This homemade roasted red pepper hummus recipe is smooth and creamy and so much better when made from scratch. Great for game day, holidays or an anytime snack. Don't forget the pitas!
Homemade hummus is the best, my friends, and we're whipping up a batch today for no particular reason other than I'm craving it. Right now. If you've never made hummus from scratch, now is the time.
Store bought hummus can be okay, but I've found that it's more often than not sort of drippy in consistency, too oily, or generally lacking in flavor. I like my hummus with some OOMPH, so that's what we're doing here today. Yep, we're not making any regular old hummus, which I do love, but instead we're making...
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus!
Yes!
It's one of my favorite recipes for snacking, though I love to have it in the refrigerator for us for a quick and easy lunch. More on that below!
Let's talk about how we make the recipe, shall we?
Ingredients Needed for Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
- 2 red bell peppers
- 4 tablespoons tahini
- Juice from 1 lemon (or more as desired)
- 4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas – 30 ounces total, drain and rinse)
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil + more for garnish
- FOR SERVING: Pita bread, spicy red pepper flakes
How to Make Roasted Red Pepper Hummus - the Recipe Method
TO ROAST THE RED PEPPERS
To roast the peppers over an open flame, turn a gas flame to HIGH. Set the peppers directly over the flame. Turn the peppers occasionally with tongs until all sides are blackened and blistered. Do not let them burn or turn white.
To roast the peppers in the oven, preheat oven to 400 degrees or set it to broil. Set the peppers onto a baking sheet (aluminum foil will make for easy cleanup), and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the skins are blackened and blistered, turning occasionally to evenly roast the peppers.
To roast the peppers in the oven broiler, set your oven to broil. Set the peppers onto a baking sheet (aluminum foil will make for easy cleanup), skin sides up, and broil for 5-10 minutes, until the skins are blackened and blistered, turning every few minutes to evenly roast the peppers.
Allow the peppers to cool enough to handle. Transfer them to a bowl and cover them with plastic or a paper towel, or place them into baggies or paper bags to let the skins steam and loosen.
Peel, stem and seed, then chop the peppers.
Learn How to Roast Chili Peppers here with more detailed instructions.
FOR THE HUMMUS
Next, add the red peppers to a food processor along with the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, cumin and garbanzo beans (or chick peas). Process to form a paste.
Slowly add the olive oil in a smooth drizzle while continuing to process until the hummus becomes thick and creamy. There is nothing better than creamy, smooth hummus. YUM!
Transfer to a bowl and garnish with spicy red chili flakes and extra olive oil. Serve with pita bread.
Boom! That's it, my friends! This is an easy one. It's really just roasting some peppers then using a food processor. I do love easy.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Store Bought Roasted Red Peppers. You can use jarred roasted red peppers to make the recipe a bit more quickly, though freshly roasted red bell peppers give it that extra wow factor.
- Other Peppers. Try it with other roasted peppers. Feel free to add in some spicy peppers.
- Additional Ingredients. You can add in other ingredients to your own flavor preference. Some great additions include smoked paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper for a touch of heat, hot sauce or roasted garlic. What's your favorite addition?
- Heat Factor. Roasted red pepper hummus isn't meant to be hot, as we're working with bell peppers, which have no heat to them. However, you can easily up the zest factor by adding in extra spicy chili flakes, spicy chili powder such as ghost pepper powder, or roasting some hotter peppers to go along with the red peppers. Or drizzle in some of your favorite hot sauce!
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Serving Suggestions
- Pita Bread. I like to lightly warm large pitas, then slice them into 6 wedges each. They're easy to grab for spreading the hummus.
- Pita Chips. You can easily pick up a bag of crunchy pita chips and serve them alongside your roasted red pepper hummus. I like the crunch factor. Or make some homemade bagel chips as the serving vessel. Great stuff!
- Toasty Bread. I greatly enjoy hummus spread over toast points. Find a good crusty bread, toast it up, then slice it into serving sized pieces. I'll be right over!
- Quick and Easy Lunch. Patty and I like quick lunches, so when I have hummus in the refrigerator, I like to toast up some crusty bread, spread on the hummus, then top it with sliced tomatoes and/or sliced avocado. Just top it with some Tuscan olive oil, flaky sea salt or citrus salt, and a few spicy chili flakes and enjoy!
That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy my recipe for roasted red pepper hummus. It's definitely a good one! Great for game day, your next holiday party, outdoor gathering, or for a nice and healthy snack pretty much anytime! It's one of our favorites.
Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes
- Roasted Red Peppers
- Fiery Buffalo-Blue Cheese Hummus
- Htipiti: Roasted Red Pepper-Feta Dip
- Muhammara: Roasted Red Pepper-Walnut Dip
- Ajvar (Roasted Red Pepper and Eggplant Spread)
- Sweet Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- Peri Peri Sauce
- Sambal Oelek
- Zacusca: Romanian Roasted Eggplant & Red Pepper Sauce
- Guasacaca (Venezuelan Avocado Dip)
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 red bell peppers
- 4 tablespoons tahini
- Juice from 1 lemon or more as desired
- 4-5 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 cans garbanzo beans chickpeas – 30 ounces total, drained
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil + more for garnish
- FOR SERVING: Pita bread spicy red pepper flakes
Instructions
TO ROAST THE PEPPERS
- To roast the peppers over an open flame, turn a gas flame to HIGH. Set the peppers directly over the flame. Turn the peppers occasionally with tongs until all sides are blackened and blistered. Do not let them burn or turn white.
