Have you ever asked your child a question, with a pretty good idea of the answer you were going to get, and then be completely taken by surprise? How about a fervent request for hummus, carrots, and crackers for lunch?!

Apparently, that’s just how good this roasted red pepper hummus recipe is! Roasted red peppers also make a delicious addition to soup. Obviously, my kids approve. Maybe yours will too!

What’s in Roasted Red Pepper Hummus?

Hummus is a pretty mainstream food these days. Most of you have probably even eaten it, but have you ever thought about making it?

If you haven’t had it, hummus is a pureed food made out of chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans), tahini (a paste made out of sesame seeds), and lemon juice, garlic, salt, and olive oil.

Since I prefer to avoid the lectins in legumes that aren’t properly soaked, fermented, sprouted, or cooked, I’m a little picky about my garbanzo beans. Sometimes I buy them dry and soak them overnight and then pressure cook them. Other times I buy them already cooked and canned from a source that has already done those steps for me.

Basic, plain, hummus doesn’t contain any more than the ingredients listed above. However, hummus can be customized in all kinds of different ways. My family really likes roasted red pepper pureed with the chickpeas, but here are a few more ideas:

Spicy Mexican hummus with taco seasoning, jalapeño, and cilantro
Mediterranean hummus with roasted garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and pine nuts
Chocolate hummus with cocoa powder and maple syrup

Why Make Hummus From Scratch?

“Why bother?” you may ask. Well, for several reasons:

Because like most homemade things! It just tastes better. I remember eating homemade caramel corn as a kid and then being appalled by the stuff sold in a bag in the grocery store. And homemade ice cream knocks the store-bought stuff out of the park.
When I make it myself I can control the quality of the ingredients. Example: the quality of fish in homemade fish sticks vs. store-bought.
Also, it’s tricky to find grain-free fish sticks. Or the pre-soaked, pressure-cooked garbanzo beans I needed for this recipe. Sometimes it’s easier to just do it myself.
It’s also cheaper! How much does a salted caramel latte cost at a coffee shop? A lot more than it takes to make one at home.

Making and Eating Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Once you have all your ingredients, making hummus is pretty easy. First, you need chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans). Whether you use dry or canned beans is up to you. If you choose to use dry, you’ll need to soak them overnight, rinse them, cook them (preferably in a pressure cooker), and cool them. Obviously, you’re going to have to plan in advance if you’re going to make hummus from dry chickpeas. If you’re using canned, just crack open the can and give them a good rinse.

Next, you need tahini. It’s easy to find good tahini, so I usually just buy it, but I’ve heard that it’s pretty easy to make it.

Grab a high-speed blender or food processor, some lemons, salt, garlic, and olive oil and you’re all set. Add all the ingredients to the blender in the correct order, puree until smooth, and your hummus is done.

Now to eat it!

How to Serve Hummus

My kids mostly just use hummus as a veggie dip. I just cut a plateful of vegetables into sticks or slices and let them have at it. We also like to use grain-free crackers. I’ve also added it to wraps or thinned it with water to drizzle on salad.

Pretty simple, right? Give it a shot and let me know what you think!