Move over boring beige hummus, if you haven’t noticed, colorful produce is popping up everywhere and it’s all primed to boost the traditional dip. Your basic hummus recipe is made with tahini, chickpeas and flavor agents that amp it up, but there’s no reason not to sneak some nutritious veggies into the recipe to make more flavorful, healthy and Instagram-worthy snacks.
The ratio below makes a great, spicy hummus, but by swapping out a few ingredients, you can make beet hummus, carrot hummus and fava bean hummus … or any other hummus of your dreams!
Once you’ve mastered the texture and technique — Read: Blending everything in a food processor — it’s time to get colorful, flavorful and delicious.
By swapping out the beans, reducing the amount of tahini and adding in fresh veggies and a few dollops of flavorful compounds, your hummus becomes a totally different dip.
CLASSIC SPICY HUMMUS
Ingredients
- 1 15 1/2-ounce (439g) can chickpeas
- 1 large lemon, juiced and zested
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup (140g) tahini, well mixed
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 cranks freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 cup (49.5g) olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- Ice water, to thin
- Za’atar or sesame seeds, for serving
Directions
Combine the chickpeas, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, salt, pepper, tahini and cumin in a food processor or high-speed blender. Blend until a nice, well-chopped mixture forms. Drizzle in the olive oil and allow the mixture to process until the hummus is quite smooth without any big chunks. Drizzle in ice water to thin the mixture and process until the desired consistency is reached. Add more salt, pepper, lemon juice or olive oil, to taste. Sprinkle with za’atar and sesame seeds. Makes 2 cups.
CARROT AND MAPLE HUMMUS
Ingredients
- 1 15 1/2-ounce can chickpeas (or white beans), drained and rinsed
- 1 large lemon, juiced and zested
- 3 garlic cloves
- 6 ounces raw carrot, chopped roughly
- 1/4 cup tahini (or almond butter)
- 3/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt, or more to taste
- 10 cranks freshly ground pepper, or more to taste
- 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
- Ice water, to thin
- Za’atar or togarashi, for serving
Directions
Combine the chickpeas, carrots, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, salt, pepper, tahini, maple syrup, salt and pepper in a food processor or high-speed blender. Blend until a nice, well-chopped mixture forms. Drizzle in the olive oil and allow the mixture to process until the hummus is quite smooth without any big chunks. Drizzle in ice water to thin the mixture and process until the hummus reaches desired consistency. Add more salt, pepper, lemon juice or olive oil, to taste. Sprinkle with hemp seeds and enjoy.
BEET HUMMUS
Ingredients
- 1 15 1/2-ounce can chickpeas (or white beans), drained and rinsed
- 1 large lemon, juiced and zested
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 baseball-sized raw beet, chopped roughly (about 6 ounces)
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 3/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt, or more to taste
- 10 cranks freshly ground pepper, or more to taste
- 1 1/2 tablespoons white miso paste
- Ice water, to thin
- Hemp seeds or sesame seeds, for serving
Directions
Combine the chickpeas, beet, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, salt, pepper, tahini, miso paste, salt and pepper in a food processor or high-speed blender. Blend until a nice, well-chopped mixture forms. Drizzle in the olive oil and allow the mixture to process until the hummus is quite smooth without any big chunks. Drizzle in ice water to thin the mixture and process until the hummus reaches desired consistency. Add more salt, pepper, lemon juice or olive oil, to taste. Sprinkle with hemp seeds and enjoy!
FAVA BEAN HUMMUS
Ingredients
- 1 15 1/2-ounce can chickpeas (or white beans), drained and rinsed
- 1 large lemon, juiced and zested of
- 3 garlic cloves
- 6 ounces fava beans, shelled, blanched and skins removed
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 3/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt, or more to taste
- 10 cranks freshly ground pepper, or to taste
- Ice water, to thin
- Fresh herbs (chives, basil, mint, cilantro), to serve
Directions
To prepare the fava beans; shell them over a broad bowl. In a large pan, bring 2 quarts of salted water to a boil; boil the beans for 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the beans, then blanch them immediately in ice cold water to stop the cooking and retain their bright green color. When the beans have sunk to the bottom of the bowl, pluck them out and remove their skins. Discard the skins.
Combine the chickpeas, cooked-and-peeled fava beans, lemon juice and zest, garlic, salt, pepper and tahini in a food processor or high-speed blender. Blend until a nice, well-chopped mixture forms. Drizzle in the olive oil and allow the mixture to process until the hummus is quite smooth without any big chunks.
Drizzle in ice water to thin the mixture and process until the hummus reaches the desired consistency. Add more salt, pepper, lemon juice or olive oil, to taste. Sprinkle with herbs and enjoy.
