Roasted Beetroot Hummus

Roasted Beetroot Hummus is a great variation on the classic Middle Eastern dip. The sweet earthiness brings a new dimension without overwhelming the chickpeas and tahini of the original.

Roasting both the beetroot plus a head of garlic (which becomes beautifully mellow) will add even more depth of flavour.

Serve this beautiful, ruby coloured hummus as part of a meze with lots of little dishes, pickles, salads and flatbread. I love it topped with feta, pine nuts and mint.

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I love a classic hummus, but I have been known to go off piste a little. Take my Roasted Sweet Potato Hummus for example.

While purists may not consider that extra spicy and smoky version to be hummus at all, I don’t really care. As far as I’m concerned, so long as it contains largely chickpeas, tahini, garlic and lemon, then it’s probably okay to call it hummus.

Roasted Beetroot Hummus

I think my Roasted Beetroot Hummus must be one of the prettiest dishes I’ve ever made. The deep magenta colour is so striking, and not one you often see on a plate.

To me, it’s even more inviting sprinkled with beetroot’s perfect partner, feta cheese, plus some toasted pine nuts and mint.

But, however you eat it, like all hummus, this one is incredibly easy to make.

Beetroot & Why You Should Roast It

Besides their beautiful colour and slightly sweet yet earthy taste, beetroots are said to be extremely good for you.

In the same family as spinach, chard and quinoa, beetroot is rich in antioxidants, vitamins and fibre.

But I mainly eat beetroots because: 1) they taste good and 2) I think you can never have too much variety in the range and colour of vegetables you eat every week.

Read more about the possible benefits of eating differently coloured foods.

To get the best flavour, you should buy fresh beetroots and roast them yourself.

You could buy the vacuum-packed ready cooked beetroots, but the end result just won’t be as good. And definitely don’t buy the packs which include vinegar.

I find that roasting the beetroots intensifies their flavour. And if you do it in a foil parcel then all their lovely juices will be captured, ready to add more taste and colour to your hummus.

Although it’s not usual to roast the garlic for hummus, as the oven’s on for the beetroot anyway, why not?

Roasting a whole head of garlic, as in my Baba Ganoush recipe, transforms it into something soft, mellow, and not at all harsh.

Chickpeas

Usually, when making any type of hummus, my preference is for dried chickpeas rather than the tinned variety.

I think the flavour and texture is much better with chickpeas you’ve soaked overnight and cooked yourself. It also means you can use the cooking liquor to thin the hummus to your liking.

However, for speed, I’ve used one tin of chickpeas for this recipe.

A standard tin will give you around 240 grams of chickpeas once drained. If you prefer to soak and cook your own, then start off with 100-120 grams of dried chickpeas.

Because I find the liquid in tinned beans yucky, I don’t use it for thinning the hummus. Instead, you can make up a little vegetable stock using bouillon powder or just use water.

EASY (CHICK)PEASY HUMMUS

Once you’ve roasted your beetroot and garlic and have your chickpeas cooked (or opened the tin and drained them), the Roasted Beetroot Hummus is made in a flash. I used a food processor but a stick blender is fine too.

As always with recipes like this, taste as you go until the hummus is to your liking.

For example, start with the juice of one lemon and one teaspoon of cumin. Whizz those up with all the chickpeas, beetroot and garlic (the latter squidged out of their papery cocoons), then taste.

Add more of the flavourings if you fancy it, plus as much of the cooking liquor, stock or water as you need to get the consistency you like.

And that’s it. The Roasted Beetroot Hummus is ready to eat, maybe with a few crunchy vegetable crudites.

SERVING ROASTED BEETROOT HUMMUS

Traditionally, hummus is topped with a swirl of olive oil, perhaps a bit of cumin or sesame seeds. But I think we can do better than that.

Feta is a classic pairing with beetroot. The salty, piquant cheese is a great contrast to the root vegetable’s sweet earthiness. So crumble or dice plenty of it over the top.

