Garlic Dill Sunflower Dip

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Wood cutting board with fresh vegetables and a bowl of Garlic Dill Sunflower Dip

If you’re like us, sometimes you consume so much hummus on a weekly basis you just need an alternative to switch things up. Something without so many beans? Anyone else?

If this is you, look no further than our tasty hummus alternative: sunflower seed “hummus” dip! It has all of the amazing flavors of classic hummus, plus herbs (!), and it utilizes nutritious soaked sunflower seeds in place of chickpeas! Let us show you how easy it is.

Assortment of ingredients for making bean-free Garlic Dill Sunflower Dip

The base for this 7-ingredient recipe is soaked raw sunflower seeds, which are neutral enough to absorb other flavors, and also incredibly nutritious, providing plenty of vitamin E, vitamin B1, and selenium!

Next comes fresh lemon juice, minced garlic, and salt for flavor. Once blended with olive oil and water to create a creamy base, add in some of your favorite herbs. We went with dill because lemon, garlic, and dill pair so well together. But other herbs would be delightful as well!

Food processor filled with Garlic Dill Sunflower Dip topped with fresh dill

We hope you LOVE this dip! It’s:

Creamy
Lemony
Garlicky
Herbal
Versatile
& Incredibly delicious!

This would make a lovely dip to have on hand through the week to pair with fresh vegetables, roasted vegetables, crackers, wraps, and more!

Into dips? Be sure to check out our Golden Goddess Turmeric Hummus, Classic Hummus from Scratch, Simple Baba Ganoush, Roasted Jalapeño Hummus, Chickpea Shawarma Dip, and Kale & White Bean Artichoke Dip!

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!

Using a spoon to scoop up Garlic Dill Sunflower Dip for serving on vegetables

Garlic Dill Sunflower Dip

Savory, bean-free, hummus-inspired dip with sunflower seeds, garlic, dill, and lemon! Just 7 ingredients required, creamy, incredibly flavorful, and perfect for crackers, veggies, sandwiches, and more!
Author Minimalist Baker
Print
Bowl of Garlic Dill Sunflower Dip on a wood cutting board with fresh vegetables for dipping
4.81 from 21 votes
Prep Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Servings 10 (1/4-cup servings)
Course Dip
Cuisine Gluten-Free, Mediterranean-Inspired, Vegan
Freezer Friendly 1 month
Does it keep? 1 Week

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups raw sunflower seeds, soaked*
  • 6 cloves garlic (peeled and minced // reduce slightly for less garlicky flavor)
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 1/4 cup good olive oil (if avoiding oil, sub a bit more tahini and a little water)
  • ~1/2 cup water (to thin)
  • 1/2 cup fresh chopped dill (plus more to taste, or sub with half the amount of dried dill)

FOR SERVING optional

Instructions

  • Soak sunflower seeds in room temperature water for at least 2 hours or overnight (up to 24 hours). We soaked them overnight (10 hours) and found that to be perfect.
  • Rinse and drain sunflower seeds and transfer to a food processor (you can use a blender for a creamier dip, but we preferred the texture of dip made with a food processor). 
  • Add garlic, sea salt, and lemon juice and mix for 30 seconds to combine. Then add tahini and mix for 1 minute. 
  • While your machine is mixing, stream in your olive oil. At this point, your dip will still be quite thick, so we recommend adding water a little at a time until it’s the texture of hummus (creamy). 
    NOTE: The sunflower seeds will keep a little bit of their texture and not become entirely creamy. But we think that’s one of the enjoyable aspects of this dip! If that isn’t for you, feel free to blend in a blender with more oil or water to make it completely smooth.
  • Lastly, add dill and pulse a few times to combine. Then taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more lemon for acidity, garlic for zing, salt to taste, or dill for herbal flavor.
  • Enjoy immediately, or refrigerate and keep in the refrigerator up to 1 week or the freezer up to 1 month (thaw before enjoying). Best when fresh.

Video

Notes

*You could try using unsoaked roasted sunflower seeds, but we haven’t tested it that way and can’t guarantee the results. We did test with unsoaked raw sunflower seeds and found the flavor to be slightly overpowering, and the texture to be too chewy.
*Recipe inspired by Floreli Sunflower Seed Hummus.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated without serving ingredients.

