Name: Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1.5 cups Chickpeas (drained, reserve juice) (cooked from scratch or 15oz can); 8 oz Roasted Red Bell Peppers (drained); 1/4 cup Sesame Tahini; 1 Lemon (zested and juiced); 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil; 2 cloves Garlic (chopped); 1/2 tsp Paprika; 1/4 tsp Ground Cumin; 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt

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Roasted Red Pepper Hummus is the festive version of everyone’s favorite classic hummus recipe. The distinct color and zingy flavor makes red pepper hummus perfect for every occasion! Recipe includes an option to cook dried chickpeas in the Instant Pot.

Roasted red pepper hummus garnished with diced roasted red peppers and whole chickpeas served in black ceramic dish on a bed of crackers over a multicolored linen

Calling all hummus lovers! If you know how to make hummus in its classic form, you’re one simple step away from making roasted red pepper hummus. Adding roasted peppers to hummus gives it that gorgeous red-orange color and zesty flavor with a hint of smokiness. Red pepper hummus goes from healthy snack to party food with a simple costume change!

Roasted red pepper hummus ingredients

* see recipe amounts below

chickpeas (canned or cooked from scratch)
roasted red bell peppers
sesame tahini
lemon
extra virgin olive oil
fresh garlic
paprika
cumin
salt

Mismatched bowls of hummus Ingredients on marble surface

Is red pepper hummus spicy?

No…this hummus recipe is not spicy as long as you use a sweet paprika as opposed to a spicy one. If you’re not sure which one you have, you can leave the paprika out entirely, especially if you’re making it for kids.

Roasted red pepper hummus garnished with diced roasted red peppers and whole chickpeas served in black ceramic dish on a bed of crackers

If you want it spicy, you can add cayenne pepper, red chili flakes, or fresh hot peppers in small amounts of course 😂 so you don’t end up 😭.

What are roasted red peppers?

Roasted red peppers are exactly that. They are sweet red peppers that have been roasted and canned. They are one of my favorite brined pantry ingredients.

Until I read this short article on Fine Cooking, I thought they were solely make with red bell peppers, but there are other pepper varieties used in this product. Not matter which ones you use, roasted red peppers add so much flavor and color to sandwiches, salads…and dips like hummus!

How to make roasted red pepper hummus

If you know how to make classic hummus, red pepper hummus is as simple as adding roasted red peppers to the food processor with all of the regular hummus ingredients. Just remember to drain excess juice from the peppers.

Pro tip: Chop some extra roasted red pepper pieces and fold them into the blended hummus or scoop over the top as a garnish. This adds texture, color, and even more flavor!

Cooked chickpeas are better than canned

This is certainly a matter of opinion, but I’m a believer that chickpeas cooked from scratch (as opposed to canned beans) are creamier, sweeter, and nuttier…the way they’re supposed to taste. Canned chickpeas certainly have their place and they work great for this recipe, but if you want to cook beans from scratch without soaking first, I have two methods:

Dutch oven-cooked beans
Pressure cooked chickpeas (see recipe footnotes for instructions)

cooked chickpeas inside Instant Pot on gray and white marble surface with draped gray & white striped linen

What to eat with hummus

As an appetizer or snack

spread on crackers
as a dip for tortilla chips
raw vegetables

As a spread or condiment

inside veggie wraps
as a spread for crostini
as a sandwich spread like my Vegan Veggie Sandwich
falafel pita spread

Recommended Tools

Instant Pot pressure cooker (if cooking beans from scratch)
7-cup food processor (or high-speed blender)
Microplane (to zest the lemon)
food processor spatula

Mostly healthy dip recipes

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus is the festive version of everyone's favorite hummus recipe. The distinct color and zingy flavor makes red pepper hummus perfect for any occasion! Recipe includes the option to cook dried chickpeas in the Instant Pot.

5 from 10 votes

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Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Yield:

Author: Traci – TheKitchenGirl.com

Ingredients

1.5 cups Chickpeas (drained, reserve juice) cooked from scratch or 15oz can
8 oz Roasted Red Bell Peppers drained
1/4 cup Sesame Tahini
1 Lemon zested and juiced
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic chopped
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp Ground Cumin
1/4 tsp Kosher Salt

RECIPE VIDEO

Instructions

To the food processor, add CHICKPEAS, ROASTED RED PEPPERS, TAHINI, LEMON ZEST, LEMON JUICE, OLIVE OIL, GARLIC, PAPRIKA, CUMIN, and SALT. *See recipe footnotes to cook chickpeas in the Instant Pot
Turn on food processor and add the reserved CHICKPEA JUICE through the top to adjust hummus consistency. This is where you make it the exact consistency you want.
Blend ingredients 3-5 minutes until creamy, stopping and scraping the sides as needed. *Pro tip: longer blending time = creamier hummus.
Refrigerate hummus in an airtight container up to five days.
Serve chilled garnished with drizzled olive oil, diced roasted red peppers, chickpeas, and paprika.

Tried this recipe? I’d love your review!Visit the comments below and tell me how it went.

RECIPE NOTES

Pro garnish tip: Chop some extra roasted red pepper pieces and fold them into the blended hummus or scoop over the top as a garnish. This adds texture, color, and even more flavor!

How to cook chickpeas in the Instant Pot

* Note: This yields 3 CUPS cooked chickpeas (hummus recipe calls for 1.5 cups). I like to freeze the other half of the beans for the next batch of hummus (or use them for other recipes).

Add 1 1/4 cups DRIED CHICKPEAS + enough WATER to cover the them by 1″ + 1/4 tsp SALT to the Instant Pot.
Close the lid, set pressure valve to “sealing”.
Pressure cook on HIGH for 30 minutes followed by a 10-minute natural pressure release.
Safely release excess steam (if any) by carefully turning pressure release valve to “venting”.
After you open the lid, test the chickpeas to make sure they’re soft enough to easily smash between your fingers. Ideally, the skins are starting to fall off (softer beans = creamier hummus). Not all chickpeas cook equally depending on their age, so if they need more time, repeat pressure cook process in 5 minute intervals until they’ve softened enough.
If not making hummus immediately, store chickpeas in their juice in an airtight container and refrigerate up to 5 days. When it’s time to drain them, keep the juice for the recipe.

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The Kitchen Girl

Recipe author and food photographer at The Kitchen Girl

I'm on a mission to help you eat healthy AND save money through simple, everyday recipes, product reviews, and budget-friendly kitchen tips.