*This post may contain affiliate links. Read more »
There is a specific moment, holding a bell pepper directly over a flame while its skin turns pure black, where you start to wonder if you are cooking or committing arson. Hopefully you are not doing both, but either way you are about to have a well-tested hummus in your life that doesn't call for crappy bottled pre-roasted peppers.
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cinnamon Snail.
It really is one of the best kitchen smells out there. As you roast red peppers on an open flame, their skins blister and lifts, the flesh slumps into something jammy, and the sugars buried inside caramelize into a smoky sweetness. This is the basis for this gloriously good hummus recipe right here.
Making hummus was one of the first things I learned working in restaurants as a teenager many decades ago. My first chef, Tom Valenti, taught me that good hummus was an exercise in balances. Sweetness from the tahini (and in the case the peppers), balancing the acidity of the lemon juice. The balance of protein from the chickpeas and fat from the olive oil. When these things are all nicely tuned up with each other, the individual ingredients disappear, and the result is something wayyy beyond the sum of its hummusy parts.
Put this on the table with some freshly baked kuboos bread or Afghani bolani, and you are about to have some hyper-thrilled din din guests on your hands.
I tested this recipe for Adam, and it came out great 🙂 All of the ingredients were from my store cupboard so no trips to fancy supermarkets. You do need to take your time to fully char the peppers I did them separately and then left for 30 minutes in total before removing the skin. Then the Hummus came together easily in the food processor. I served with Adams Pita bread (Kuboos) and salad for an easy tasty lunch, this recipe is certainly going to be one of my go-tos for lunch.
Jump to:
🥰 Why you'll adore thisred pepper hummus recipe
✊ Vegan AF & GF: I mean, it's hummus, so you know it's cholesterol free. No dairy, no eggs, no animals with feelings were consulted at any point during the making of this. Just kidding My rescue dog Mildred taste tests almost all the gluten-free vegan recipes I come up with…
🥫 No Overnight Bean Soaking: This one runs on canned chickpeas, which means you can go from "I want hummus" to "I have hummus" in about 30 minutes without consulting your appointment book.
🛒 Grocery Run Takes 5 Minutes: Peppers, a can of chickpeas, tahini, garlic, a lemon, and spices you probably already own. Nobody is order from the Sharper Image catalogue or Googling obscure ingredients on aisle 7 for this banger.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: All the vegan Middle Eastern recipes I post get tweaked to perfection with help from a team of over 1,000 recipe testers from all around the world!
🤘Learn to make killer vegan Middle Eastern food
This guide to my most popular plant-based Middle Eastern recipes is 100% FREE, & you'll love the actual heck out of it 🥰
🌶️ Roasted Pepper Hummus Ingredients
The Peppers
Use firm, heavy dark red bells, since they turn the sweetest once fire hits them. Charring them yourself gives the deepest flavor, though if you want to make this quicker, just rinse off 2 large jarred roasted red peppers and use those instead if you must.
Ground Cumin
Amazing cumin and OK cumin are not the same. I like to lightly toast these slender wild mountain cumin seeds from Burlap and Barrel before grinding them in a spice grinder. Of course, you can get away with using your regular ol' cobweb covered whatever. But since you asked what I like to do…
Get my fave cumin seeds for free!
Using this link, add the wild mountain cumin to your cart, spend at least $15 on some of the other absurdly good spices from Burlap & Barrel (they all seriously slap) and the bottle of this bangin' wild mountain cumin becomes FREE, and you will love it so much.
Aleppo Pepper Flakes
This is the pepper that makes the pepper dip taste like even more pepper, in the best possible way, without too much extra heat. Smoked paprika works as a smokier stand-in, but gochugaru is probably my fave swap for Aleppo pepper.
Got a whole bag of Aleppo pepper flakes sitting around and no idea what to do with them? It's a pretty essential seasoning for acılı ezme, muhammara, and zaalouk, all of which you're gonna adore if you're already eyeing this hummus recipe.
Tahini
Tahini is the creamy, nutty paste that turns crushed chickpeas into actual hummus. But hold up- make sure you are actually using tahini paste- NOT a tahini sauce such as tarator. That's different, OK?
Look for a jar that pours easily and tastes kinda sweet and mellow, not one that sits like dried up clumpy cat litter tastes like 200 year old peanut butter from beyond the grave.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Harissa Hummus
Blend a tablespoon of harissa paste right into the hummus and save some to garnish the top with too. Harissa hummus is just a bit spicy and citrusy AF.
Roasted Beet Hummus
Roast a whole beet and a handful of garlic then blend them up with freshly toasted spices and all the hmmm things. Beet hummus might be the prettiest of them all.
Lemon Hummus
Made with dried chickpeas cooked in a similar process as Israeli hummus, lemon hummus is obviously for folks who want a super-citrus vibe.
Grab my easy-yo-use app that builds your whole week with real, chef-tested vegan dinners in 30 seconds, customized to your budget, time, and taste, with a shopping list sorted by aisle.
📖How to make red pepper hummus
The pepps carry the workload up front, and the food processor (or blender) handles everything after that, so very little stands between you and a full bowl. Walk through the steps and tips below, or jump to the recipe card if you just want the shorthand.
