Hummus 4 Ways

Love hummus as much as we do? If so, you're in luck. Today we're sharing four of our favorite hummus variations, including an easy, classic hummus recipe! The three additional flavors include: Pesto, Roasted Red Pepper + Harissa and Pickled Beet.

When it comes to dips, hummus obviously reigns supreme. Right? Can we all agree on that?? (Maybe it's just vegans, I'm not sure.)

While I love a good store-bought hummus for everyday snacking, I really prefer homemade. I like my hummus super creamy, smooth and lemony and I haven't found a store-bought one that I like quite as much as this recipe!

We modeled the base recipe off of a local Middle Eastern restaurant that has the BEST hummus. It's so good, you guys. Sometimes I just order hummus with pine nuts and eat it with pita for dinner. We're really lucky to live in an area with amazing Middle Eastern restaurants – it's my favorite cuisine!

Our recipe probably isn't exactly the same, but we tweaked quantities until we got it as close as possible. Then, we took the base and made three delicious variations!

They're perfect for serving at a potluck, holiday or any entertaining occasion, served alongside a rainbow of crudités and crackers.

From top left to bottom right, the flavors include Roasted Red Pepper + Harissa Hummus, Pesto Hummus, Pickled Beet Hummus, and Plain Jane Hummus (with some roasted garlic for extra flavor).

Homemade hummus ingredients

Let's kick things off with a quick overview on what exactly you'll need to make perfect hummus at home.

• Chickpeas. The most important ingredient! There's all sorts of controversy surrounding the best way to prepare chickpeas for hummus (including peeling the skins), but we just use regular old canned chickpeas. And don't discard all of the liquid (aquafaba) from the can – we'll need that later!
• Tahini. The second most important ingredient. Look for a super creamy tahini.
• Lemon. Freshly squeezed lemon juice is essential. Don't use the stuff that comes in a bottle! It's really not the same.
• Garlic. Most people prefer to use fresh garlic, but we prefer to roast ours before adding to hummus. It takes away the astringent bite and adds a sweet, caramelized flavor that can't be beat.
• Aquafaba. Remember that liquid from your can of chickpeas? Yep, you'll be adding some to your hummus. It makes the hummus super creamy without watering down the flavor!
• Olive Oil. Opt for a higher quality olive oil in this dip – it really adds a lot of flavor!
• Salt. Salt is SO important in hummus. You'll need more than you think, so don't be afraid to tweak the recipe to your tastes.
• Cumin. It's an optional ingredient, but we love the flavor it adds. Feel free to omit if preferred.

How to make hummus super creamy

The key to super creamy, smooth hummus is a high speed blender.

Most recipes call for a food processor, but no matter how hard you try, it's really, really hard to make it super creamy. Our Vitamix is perfect for the job. It has a tamper, so we can keep the hummus moving. Within 30 seconds, it's perfectly smooth!

If you don't have a high speed blender, another option is to add more aquafaba to thin out the hummus. Slowly stream it in while the hummus is blending and continue blending until it reaches your desired consistency.

You may need to adjust the other seasonings depending on how much you add. Hummus is one of those things that you'll just need to taste test a few times before you get it right. Don't be afraid to make your own adjustments!

How to make hummus variations

Now that you have your base hummus recipe ready, let's discuss a few ways to change it up.

Pesto Hummus

In addition to the base hummus recipe, we add fresh basil, pine nuts, spinach, nutritional yeast, and a little more lemon juice, salt and olive oil.

Fresh basil, pine nuts and nutritional yeast are key for pesto flavor. Nutritional yeast is a great vegan cheesy alternative to parmesan. If you're not vegan, feel free to substitute with parmesan instead.

Spinach adds a bit more green, which is never a bad thing! Blend it up and top with olive oil, toasted pine nuts and more fresh basil. Pesto hummus is SO good on sandwiches or toast!

Roasted Red Pepper + Harissa Hummus

A little different than your classic roasted red pepper hummus, this recipe gets a spicy kick from harissa powder.

To prepare homemade roasted red peppers, slice a large red bell pepper in half, remove the seeds and coat with some oil and salt. Roast for about 30 minutes, until completely tender and slightly charred.

Optional: once the peppers are out of the oven, you can peel off the skin if you'd like, but it's not totally necessary.

Add the roasted red pepper and harissa to the blender and blend away!

Pickled Beet Hummus

Beet hummus is good (and so pretty!), but you know what's better? Pickled beet hummus.

Beets aren't exactly the sexiest vegetable out there. Pickling them adds tangy, briny, delicious flavor that makes them far more delicious! We have a whole guide on how to quick pickle any vegetable here.

Pickle your beets, then add the beets + some of the pickling liquid to your hummus. You'll need to cut back a bit on the lemon juice and aquafaba, but otherwise, the traditional recipe is the perfect base.

Don't want to pickle your beets? Replace with steamed or roasted beets instead. Or if you're just going for color, use a dash of beet powder or beet juice instead. So easy and beautiful!

How to serve & store hummus

These gorgeous hummus recipes are perfect for a stunning appetizer platter. Load up your platter with fresh, colorful crudités (color coordination optional), crackers, pita, bread, and whatever else your heart desires.

You could even serve them as part of a Mezze platter, which is pretty much the best appetizer idea ever for anyone that loves Mediterranean food. Serve alongside stuffed grape leaves, marinated artichokes, feta, tabbouleh, roasted red peppers, pita, olives and anything else you can think of. Yum!

You don't just have to have a special occasion to make homemade hummus. Set aside 30 minutes on a Sunday to meal prep one or two flavors for the week. Homemade hummus stores really well in tupperware or glass jars. You'll just need to stir it up well before eating!

Homemade hummus is the perfect base for these Harissa Roasted Carrots. Or, serve it up on these Mushroom Shawarma Pitas, these Mediterranean Stuffed Avocados or as a dipping sauce for this Roasted Vegetable + Tofu Sheet Pan Dinner.

More dip recipes you might enjoy

• Smoky Roasted Carrot Dip
• Herby Whipped Tofu Dip
• Vegan Caramelized Onion Dip
• Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip
• Vegan Cheese Ball

If you make any of these homemade hummus recipes, we’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below! We also love to see your creations on Instagram – tag us at @crowded_kitchen so we can see what you’ve been cooking.

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