• If you’re interested solely in the recipe, skip this bullet point and keep on reading. For those interested in sourcing nutrient-dense food, low-toxic household products, and discounts on brands that may support your AB journey, you may find value in my product guides. Head over to this page if you’d like to check them out. All are free (and always will be).

Prepare the kabocha squash.

• Skin your kabocha squash with your vegetable peeler, remove the seeds, and chop it into large chunks. I chopped mine into 1 in x 1 in pieces or so. The size is not too important as the cooked pieces will be blended. You just don't want them to be too large to ensure they cook through.
• Note: I have a story highlight on my Instagram page entitled "KABOCHA" where I demonstrate peeling, gutting, and cutting a kabocha squash.

Pressure cook the kabocha squash and stew meat.

• Add the stew meat, kabocha squash pieces, and the water into your Instant Pot.
• Stir the squash pieces and stew meat around to make sure all pieces are covered by water.
• Pressure cook on Low Pressure for 20 minutes and slow release for 10 minutes.
• Note: I haven't tried this recipe without an Instant Pot, but boiling the squash and stew meat on the stove top (or doing something similar with a slow cooker or other tool) may work. If you want to try this without an Instant Pot, make sure the kabocha squash pieces are cooked through until they are very soft/can be mashed and the stew meat needs to be soft enough so that it can be pulled apart easily.

Drain the water out of the squash-stew meat mixture and allow the stew/squash pieces to cool.

• Once the mixture is done pressure cooking and slow release is complete, drain out all of the water and place the cooked squash/stew meat into a separate bowl.
• Allow the squash/stew meat to cool for 5-10 minutes. You don't want the pieces to cool down entirely, but you want to make sure they're not piping hot when you place them into your blender.

Blend the cooked kabocha squash and stew meat.

• Once the kabocha squash and stew meat have cooled, add them to your blender and blend until smooth.
• Note: I didn't have to add any water to get a smooth texture, but if your mixture is too thick and your blender is getting stuck, add just a little bit of water to help it blend. I had to stop mine and mix the squash/meat around 5-10 times to get it to blend through.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the blender.

• Add the lime juice, sea salt (ASHLEYR for 15% off), and pureed garlic (if using) to the blender and blend until smooth.
• Note: if you go through tons of salt in your household like we do, check out this salt purchasing hack that will save you money + make things more efficient. We started this last year, and I'm so happy we did!

Add more lime, sea salt, and garlic (if using) to taste.

• Taste the bean dip. If you prefer your dip saltier or with more lime/garlic undertones, add more of whatever ingredient you prefer.

Serve and enjoy!

• I highly recommend pairing this bean dip with my Onion-Free Guacamole recipe. I used Siete sea salt chips for dipping, but you can use carrots or whatever you'd like (or even eat it alone!).
• Store in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days.