I first tasted an edamame kale dip at a grocery store called Farm Boy in Kingston, Canada. Friends of mine served the dip as a little snack before dinner along with some pita chips and I was immediately hooked. It was so bright and fresh and delicious and I just wanted more. I think it’s become a little bit of a sensation for lots of people because when I’ve served the dip in Kingston to other friends, they have immediately and eagerly said “Oh, is this the Farm Boy dip?”. It’s such a nice change from hummus, guacamole, salsa and the standard dips that we usually make and serve. So, because I’m not in Kingston all the time, and because it’s always nice to have a recipe for a good dip on hand, I developed this recipe to try to come as close to the Farm Boy version as possible. I think I’ve come pretty close, but my version has a little less garlic and a little more lemon.
I classify this edamame kale dip as a no-bake recipe, but it does in fact require blanching the kale in boiling water before proceeding with the super quick food processor step. Calling it “no bake” might be cheating a little, but honestly that step is so quick and easy that I think I deserve a pass (don’t I?). The key to blanching the kale is to just dip the leaves into the water, grabbing the whole bunch in your hand and holding the stems while the leaves blanch in the boiling water for 30 to 40 seconds. Then just rinse them with cold water, squeeze out all the excess liquid and give the leaves a rough chop discarding the super tough stems. Then you can just toss the kale it into the food processor with the other ingredients. In a pinch, you can skip the blanching step (if you don’t have a stovetop or a saucepan for instance), but the kale is tastier and a prettier color if you cook the kale quickly before processing it.
With regards to the edamame, buying frozen edamame beans is the easiest way to go, but you can certainly pick up fresh edamame in the pod and hull them yourself. Just let the beans defrost before adding them to the dip. Popping them into the boiling water to blanch quickly also helps set their bright green color, but it’s not necessary.
Next time I’m entertaining friends in Kingston , I’ll make a quick batch of this dip and put it out with some pita chips. Hopefully, if all goes well, I’ll soon hear an eager voice ask me “Ooh is this the Farm Boy Dip?”. Fingers crossed.
Hi, like so many others the Farm Boy Edemame & Kale dip was instant addiction. So thanks for working on replication. However to get closer to the original I think the proportions of beans to kale should be reversed.
FarmBoy’s dip has a creamy base with (probably cooked) garlicky edemame beans and kale to fill it out.
Once we work through all the Kale dip we now have we’ll give it another try.
Well, let me know how it works out! It’s definitely a dip worth savoring!
I just tried making this dip and I’m curious did C. Campbell provide feedback on her modification with more beans vs kale? Also have you frozen this dip in smaller portions?
Hi there. No, unfortunately, I didn’t hear back about how more beans vs kale, but I think you should feel free to give it a whirl to see if you like it better that way. I haven’t frozen the dip in smaller portions, but there’s no reason why you can’t. Just try to keep it in as airtight a container as possible and understand that it might be more water-y when you defrost it.
I reversed the ratio of edamame to kale amd it was a perfect texture and consistency. I put a whole jalapeño, 2 small garlic cloves and abit more salt and olive oil. The consensus is that is better then the Farm Boy one 😋
We tried the farm boy dip. It was great. I’ll put more beans in next time. I didn’t have fresh lemon so just concentrated juice. It’s still super delicious. Thanks for this recipe.
I made this dip but added another 1 cup of edamame, 2 more cloves of garlic, another 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and another 2 Tbsp olive oil (total 1/2 cup), and used the whole jalapeno.
Delicious! Thanks for the inspiring jumping off point.
I made this for the first time for our adult children and spouses. I was looking for a
healthy appetizer and this was perfect, Even our meat eating, vegetable averse son-in-law loved it! It was even better the next day as the flavors had time to meld. It would also make a good sandwich spread. Will definitely go into my repertoire.
Thank you!