Mix together roasted red bell peppers, tahini, garlic and olive oil and you’ve got a smokey red pepper hummus that is not only healthy, but also delicious!
Fall is here and that means football season has started! If you don’t have a team to cheer on or can’t stand watching overpaid athletes chase a ball, have no fear. Tailgating parties means it’s all about the football munchies. And boy do I have some of my favorites bites to share with you!
If I could forgo a big meal and just enjoy appetizers, I totally would. The Spanish knew what they were doing when they developed tapas as a way to eat.
Small bites of different types of dishes, so many flavor options and textures, too. TOTAL YUM! And this roasted red pepper hummus is one of my favorite appetizers!
Why is this recipe so awesome?
Are you a fan of hummus, like me? Well, you will be happy to know that hummus is a very healthy and nutritious. Hummus is made with chickpeas, aka garbanzo beans, which are packed with protein. They are also very rich in fiber.
Hummus is also made with tahini, which is basically ground up roasted sesame seeds. Tahini is is a great source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
And for this hummus recipe, we are using red bell peppers. Bell peppers are very nutritious and are high in vitamin C, as well as vitamin K1, vitamin E, vitamin A, folate and potassium.
But not only is hummus incredibly healthy, this version with roasted peppers is incredibly flavorful and ridiculously easy to make. It’s one of my favorite appetizers that you can dress up for a cocktail party or serve while tailgating.
Ingredients you need
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- Garbanzo Beans:ย Traditional hummus is made with chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans). I like to use canned beans, but you can use dried and then cook them. You can also use other beans for hummus, like great northern beans, navy beans or cannellini beans. I have used all of these beans for hummus.
- Tahini:ย Another traditional base ingredient for hummus is tahini, which is sesame paste. you could substitute tahini with nut butter, but do understand that this will alter the taste.
- Lemon Juice:ย You can freshly squeezed lemon juice or even lime juice for the zing in this hummus.
- Garlic:ย I love garlic and love having garlic in my hummus. Not a fan? You can skip it or use garlic powder.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil:ย A quality olive oil is a must for making hummus. You can use a mild flavored oil or a spicy one. You can also use infused olive oil for additional flavor, like lemon or garlic.
- Red Bell Pepper:ย Use red bell peppers instead of green, yellow or orange because they are sweeter and so full of flavor.
- Hot Sauce: This is optional. I like to add some extra heat to my hummus. You can also use cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.
- Salt and Pepper
- Garnish:ย Olive oil, green onions, chopped roasted bell pepper
Tools to Use
Recipe Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Coat bell pepper with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Roast in a 400ยบF oven for 20 minutes.
2. You can also roast bell peppers over a campfire, in a grill or over the gas burner in your kitchen. You can place the peppers in the hot coals or use long handled tongs and hold them over flame. Rotate as the skin blackens and the pepper softens.
3. Once cooled, remove any charred skin. Remove the stem, seeds and membrane from bell pepper. Finely chop 1 teaspoon of bell pepper. Reserve this for garnish. Coarsely chop remainder of roasted pepper and coarsely chop.
4. Add coarsely chopped peppers to the bowl of a food processor along with garbanzo beans, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, 3 TBS olive oil, ground pepper and hot sauce (optional) and purรฉe until smooth.
5. Spread hummus into a shallow serving bowl and garnish with ยฝ teaspoon olive oil, reserved chopped red bell peppers and diced green onions. Can be served chilled or at room temperature.
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQS
There are a number of different ways to roast your bell peppers. Any of these ways will work for this red pepper hummus.
- You can roast bell peppers over a campfire or in a grill. Just place the peppers in the hot coals and rotate as the skin blackens and the pepper softens. Once cooled, the black charred skin comes off very easily.
- If your kitchen has a gas stove, use long tongs to hold the pepper over the flames. Just rotate the pepper over the flames until it is blackened and soft.ย Remove the black skins when cool enough to touch.
- You can also roast bell peppers in the oven. Simply coarsely chop and remove the white membrane and seeds from the pepper and coat with a little olive oil. Place them on a baking sheet and roast them in the oven at 400ยบF for 20 minutes. Flip the peppers over and roast an additional 20 minutes and youโre done!
If stored in the refrigerator in an air tight container, your hummus should last about 4 to 5 days.
Traditionally chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) are used in making hummus. But you can also use great northern beans, navy beans or cannellini beans.
Green peppers are just red or yellow peppers that have not matured all the way. Although they are the most popular bell pepper sold here in the US, they are not the sweetest. The sweetest bell pepper is the red bell pepper, with the yellow and orange following right behind them in sweetness. Another factor is male or female peppers. Male bell peppers have only three lobes while female bell peppers have four. The female varieties are said to be sweeter than the male.ย
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Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Mix together roasted red bell peppers, tahini, garlic and olive oil and you've got a smokey red pepper hummus that is not only healthy, but also delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 red bell pepper
- 3 TBS plus 1 ยฝ teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
- ยพ teaspoon salt
- 15 oz canned garbanzo beans, drained of liquid
- 2 garlic cloves
- โ cup tahini
- ยผ cup lemon juice
- ยผ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ยผ teaspoon hot sauce (optional)
- 1 green onion, diced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF
- Coat bell pepper with 1 teaspoon olive oil and place on a roasting pan.
- Roast for 20 minutes, flip over and roast again for 20 more minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow peppers to cool, about 20 minutes.
- You can also roast your peppers over a gas burner or outside in a grill.
- Peel off the charred skin from your roasted pepper. Remove stem and seeds and discard.
- Coarsely chop bell pepper, reserving 1 teaspoon of finely chopped bell pepper for garnish.
- Add remaining peppers to the bowl of a food processor and purée until smooth with garbanzo beans, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, 3 TBS olive oil, ground pepper and hot sauce (optional).
- Spread hummus into a shallow serving bowl and garnish with ยฝ teaspoon olive oil, reserved chopped red bell peppers and diced green onions.
- Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Notes
Serve with pita chips, flat bread, or cruditรฉs.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
approximately ยผ cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 147Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 359mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 6g
PSย If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a reviewย in the comment sectionย further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.
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This is my favorite hummus recipe, by far! I serve it with raw veggies, crackers or chips. Tonight we’ll try it with roasted veggies, too. Thanks so much for posting it, Laura.
Hi Patsy-
Thank you for your sweet comment. I am so glad you like this recipe. It’s one of my favorites, too!
Laura
Looking forward to using your recipe. I love red pepper hummus. Thank you for sharing.
I hope you enjoy it!
Laura
Just made. Taste delicious and will enjoy tomorrow for lunch. Noticed in Nutrition it yields 8 servings. Itโs then shows: 1 What is the size of your serving?
Hi Ron-
I’m so glad you like the hummus. Serving size is difficult to calculate when you are talking about dips. At a party, is someone only going to dip once (about 1 tablespoon) or scoop a heap (1/4 cup) on their plate? This recipe makes approximately 4 cups so I went ahead and modified the serving size to 1/4 cup, making that about 8 servings.
Hope that helps!
Laura