Nutrition (1 of 10 servings)

Serving: 1 quarter-cup servings Calories: 212 Carbohydrates: 7 g Protein: 5.7 g Fat: 19.5 g Saturated Fat: 2.1 g Sodium: 245 mg Potassium: 203 mg Fiber: 2.5 g Sugar: 1.1 g

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  1. Cait says

    New favorite dip! I made this with the 2-hour soak of the sunflower seeds and it was wonderful! I also used my blender because my small food processor was just too small. Worked like a charm! Great with veggies and pita chips! My boyfriend even put it on his sandwich!

    I’m going to start keeping raw sunflower seeds around so I can easily make this.

    Highly recommend!

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Love it! So happy to hear you both enjoyed this dip, Cait. Thanks for the great review!

  2. Kristi says

    First of all, this website is fabulous! I have a very strict diet…GF, DF, V, and no refined sugars. I always find wonderful things to try on Minimalist Baker. I had a lot of dill in my fridge and searched for recipes. I found this one, but I can’t eat sunflower seeds, so I used the sprouted pumpkin seeds that I did have. It turned out wonderful!!
    Thank you for making recipes that are healthy and delicious 😋

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      We’re so glad you enjoy our recipes, Kristi! Thank you for the lovely review and for sharing your modification! xo

  3. Jolly says

    Just made this and the family is currently devouring it with carrot and bell pepper sticks! Such a super easy and yummy snack. I soaked my sunflower seeds overnight and used 1/4 cup of dried dill instead of fresh. Turned out great in the food processor with a hearty texture, but also curious to try a super smooth version in the vita mix next time! YUM.

  4. Ann Opinion says

    In my opinion, this turned out great–love it.
    I do not have raw sunflower seeds, so I soaked the ones I have overnight and the flavor is wonderful. I would say this recipe is as described. This will definitely be a go to recipe for me since I eat a whole30 / paleo diet and I’m always on the look out for dip recipes that fit those eating profiles. Thanks for a great recipe.

  5. Vanessa says

    I really love this dip, it was a lot of lemon and garlic so next time I will reduce it to the half. Also I add some extra raw sunflowers on top of the dip, gave it a mix by hand for a feeling of crunchy.
    It`s a great alternative of hummus. Thank you so much

  6. Nancy says

    I thought there was too much lemon juice in it. Next time, I will cut in half. Also, I did halve the garlic and thought it was plenty. I only wish I had fresh dill to use! Overall, a good recipe. I might run this batch through a blender yet to see how tastes when smoother.

  7. Megan says

    Do you think this would still be good without the tahini? Or should I substitute something else for it? I’m excited to try this but I’m allergic to sesame.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hmm, we aren’t sure! Maybe pumpkin seeds, but the flavor might be too strong. Let us know if you do some experimenting!

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi Sophia, for this recipe, we used sunflower seeds without a shell. They should be called raw shelled sunflower seeds.

  8. Pomm says

    This recipe made me famous at a party! Let me preface by saying, I do not cook, at all. When my bf and I moved in together, my kitchen contribution was 1 pan, 1 pot, 2 dishes, and 2 sets of flatware. He is the chef in our household. But when I was asked to bring a veggie platter to a party (because all my friends know I don’t cook), I decided to try to make this as a replacement to the generic ranch dip. Next thing you know, everyone was asking who made this and can I have the recipe! And at the moment, my bf is happily spreading this dip onto his lunch sandwich! Your philosophy of under 30 minutes, under 10 ingredients is perfect for a kitchen-handicap like me, plus I’m GF and DF. Wins all around! Thank you, thank you!!

  9. Alastair says

    Liked this lots. Is good fresh out of the processor but was even better the next day. A nice change from beans

  10. Annie says

    This dip is amazing and seriously makes me question whether I ever want hummus again. I love it with all the garlic. Thanks for the recipe!

  11. CMA Medeiros says

    Dana, this is one of my favorites!!! WoW! It is so delicious: lemony and garlicy – yes. Add to those both the not quite ground up seeds and subtle dill – and the taste becomes so textured. Goes GREAT with Trader Joe’s crisp breads (I use the GF ones), and as a dip for roasted veg, as you suggested. Thank you for this!

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your serving ideas. We are so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo

  12. Carlotta says

    This was so tasty! I was a little nervous because I forgot to soak the sunflower seeds, and I was in a rush, so instead of doing a long soak I did a quick, hot-soak and just covered the seeds with hot (almost boiling) water for 30 minutes and then made the dip just as the recipe said, and it was SO GOOD.

