Loaded Hummus
This Loaded Hummus is a great crowd-pleasing appetizer, but the hummus recipe itself is a keeper! Make this regularly and keep a container in the fridge! It's great for snacking, lunches and dinners. Naturally vegan and gluten-free.
Servings 3 cups hummus (approx)
Ingredients
- 29 ounce or two 15 ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (See Notes)
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup cold water more or less, as needed
- 1 -2 medium cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt
- extra virgin olive oil
Toppings
- feta cheese crumbled (omit to keep this vegan)
- Kalamata olives
- Castelvetrano olives
- roasted red peppers diced
- tomatoes cut into wedges
- fresh parsley chopped
- additional chickpeas
- ground sumac
- cayenne
- extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor, add all of the ingredients except the olive oil and the toppings. Blend on high speed until smooth. In a high speed blender, this should take 45 to 50 seconds. In a food processor, blend for about 1 minute.
- Spread the hummus onto a serving platter and top with your favorite toppings and a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Notes
If you need this to be gluten free, be sure to serve this with gluten free crackers, pita or flatbread.
If you prefer cooking your own chickpeas instead of using canned, cook 1/2 pound or 1 cup of dried chickpeas according to package directions until softened.
I don't blend olive oil into the hummus itself. I feel the flavor of the olive oil gets lost. Use your best extra virgin olive oil over the top…it'll be delicious.
Sumac is a beautifully deep red spice from the berries of the sumac bush, native to the Middle East. It has a tangy, citrusy flavor. Not nearly as tart as lemons, but it compliments the lemon in the hummus really nicely. Look for it in Middle Eastern markets or in spice shops. It's not necessary in this recipe, so try using some cayenne or even paprika instead.