Roasted Red Pepper Hummus is a tried and true classic! You’ve likely had a store bought version of this recipe before, but those can’t hold a candle to the real deal. Made with all natural ingredients, this smooth and signature hummus is enhanced by the addition of beautifully roasted, sweet bell peppers.
If you love classic dips with a little twist, make some White Bean Dip, Salsa Verde, and Mango Salsa.
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Now that summer’s officially here, I feel like it’s the season of cocktail parties and get-togethers with friends! While I love a good dip all year long, summer is always when I find myself making the most of them. Usually, I make my favorites like Classic Hummus, Salsa, and Guacamole, but sometimes adding new flavors in classics is fun.
The hummus itself is my classic go-to recipe that is pretty perfect, but adding some sweet roasted red peppers give it an extra special touch. Key ingredients like chickpeas, olive oil, tahini, and garlic are blended together to create a simple, yet flavorful cold appetizer dip. Homemade hummus is smoother, richer with flavor, and not chock full of preservatives and takes like 5 minutes to make.
When you make hummus at home, you can also control exactly what goes into it. That’s why I like to add ingredients like roasted red peppers. The peppers themselves are easy to roast and even easier to toss into the food processor with the other ingredients. What’s so great about adding the roasted bell peppers is that while they do add a bright and vibrant taste, they’re not too powerful, so you still get to enjoy all of your favorite classic hummus flavors.
How to Make Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Ingredients You’ll Need:
- Bell Peppers – For the best color and flavor, I like to use red bell peppers.
- Olive Oil – You’ll need a good quality olive oil for both brushing the bell peppers with prior to roasting, and for blending into the hummus.
- Chickpeas – This is a key ingredient for any hummus recipe! Be sure to reserve about 1/4 cup of the liquid from the can of chickpeas.
- Tahini – You know that signature earthy, sesame taste that hummus has? It comes from Tahini! Don’t skip out on this Middle Eastern sesame paste.
- Lemon Juice – As always, make sure you’re only using freshly squeezed lemon juice, not the bottled alternative. The taste of fresh lemon juice will do wonders for your hummus.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic cloves are very potent, so be careful not to add too many. Also, if you’d like to compliment the roasted peppers even more, consider using Roasted Garlic.
- Paprika – You can use plain or smoked paprika, whichever you’d prefer.
- Salt – Use just a pinch of coarse or sea salt.
How to Roast Red Peppers:
In the oven, you can either roast the peppers by baking or broiling them. I like to broil them because it always yields a perfectly cooked pepper with charred skin.
Place lightly oiled peppers onto a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet. (Please remember to check the temperature that your parchment paper can withstand. Some parchment paper can take higher temperatures than others.)
The trick to broiling the pepper is a simple 2 step process – using low broil heat and high broil heat. Start on low broil and turn the peppers quarter of the way, using long tongs, every 5-7 minutes.
Then, turn on the high broil heat and let it char for a couple of minutes on each side. This will ensure perfectly cooked pepper throughout. You don’t want charred skin and raw pepper inside!
Once they’re roasted, place them onto a plate and cover them with a bowl. This is so they steam easily. After about 15 minutes, the skin should be easy to pull off.
Remove the skin and seeds from the roasted peppers.
How to Make Hummus:
First, strain the liquid from the can of chickpeas. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the liquid to add to the hummus for later. Trust me, it’s SO much better than adding water!
Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor until fully combined and smooth.
Transfer your homemade hummus into the serving dish of your choice, garnish, and enjoy! Some of my favorite garnishes include reserved roasted peppers, pine nuts, olive oil, and a sprinkle of paprika.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will Roasted Red Pepper Hummus stay fresh?
When stored properly, this hummus will stay fresh for up to a week! Make sure to keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you do use a spoon or other utensil to remove any hummus from the container, make sure it’s clean. Any new bacteria that’s introduced to the hummus will cause it to spoil at a faster rate.
Serving Suggestions:
Hummus is a famous dip, and there’s a long list of dippers that pair perfectly with it!
Some of my favorites include veggies like sliced cucumbers, celery, carrots, bell peppers.
Try crunchy and bread dippers like crackers, pretzels, and most importantly na’an or flatbread.
Of course, you could always use your hummus as a spread in a wrap for an extra helping of protein.
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Ingredients
- 2 red bell peppers
- olive oil to brush the peppers
- 15 oz can chick peas drained but some liquid reserved
- 1/4 cup liquid from the can of chick peas
- 1/3 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tsp paprika smoked or sweet
- coarse or sea salt to taste
Instructions
To roast bell peppers:
- Set the rack in the oven to about 8 inches away from the broiler and turn the broiler to low.
- Line the baking sheet either with high temperature parchment paper or silicone baking mat (that can handle high temperatures). Note: some parchment papers can's handle heat from high broiler and start to burn, be careful not to use those!
- Place peppers onto the baking sheet and into the oven. Cook for about 5 minutes per side, turning the peppers a quarter of the way. (About 20 minutes total.)
- Turn the broiler to high and let the skin of the peppers crisp and char for a minute or two per side, turning the peppers after one side chars.
- Once they’re roasted, place them onto a plate and cover them with a bowl. This is so they steam easily. After about 15 minutes, the skin should be easy to pull off.
- Peel the skin off the peppers and take out the seeds.
Making Hummus:
- Strain the liquid off from the can of chickpeas but leave 1/4 of the cup liquid for the hummus.
- Combine all the ingredients in the blender or food processor and blend until completely smooth.
- Transfer hummus into a bowl and top it off with a drizzle of some olive oil and garnish with some peppers, pine nuts, and/or a sprinkle of paprika.
Nutrition
Debra says
I make a roasted red pepper dip with Feta. I once made it with jarred peppers. Not even close to the flavor. I like hummus. This is going to be a fantastic dip (spread, lol) thank you for sharing.