    My fiancee and I just moved into our new place (wedding is in 20 days!), and some of our friends surprised us with flowers. I pulled out the dip with raw carrots and green beans, and it was a huge hit. Everyone loved it!

  13. Kim W says

    This is excellent!!! Thank you so much for this – I love hummus but even with Beano it is NSFW for me. :-D The base for this is a great jumping off point as well – I just made a batch where I subbed the oil, garlic and dill with several dollops of Zesty Z za’atar spread…so good! Thank you for all you do – keep up the great work!
    p.s. your black bean brownies are superb!

  14. Nicole says

    Made this last night and it’s yummy! I was excited to see a dip alternative to hummus because yes it can feel like a lot of beans. I saw lots of reviews about the garlic so I did half (3 cloves) and I was a little shy of 1.5 cups of sunflower seeds so I didn’t end up having to add any water and the consistency was perfect. I soaked the seeds about 12 hours (9 am before work till that night) and it worked great, not chunky or gritty in consistency. It was slightly reminiscent of tzatziki. I’d like to try with another kind of herb to see how that goes.

  15. Ashley Byrum says

    This dip is so fresh and flavorful! It is very quick and easy to throw together and goes great with pretzel Chips, raw veggies, roasted veggies…I even spread it on my sandwiches. It’s a nice change from hummus and I highly recommend!

  16. Caitlin says

    Too funny- I also tried Floreli’s sunflower seed hummus, fell in love, and thought “I can make this!” Came across this recipe and it was pretty spot on (and I didn’t even notice your comment until later on)! It turned out AMAZING! A little heavy on the garlic (and I love lots of garlic) so I may use one less clove next time I make it.

    Going to try a sun dried tomato version of this recipe next time!

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerDana @ Minimalist Baker says

      That should work! But we haven’t tested it and I’m not sure how it works. Let us know!

  17. Evelyn Cranston says

    This is incredible! I’ve been eating it on toast with arugala for about a week and I’m still not tired of it! My partner can’t eat chickpeas, so this is a new staple for us. I soaked the sunflower seeds for about 2-3 hours and it worked out fine. I also added a bit extra lemon juice, and it was perfect!

  18. M says

    Just made it for breakfast ?
    We had this dip with toasted dark rye bread and cucumber, it was delish! Although I have to say I hope my breath doesn’t smell too bad since it was quite garlicky! ?

  19. Chantal says

    Holy sunflower dip. I couldn’t wait to make this. Just finished it and wow does it make quite a bit. I only used 4 cloves of garlic as that is all I had and I am glad because it is more than I will use next time. Very garlicky but very tasty. I’m curious to see if it bakes well because the taste and texture appear to be a similar to a ricotta and I am going to try it in a vegan lasagna. Until then, I dip with delight. Thank you for the great hummus alternative.

      • Chantal says

        I used some in a lasagna. Layered noodles, sunflower spread, marinara and spinach. It was the star of the show. Thanks again for the terrific recipe

        • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

          So clever! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Chantal. We are so glad you enjoyed it! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo

  20. Beth Ann says

    I really loved this and am putting on EVERYTHING! The fresh dill makes it!
    I do enjoy garlic, but for my taste, found only 1/2 of a minced clove was plenty to keep flavor balance and taste other ingredients without overpowering. ?

  21. Shivika says

    Dips are personally my favorite. I have never tired the sunflower dip. I am definitely going to try this dip.

  22. Holly says

    Hi Dana, I really want to try this it sounds delicious! I buy my nuts and seeds pre-soaked so they’re dry not wet. I’m just wondering if the lack of moisture (from the soaking process) will mess with the flavors and maybe even the texture of the dip. Any suggestions or thoughts are appreciated. Cheers!

  23. Cari says

    What could I substitute for the the tahini? My niece is allergic to legumes (so I was excited to see this hummous alternative!) but also to sesame. . .

    Thanks!

  24. Joe says

    Good, solid recipe. I make something similar with sunflower seeds and add in raw zucchini and it is delicious! I like it better than hummus made with chickpeas.

  25. Chari Farin says

    It’s so nice to have alternatives to hummus, awesome sauce, and marinara for gluten free, dairy free sauces. I will try this soon.

  26. Kate says

    I have wanted to make this since I bought some at our towns Vegfest..it was so good. I am so glad you are giving the recipe. I do love your foods.

  27. Natmaris Corner says

    This sounds great! I absolutely love sunflower seeds. I love sunflower butter and hummus so I know I will like sunflower hummus. I cannot wait to try this. :-)