I think soft hummus benefits from a bit of crunchy texture. Pine nuts seem a suitable match with feta so I toast a few in a dry frying pan and sprinkle those over too.

Here I’ve also added the traditional sesame seeds plus poppy seeds which make a nice colour contrast against the ruby beetroot.

A little greenery was called for and, while coriander might be the obvious choice with hummus, I thought mint would go better with the beetroot, feta and pine nuts. It did.

In fact, so much did mint complement it, that in addition to a sprinkle of the chopped herb over the top, I made a mint vinaigrette to dress the huge mixed salad we ate with the Roasted Beetroot Hummus.

If you manage not to eat it all in one go, then this hummus will be fine covered in the fridge for at least 4 days, ideally without the toppings.

We actually ate the last of this batch on day 4 and it tasted just as good as on day 1. There was no loss in that beautiful colour either. We ate it on toasted, homemade sourdough, topped with avocado and homegrown micro leaves of fenugreek.

You could also try Roasted Beetroot Hummus on my Easy Homemade Crackers.

5 from 1 vote

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Roasted Beetroot Hummus

Roasted Beetroot Hummus is a great variation on the classic chickpea, tahini & lemon dip, having an earthy sweetness and a striking ruby colour. Try it topped with crumbled feta, toasted pine nut and mint.

Course Appetizer, Salad, Starter, Lunch, Light Meal

Cuisine Mediterranean, Middle Eastern

Keyword hummus, beetroot hummus, roasted beetroot hummus

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 4

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

For the roasted vegetables

• 2-3 medium beetroots (approx 200g after peeling) topped, tailed & peeled
• salt & black pepper to taste
• 3 tsp olive oil
• 1 head garlic left whole

For the hummus

• 240 g cooked chickpeas (reserve cooking water if you've boiled them yourself) drain and rinse if using tinned chickpeas
• 2 tbsp tahini sesame paste
• 1-2 medium lemons juice only
• 1-2 tsp ground cumin
• salt & black pepper to taste
• 50-75 ml chickpea cooking liquor, vegetable stock or water

Optional toppings

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 1 tsp poppy seeds
• 1 tbsp pine nuts toasted in a dry pan
• 50 g feta cheese crumbled or diced
• 1 tbsp fresh mint finely chopped

Instructions

For the roasted vegetables

1. Preheat the oven to 200C / 180C Fan / Gas 6
   

2. Cut the prepared beetroot into large chunks and place on a square of foil large enough to enclose it all.

   Season with salt & pepper then drizzle with 2 tsp of the olive oil.

   Bring up the sides of the foil, scrunch together to make a parcel then place on a baking tray.

   Put in the oven and bake until the beetroot is tender (30-40 min). Set aside.
   

3. Slice off the top centimetre of garlic and discard it.

   Place the base on a square of foil large enough to enclose it.

   Season with salt & pepper then drizzle with 1 tsp of the olive oil.

   Bring up the sides of the foil, scrunch together to make a parcel then place it on the baking tray with the beetroot.

   Put in the oven and bake until the garlic is tender (20-30 min). Set aside.

For the hummus

1. Put the drained chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor & briefly process to break them up.
   

2. Add to the processor the cooked beetroot (including any juices) and squeeze out the pulp from the cooked garlic cloves.
   

3. Add to the processor the tahini, the juice of one of the lemons, 1 tsp of the ground cumin, plus a little salt and a grind of pepper.
   

4. Process everything together, adding a little of the chickpea cooking liquor, vegetable stock or water to help bring the hummus together.
   

5. Taste and add more seasoning, lemon or cumin if liked. Add more liquid to thin it.
   

6. Serve chilled or at room temperature with salad, crudites, flatbread etc, with or without the optional toppings.

   Should keep for 4 days if covered in the fridge (without the toppings).

Recipe Notes

If using dried chickpeas, you'll need to soak approximately 100-120 grams overnight and then cook until tender (around 1 - 1.5 hours on the stove or 30 minutes in a pressure cooker).