Parmesan Herb Dip for Vegetables

Parmesan Herb Dip is the easiest homemade dip for raw veggies! In under 10 minutes, you can ditch your store-bought ranch for this delicious yogurt based dip with fresh herbs and bold flavor!  This creamy herb dip is perfect for parties or just to keep in the fridge for healthier snacking!

Why We Love It!

• It Tastes so Good! - Sometimes fresh raw vegetables is just the simplest and best way to eat them! Seems to be the way kids like them, so why fight that! This creamy parmesan dip is packed with flavor from the freshly grated Parmesan cheese, tangy yogurt, and bright herbs to make those veggies the best they can be!

• Fast and Easy! - This healthy Parmesan Herb Dip isn't much harder than grabbing a bottle of ranch. You can throw this dip together in minutes, and skip all the preservatives in the store-bought dip! Better for you, with real ingredients!

• It's Not Just for Snack Time! - While this easy veggie dip is great to whip up for a snack, it's also a great base for a vegetable charcuterie board for a party. AND, it's an awesome dinner side dish! We love simple summer meals on the patio, burgers or brats from the grill, baked beans or sliced watermelon, and a rainbow veggie platter with this creamy Parmesan dip! 

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Mayonnaise & Yogurt - Vegetable dip is often made with some combination of mayonnaise and sour cream.  This Parmesan Herb Vegetable Dip uses plain yogurt instead of sour cream, which is always a great substitute.  A bit healthier, and the tanginess of the yogurt is delicious in this dip.

• Parmesan Cheese - Freshly grated Parmesan really adds amazing flavor here! I always recommend buying a block and grating it yourself for the best flavor. It stays fresher than the pre-shredded cheese and sometimes is even cheaper when you compare the amounts. Crumbled feta or blue cheese will also give you great variations to this dip!

• Lemon Juice - A fresh squeeze of lemon juice gives you the acidity to balance the creaminess of the dip. Fresh is always best, but you can also substitute bottled lemon juice, or red or white wine vinegar.

• Fresh Herbs - Fresh herbs make the dip! You can really use whatever you like, but of course this will significantly impact the flavor. For a basic, subtle flavor, try chives and parsley. Adding basil or cilantro would be delicious, but will give you a very different taste. Fresh dill will also give you a drastically different strong flavor, so make sure your guests are dill fans! The basic plain yogurt veggie dip is really a blank canvas. Different herbs will give you lots of possibilities and variations. A teaspoon of dried Italian seasoning is also ok in a pinch!

• Salt & Pepper - Salt and pepper are incredibly important in this recipe as they enhance the flavors of the few other simple ingredients. However, this is the great part about homemade foods, you can control how much you put in! If you are looking for a low sodium veggie dip, simply use less salt. You are sure to be far better off than with the high amount of sodium in highly processed store-bought dips.

Instructions

Step 1 - This dip couldn't be easier! Just add all ingredients to a bowl and mix well to combine! After making this dip a few times, you won't even need to measure the ingredients.

Just an equal scoop of mayo and yogurt, shred in some Parmesan, a good squeeze of lemon, a pinch of salt and pepper, and a bunch of fresh herbs. Easy and delicious!

Recipe Tips

• Plain Yogurt - If you aren't used to buying plain yogurt, you may not know what to do with a whole container. I use it for lots of things in place of buying sour cream or flavored yogurts. We flavor it ourselves for breakfast with berries and Homemade Almond Granola. It's delicious in other dips like Mediterranean Hummus and Avocado Bean Dip. Add a dollop to chili or Loaded Baked Potatoes in place of sour cream. It's also an ingredient in my Protein Pancakes and Pumpkin Protein Waffles.

• Greek Yogurt - I usually just have regular plain yogurt on hand, but you could make this dip with Greek yogurt as well. Greek yogurt has more of the liquid strained out, so it will be thicker.

• Use a Microplane - A microplane is the best tool for shredding the Parmesan cheese super thin! It's ok if you don't have one, but they are great because that ultra fine shredded cheese incorporates so nicely into the dip!

• Use Coarse Ground Black Pepper - If you have a pepper grinder, loosen up the top for this recipe so you get larger coarse pieces of the peppercorn. They are delicious!

• Storage - Store this Parmesan yogurt dip in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days and give it a good stir before using. Do not freeze.

What to Serve with Veggie Dip

A quick veggie dip is a great meal prep to keep in the fridge all week. And it actually goes way beyond just healthy snacking!

• For Healthy Snacking, serve Parmesan Herb Dip with:
  • Lots of raw veggies like carrots, celery, pea pods, bell pepper, cucumber, cherry tomato, broccoli, cauliflower, or radish. This is a great chance to add the favorites you know your kids like and a few new ones you're hoping they'll try!
  • A few salty extras like seedy crackers, pretzels, potato chips or pita chips.

• For Lunch, this mayo yogurt sauce can make a perfect spread on a boring turkey sandwich! Think of it like mayo, with a bunch of extra flavor! You can also use it on any deli wrap or veggie bagel sandwich with sliced avocado, lettuce or spinach, tomato, cucumber and a slice of cheese.

• A Dinner Side Dish!  A big tray of veggies and dip are the perfect side dish for summer grilled burgers, Grilled Italian Sausages with Giardiniera or simple sliced Skillet Chicken Breast. Add Charred Corn on the Cob, sliced watermelon or baked beans and potato chips for the perfect simple dinner.

• Healthy Snack Platter Ideas for a Party!  Simple veggies and dip is a great base for entertaining. Make a platter with one or two dips such as Cilantro Lime Hummus, and surround it with veggies, crackers, pretzels, salami, prosciutto or other meats, different kinds of cheeses, and bowls of olives, pickles or nuts.

If you made this recipe, I'd love to hear how you liked it! Be sure to leave a star rating by clicking the stars in the recipe card, or leave a comment below!

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