Guacamole? Or Seven Layer Dip?!!

Growing up I never cared much for guacamole, or avocados themselves for that matter.  I thought they were slimy, mushy and pretty flavorless.  As an adult, I love what you can do with avocados!  I still don't care to eat them plain, but give me the right spice mix and preparation and I can down huge volumes of guacamole.  If I have a bit more time and want to make something that will serve a large crowd, then I usually go all out for seven layer dip.  This recipe yields a huge amount and can feed eight people as a meal or a much larger crowd for snacks.  When I make this for a crowd, I use a big pasta dish to serve it in.  When I make it for my family, I use two covered containers like the one in the picture.  We sometimes end up snacking on this for the better part of a week.  If you serve it at a party, it will be gone before you know it!

Vegan Seven Layer Dip (or sometimes only Six)

• 1 15 oz can vegetarian refried beans
• 1 4 oz can diced green chilies
• 1 4 oz can chopped black olives
• 1 cup TVP granules re hydrated with 1/2 cup Merlot and 1/2 cup No Beef Broth
• 1 package taco seasoning mix (check ingredients to ensure it's vegan, McCormick is not!)
• 2 large, ripe avocados
• 1 package guacamole seasoning mix (check ingredients to ensure it's vegan, Great Guacamole! is not!)
• 1 12 oz container vegan sour cream (Tofutti Better than Sour Cream or Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Sour Cream)
• 1 8 oz bag Daiya Cheddar Shreds
• 1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 small bunch green onions, finely chopped
• 6 Roma tomatoes, finely chopped

For the first layer, mix the beans and green chilies and spread on the bottom of your serving dish(es).  For the second layer, spread the chopped olives over the bean/chili mixture.  Mix the taco seasoning with the re hydrated TVP granules to make a nice taco filling for the third layer.  Mash the avocados with the mix and use as the fourth layer, then spread sour cream as the fifth.  Spread the Daiya Cheddar Shreds as the sixth layer.  Combine the tomatoes, cilantro and green onions into a salsa and top as the final layer!



Let's talk vegan sour cream for a minute.  Tofutti's Better than Sour Cream is great stuff, but it does not taste quite like sour cream so I use it combined with other things but rarely plain.  The Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Sour Cream tastes way more like the real thing.  This I would eat on a baked potato!  When I use the Better than Sour Cream, I usually mix it with the guacamole and get a creamier, lighter guacamole layer, thus, only six layers.  Both of these products are highly processed and have plenty of fat.  If you would rather venture out to make a healthier version, try this link and give it a whirl!  Vegan Tofu Sour Cream  If you store leftover dip in your refrigerator, moisture will leach out of it moreso than the traditional, animal laden versions.  Just wick away with some paper towling and you are good to go for round two snacks.

Serve your Seven Layer Dip with baked tortilla chips, veggies, vegan taquitos, or pile into taco shells for a delicious cold taco!