Who doesn’t love a 7 layer bean dip? Oh man – I sure did! I gave up beans more than 6 years ago so I thought these days were long gone …..until now! 7 layer (no bean) dip happened!!! And it was devoured by all!
My secret ingredient (in place of beans) is eggplant. After making my lasagna and moussaka with eggplant, I realized it might be a good binder and a perfect bulk for the 7 layer dip I have been missing. I had other ideas on how to layer this dip but I really felt like the beans were what gave it bulk and held it together ….so just tossing in more loose veggies or even cauli-rice, didn’t seem like it would get the job done.
I decided to give the eggplant a try…and I was so pleased! I could have eaten the whole thing but I had to share with my family :-/ Kidding! I love my taste testers! My daughter and son in law are staying with us until their place is ready and they LOVED….as did my hubby. In fact, my hubby and daughter walked in later looking for more! They didn’t even know it was eggplant as they chowed down, which was good because I feel that people might shy away from this recipe if they don’t care for eggplant BUT like I said, they didn’t even know what it was til they asked.
I like recipes that are easy to throw together and this was – however, if you prep the eggplant ahead of time, it will save time on the day you actually want to layer your dip. I did it all at once and frankly, it was fine but I do think I will make the eggplant ahead of time on my prep day so it’ll be just that much quicker. Btw…if you count the ingredients, there’s 8 but I consider the green onions and cilantro ‘1 layer’ so it can stay true the the name!
I know this will be a dip that I’ll be taking along to potlucks or summer BBQ’s. I served with plantain chips but I am sure it’ll be great with celery, mini bellpepper cups or even just scoop with a spoon! Give it a-go and let me know what you think 
- 2 medium eggplants
- 1 lb grassfed cooked ground beef crumbled-simply
- seasoned
- 6 pieces of cooked bacon, chopped
- 2-3 cups guacamole (2 large avocados)
- 1 cup salsa
- 6 oz's sliced olives
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- Plantain chips for dipping
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Peel eggplant and brush olive oil on whole eggplants. Roast in oven for 30 minutes.
- While eggplant is in oven, cook bacon & ground beef if not already done. Make guacamole, dice up green onion and cilantro.
- Once eggplant is done, carefully put into blender and pulse. Add garlic powder, salt & pepper and pulse until well combined but still thick & almost chunky.
- Layer your dip!
- In a casserole dish (I used 9-10 inch round) ....lay the eggplant in and smooth out.
- Next, ground beef, guacamole, olives, salsa, green onion, cilantro then bacon!
- Eat with favorite dipping food!
- ....and I consider the green onion & cilantro one layer so it stays true to "7 Layers"
Definitely going to be making this one Val! I have company coming over this weekend so this will be the treat (and with crispy bacon for the dippers)! Thanks for the great idea!
Awesome Bob! Let me know what you think….and your guests! I love the bacon idea too. Why didn’t I think of that???