Pickled Beet Dip ♥ Easy Recipe!

Today's vegetable recipe: A quick and easy dip made with pickled beets, cream cheese and horseradish. Quite addictive, smeared on bread. Great color for outdoor gatherings. Low carb.

No surprise that I loved this beet dip -- yes, when you collect beet recipes, people starting calling you the Beet Queen for good reason. But I didn't expect everyone else to love this beet dip -- but they did!

The dip starts with a jar of pickled beets and whizzes up in the food processor in just a few minutes. It keeps too -- making it easy to make ahead and keep on hand for several days.

Because you'll ask? Yes, the color is really truly that pink!

THREE DAYS LATER: Brilliant! My friend Tanna from the Dallas food blog My Kitchen in Half Cups made this dip using homemade pickled beets and substituting canned beans for the cream cheese! She served the dip at a 'Little Bites' Dinner detailed in a post called, Pink, Purple, Red or Rouge.

PICKLED BEET DIP

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 10 minutes
Makes 2 cups

1 16-ounce jar pickled beets, drained (see NOTES)
1 thick slice red onion
8 ounces low-fat cream cheese (also called Neufchatel)
Horseradish to taste (see NOTES)

Chop the beets and onion in a food processor until very small. Add the cream cheese and process until smooth. Add the horseradish. Spread over crostini or crackers.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Tablespoon: 28Cal; 2g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 5mg Cholesterol; 66mg Sodium; 3g Carb; 0g Fiber; 0g Sugar; 1g Protein; Weight Watchers 1 point

Per Quarter Cup: 114Cal; 6g Tot Fat; 4g Sat Fat; 21mg Cholesterol; 266mg Sodium; 11g Carb; 2g Fiber; 1g Sugar; 3g Protein; Weight Watchers 2 points

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION
Adapted from SlashFood

KITCHEN NOTES
I used Aunt Nellie's Pickled Beets but these Swedish Beets (an easy homemade pickled beet recipe, no canning required) would work great too.
If you like, put aside one beet to garnish the top.
Commercial horseradish varies in hotness so this is definitely an ingredient to taste and adjust. I used two teaspoons, that wasn't enough for our taste.

MORE FAVORITE VEGETABLE RECIPES
~ Beets with Feta ~
~ Beet Carpaccio ~
~ more beet recipes ~

~ Baba Ganoush ~
~ Easy Easy Radish Spread ~
~ Beet Pesto ~
~ more dips & spreads ~

~ more Weight Watchers recipes ~
~ more low-carb recipes ~

This recipe is so quick and easy that I'm adding it to a growing collection of easy summer recipes being published all summer long in 2009 at Kitchen Parade, my food column. With a free Kitchen Parade e-mail subscription, you'll never miss a one!

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Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
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