured the fresh and familiar ingredients we enjoyed throughout the trip. This vegan Greek layered dip was the result. In fact, the idea first came to me during one of our bus rides with a few group members!
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Ingredients for the 7 Layers
The base layer is a creamy Greek fava purée made from split peas. I actually bought the split peas for this recipe at a small shop in Santorini where we stopped for lunch.
On top of that is a layer of very soft roasted eggplant, infused with smoked paprika and olive oil.
Then come the fresh Mediterranean toppings:
- cucumber
- tomatoes
- Kalamata olives
- vegan feta
- crispy fried capers
That makes seven ingredients. Maybe not seven perfectly defined layers, but you get the idea. The result is a Mediterranean vegan dip that’s bright, fresh, salty, and incredibly satisfying.
How to Make Greek Fava Purée
I have to admit that after traveling to Greece, and now Italy for the third time, I’ve started to fall in love with eggplant. For years I claimed it was my least favourite vegetable, but once you experience how Greeks and Italians cook it properly, it’s impossible to argue with how delicious it can be.
This recipe does require a bit of cooking, but the components can easily be made ahead of time. In fact, I found the flavours even better the next day.
If you’d like a shortcut, you could use hummus as the base instead of making the split pea fava purée. I’ll admit I’m still perfecting my fava technique. Sometimes I undercook it, and other times I overcook it.
The best method I’ve found is to cook the split peas the way you would cook pasta: fill a pot with plenty of water, cook the split peas until they’re very soft, and then drain the excess water. The exact ratio of water to split peas seems to vary depending on the peas themselves, so this approach tends to work best.
Once blended, the result is a creamy Greek fava dip that makes the perfect base layer for this recipe.
Vegan Feta & Mediterranean Toppings
One thing that pleasantly surprised me in Greece was how easy it was to find vegan feta everywhere we went. Violife is widely available, and it worked perfectly in this dip.
I also topped the dip with preserved caper leaves, which I brought home from the same shop in Santorini where I bought the split peas. Unfortunately, caper leaves are hard to find in North America, but they make a beautiful garnish and add a unique salty flavour.
If you can’t find caper leaves, crispy fried capers alone still make this vegan Mediterranean dip pop!
Make-Ahead Tips
This vegan Greek dip is perfect for entertaining because it can be prepared in advance. You can roast the eggplant and cook the fava purée ahead of time, then assemble the dip just before serving.
The flavours actually develop even more after sitting overnight in the fridge, making it a great make-ahead vegan appetizer for gatherings, parties, or potlucks.
Serve it with:
- toasted pita
- crackers
- grilled bread
- fresh vegetables
Inspired by Vegan Travel in Greece
The Live With Purpose Greece trip was actually my fifth trip with The Getaway Co. I’ve also hosted Getaways in Bali, Italy, Norway, and Portugal.
Traveling this way has introduced me to incredible food traditions and ingredients that inspire so many of the recipes I create.
If you’re curious about traveling this way, you can join The Getaway Co. email list to be the first to hear about upcoming vegan travel experiences around the world.
And if you noticed the incredible tomato fritters featured in the vlog above, I created a recipe for those as well. You can check out the recipe here.
7-layer greek dip
Ingredients
fava pureé (split peas)
- ½ C split peas, rinsed
- 4 C water (generously cover split peas in water)
- 1 C diced white onion
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
roasted eggplant
- 1 lbs eggplant
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
remaining dip layers
- 2 tablespoon capers
- ¾ C chopped grape tomatoes
- ¾ C Chopped english cucumber
- ½ C chopped, pitted kalamata olives
- 1 C crumbled vegan feta
- caper leaves, as garnish (optional)
Instructions
- To make the fava pureé, add split peas, water, onion, and thyme to a pot over high heat. Partially cover the pot with a lid. Bring to a boil, about 5 minutes, stir, and lower heat to medium-low. Keep the lid partially on the pot and cook for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally and checking for tenderness of the split peas. They should be very soft. Drain through a large strainer or sieve and allow the mixture to drain thoroughly before turning into a pureé
- Add the mixture back to the pot and add olive oil, sea salt, and ground pepper to taste. Blend with an immersion blender in the pot until smooth or do this in a food processor. Pour the mixture into your serving dish. Spread out in an even layer, but cool the mixture completely before assembling the remaining components of the dip on top. I used a container with a lid so I placed it in the fridge while I prepared the remaining components.
- To make the roasted eggplant, cut the eggplant in half lengthwise. Coat the flesh in a light coating of sea salt and place the eggplant halves on a plate for 30 minutes.
- Combine olive oil, smoked paprika, cinnamon, and a pinch of sea salt and ground pepper in a small bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Then rinse off the salt from the eggplant under water and pat dry with a paper towel. Heat a large cast iron over medium-high heat. Place the eggplant flesh side down in the pan and sear for about 5 to 6 minutes until charred. Brush the skin side with the olive oil mixture, then flip and brush the remaining oil mixture on the flesh side. Keep the eggplant flesh side up and transfer the pan to the oven. Bake for 35 minutes or until softened and totally roasted. Once cooled, about 20 minutes, scoop the eggplant from the skin. It should be very soft, mushy, and easily come off. Roughly chop up the roasted flesh. Now layer this evenly over top of the split pea mixture.
- Wipe out the cast iron pan from roasting the eggplant. If it looks too dry add a very small amount of olive oil. Heat over medium-high heat. Add capers and fry until crispy about, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside in a small dish.
- Layer tomatoes on top of the eggplant, then cucumber, then olives, then feta. Add capers on top and caper leaves if using.
- Serve this dip with slices of baguette or toasted pita.
Lauren Toyota
Lauren is a plant-based powerhouse, a former TV host turned wildly successful food creator, best-selling cookbook author, and the woman responsible for making vegan comfort food a thing worth craving. Through her blog and YouTube channel, hot for food, she’s amassed a dedicated following by recreating all the nostalgic, indulgent dishes we love—mac & cheese, burgers, cinnamon rolls—but making them entirely plant-based. No compromise on taste, no weird ingredients, just damn good food.