- To roast the peppers in the oven, preheat oven to 400 degrees or set it to broil. Set the peppers onto a baking sheet (aluminum foil will make for easy cleanup), and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the skins are blackened and blistered, turning occasionally to evenly roast the peppers.
- To roast the peppers in the oven broiler, set your oven to broil. Set the peppers onto a baking sheet (aluminum foil will make for easy cleanup), skin sides up, and broil for 5-10 minutes, until the skins are blackened and blistered, turning every few minutes to evenly roast the peppers.
- Allow the peppers to cool enough to handle. Transfer them to a bowl and cover them with plastic or a paper towel, or place them into baggies or paper bags to let the skins steam and loosen.
- Peel, stem and seed, then chop the peppers.
FOR THE HUMMUS
- Next, add the red peppers to a food processor along with the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, cumin and garbanzo beans. Process to form a paste.
- Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while continuing to process until the hummus becomes thick and creamy.
- Transfer to a bowl and garnish with spicy red chili flakes and extra olive oil. Serve with pita bread.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 3/27/20 to include new information and video. It was originally published on 12/19/19.
Rick Kirk says
This sounds great! I love hummus and make it often. You are correct that homemade is far better than store bought.
I have found that removing the shells/husks from the garbanzos make for a much smoother end result. I alco roast a head of garlic along with the peppers.
Thanks for some great recipes!
Mike Hultquist says
Sounds awesome, Rick! Enjoy!
Tammy Ginczycki says
I saw this recipe and had to try it ! I was anxious and just read the ingredients…threw them all in the same time, I probably should have read the instructions first cuz it was course but I just let the processor rip. It finally came out creamy. I refrigerated the hummus so the ingredients meld together…..let me tell you this hummus tasted so good.I had to sub the cumin I use fennel seed and paprika ,it was simply MUCHO DELICIOUS ! TRY IT ….. ITS DELICIOUS !
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it, Tammy! Let it rip! =)
Mary says
This is absolutely delicious! I’ve made both with peppers that I’ve roasted and the jarred ones (when im pressed for time) either way they are fabulous! My go to for bringing to a party! Bravo!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Mary! Glad you enjoyed it!! Yes!
Valerie Hughes says
First time making hummus. This is delish!!! I took the skins off the chickpeas and used jarred roasted peppers. How long will it last in fridge, if we leave any leftover 🙂
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent, Valerie! Thanks! This should last a week or so covered in the refrigerator.
Mags says
How much is considered one serving? Like a tablespoon?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
About a 1/4 cup or so, Mags.
Monique S says
So easy to make and tastes far better than store varieties!! I won’t be buying store hummus ever again!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Monique!
Julie says
Can I use jarred roasted red peppers? How much of that would be needed?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Julie, yes, you surely can. I would use 4-6 ounces, though you could include more if you wanted. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Damien C. says
This turned out smooth and delicious. The roasted red pepper flavor made this better than regular hummus, which I love. Another winner. I wouldn't make it any other way.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Damien! Glad you enjoyed it!
Madelaine Makarow says
Very good and very easy hummus recipe! I have always made the "Moosewood" cookbook recipe before and never tried adding any flavors so this is definitely a game changer. I put a few too many garlic cloves in mine, five was just too much, and I think I would have preferred to use just slightly less cumin. Also, there was a technique I ran across once upon a time to lighten the tahini first by mixing it up with a little hot water until it was creamier (and was there also a pinch of baking soda involved? I will have to look back at my notes somewhere...) which I think would have given a lighter texture overall, which in turn might have allowed the roasted red pepper flavor to be more pronounced. I will definitely try this recipe again. Thank you, you creativity has opened up a whole new hummus world of possibilities, lol.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thank you, Madelaine. I appreciate the comments. Glad you enjoyed it.
Eric says
Here in Thailand we have Indian stores so the beans will be dry more than likely, which is fine. I have zero experience with such legumes. Any tips?
Eric says
Follow up to my question: when I say I have zero experience with legumes/beans I mean I don't know anything about the prep needed to get dry ones ready for hummus. Pealed? Soaked? No clue! 😉
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Eric, see my reply above. Let me know how it goes for you.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Eric, with dried chickpeas, you need to soak them in plenty of water overnight, or simmer them on low for at least 3 hours to rehydrate them. There should be instructions on the bag. Once they are rehydrated, you can then cook them for 1.5 hours until they are nicely softened and then go ahead with the recipe. They will triple in size, FYI, so 1 cup dried = 3 cups rehydrated beans.
Surya-Patricia Lan Hood says
To my utter amazement, you provided the answer to my question above. Most recipe authors do not. Thank you ever so much.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
No problem, Surya-Patricia. Glad to help! I hope you enjoy the recipe. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Surya-Patricia Lan Hood says
And if you don't have a gas burner, which is the case for most people in Arizona, how do we roast the peppers?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Surya, I provide 3 different methods on how to roast the peppers in the recipe card - with open flame, baking and broiling in the oven. Let me know if you did not see those instructions?
To roast the peppers in the oven, preheat oven to 400 degrees or set it to broil. Set the peppers onto a baking sheet (aluminum foil will make for easy cleanup), and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the skins are blackened and blistered, turning occasionally to evenly roast the peppers.
To roast the peppers in the oven broiler, set your oven to broil. Set the peppers onto a baking sheet (aluminum foil will make for easy cleanup), skin sides up, and broil for 5-10 minutes, until the skins are blackened and blistered, turning every few minutes to evenly roast the peppers.
Ruth McAllister says
If you want it even smoooother and if you have heaps of time, pop the skins off the chickpeas. ????