Break out the pita chips.
Plain hummus might be standard party food at this point, but beet hummus is coming to shake things up. Roasted beets are whipped with chickpeas, tahini, and roasted garlic for a vibrant magenta dip that will steal the show at any party table.
While you could technically make this dip with canned beets, you’ll get the most delicious results if you take the extra time to roast them yourself. Roasting concentrates the natural sugars in the beet, intensifying their flavor while eliminating excess moisture that might water down the hummus. To save time and effort, I prefer to roast the beet with the skin on: it should rub off easily when the beet is still warm from the oven. Make sure to use a paper towel or gloves to protect your hands: if you’re not careful, the beet juices will dye them bright pink!
If you’ve never boiled chickpeas in baking soda before blitzing them into hummus, you’ll probably be questioning this step. Basically, the baking soda solution tenderizes the chickpeas, particularly the chickpea skin, which helps them break down much more easily in the food processor, resulting in a better textured hummus. You can skip this step if you’re short on time, but the hummus won’t be as smooth.
Beet hummus can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in an airtight container. As you might expect, it’s great served with typical dip accompaniments such as pita, chips, and fresh veggies. I also love it slathered on a piece of toasted bread, and if I’m feeling especially extra, I’ll use it as the base spread for an avocado toast topped with feta and fresh dill.
Enjoy!
Beet Hummus
(Makes 2 cups)
1 medium beet (4-5 oz.), scrubbed
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for serving
¾ tsp. plus 1/8 tsp. kosher salt, divided
1 (14.5-oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ cup walnuts, toasted
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tbsp. lemon zest plus 3 tbsp. freshly squeezed juice
½ teaspoon cumin
2 tbsp. crumbled feta, for serving
1 tbsp. fresh dill, for serving
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, rack in the middle position.
Cut a 12”x12” square piece of foil and lay the scrubbed beet in the center. Slice off the tops of the garlic cloves and add to foil with beet. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil and season with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Lift up corners of foil and fold over beet tightly to seal. Place foil packet on a baking sheet.
Roast beet and garlic packet in the oven for 55-60 minutes, or until the beet is tender enough to be pierced by a fork. Let sit until cool enough to handle, then rub off beet skin with a paper towel and cut into wedges.
Meanwhile, in a medium pot, combine chickpeas and baking soda. Cover with at least 1” cold water and heat over medium-high heat until boiling. Continue to boil, adjusting heat as necessary to prevent boiling over, until chickpeas are tender enough to squish between two fingers, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; drain chickpeas through a fine mesh sieve and thoroughly rinse.
In the bowl of a food processor, blitz chickpeas, walnuts, beet, and roasted garlic cloves until smooth, scraping down sides of food processor bowl as needed, about 30-60 seconds. Add tahini, lemon zest and juice, cumin, remaining tablespoons olive oil and ½ teaspoon salt, and continue to process until smooth. Taste and season with remaining ¼ teaspoon salt as needed.
Serve drizzled with more olive oil and topped with feta and dill.
Originally posted February 16, 2025.
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