Step One
Char Wars
Lay the red bell peppers straight over medium-high heat on a gas burner, or slide them under a broiler set to high. Turn them with tongs as they blister, until the skin is blackened on every side, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Step Two
S.T.E.A.M. (Santa Touches Everything Around Me):
Drop the roasted peppers into a bowl, cover it with a plate. Let them steam for 15 minutes.
Step Three
Peel of Fortune:
Once the peppers have cooled enough to handle, rub off the charred skin, tear out the stems and seeds, and roughly chop what is left.
✅ Skip the sink here, because rinsing carries the smoky flavor you just built right down the drain. If a little flake or two of char remains on the peppers, it's not really a big deal.
Step Four
The Fresh Mince of Bel-Air:
Finely chop 2 tablespoons of the roasted pepper and set it aside for garnish. Stand guard over it, because it is dangerously easy to eat straight off the cutting board.
Step Five
Blend It Like Beckham:
Add the rest of the roasted pepper to a food processor or high speed blender along with the cumin, Aleppo pepper flakes, chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, tahini, olive oil and water.
Run it for about 2 minutes, until it is completely smooth. Salt to taste and re-blend to distribute the salt.
Step Six
Hummus, Hummus, I Must Increase My Bust:
Spoon it into a bowl and swoosh the surface with the back of a spoon.
Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, the minced peppers you set aside, a pinch of Aleppo pepper flakes, and a little chopped parsley.
💡Serving Ideas
Rock this hummus out as part of a mezze spread with a few more bangin' dips.
My toum is basically pure garlic in a bowl, Lebanese-style, and it'll wake up anything you dunk into it. Mutabal, or its cousin baba ganoush, brings that same smoky eggplant thing, but even creamier.
Since I know you are already a roasted red pep freak- muhammara or matbucha are gonna be right up your pepper-loving alley.
And PLEASE don't sleep on the top two hummus accompaniments of all time- amba and zhoug. Spoon the spicy herb sauce right on top of any hummus at the table, (uh, this one included) and watch it disappear crazy-silly-fast.
👉Top tips
- Burn Them More Than Feels Right: The instinct is to pull the peppers off early, while patches of red still show. Fight it, and get just about every inch of skin blackened, because that char is pure flavor and it comes off in the next step anyway.
- Let Steam Peel Them for You: Covering the hot peppers traps steam that lifts the skin off the flesh, so it slides away under your fingers.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
It is worth the small effort, since fresh-charred peppers carry a smoky depth jarred ones simply cannot match. If time is against you though, well-drained, patted-dry jarred roasted peppers will still get you a solid bowl of hummus. Just really rinse them as a lot of jarred ones are brines with salt and other seasonings that might mess with your hum-didly-ummus.
Stir in a spoon of harissa, shatta sauce, or even some minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for smoky fire.
🧊 In the Fridge
Sealed in an airtight container, it holds for 5 days. It tends to firm up as it chills, so stir in a little water or olive oil before serving to loosen it back up.
❄️ In the Freezer
It freezes well for up to 3 months. Leave some headroom for expansion, smooth a thin layer of olive oil over the top, and seal it up tight.
🌡️ Bringing It Back
Thaw it overnight in the fridge, then stir hard to pull it back together, adding a splash of water or lemon if it needs it. Sometimes frozen hummus needs a re-blend after it's thawed. You will know it needs that if it looks grainy and weird.
✌️You'll also love these vegan Middle Eastern recipes:
Learn the secrets to perfect falafel in this fun cooking class with Chef Adam Sobel!
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Recipe
Equipment
- Blender (optional)
Ingredients
- 2 red bell peppers
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes (or smoked paprika)
- 15 oz canned chickpeas drained
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ cup tahini paste
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoons water
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt or to taste
Optional Garnishes:
- ½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Place the red bell peppers directly over medium-high heat on a gas burner, or under a broiler set to high, turning occasionally with tongs until the skin is completely charred and blistered on all sides, 8-10 minutes total. Transfer to a bowl, cover tightly, and let steam for 15 minutes.
- Once cooled, peel away and discard the charred skin, remove the stems and seeds, and roughly chop the flesh.
- Finely mince 2 tablespoons of roasted red pepper to use as a garnish when serving, and set it aside for now.
- Transfer the rest of the roasted pepper to a food processor or high speed blender along with the cumin, Aleppo pepper flakes, drained chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, tahini, olive oil and water. Process for about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the blender jar occasionally until smooth.
- Salt to taste and continue to blend just to distribute the salt.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and top with a drizzle of olive oil, a scattering of the previously minced red peppers, a sprinkle of Aleppo pepper flakes, and chopped parsley.
Notes
Resist the urge to pull the peppers off early while patches of red still show. Blacken just about every inch of skin instead, since that char is where the flavor comes from, and it peels right off in the next step. 💨 The Steam Team
Covering the hot peppers traps steam that lifts the skin off the flesh underneath. Be patient! A few minutes covered, and the skin slides right off under your fingers.
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cinnamon Snail.
Dosa Princess says
I tested this recipe for Adam, and it came out great 🙂 All of the ingredients were from my store cupboard so no trips to fancy supermarkets. You do need to take your time to fully char the peppers I did them separately and then left for 30 minutes in total before removing the skin. Then the Hummus came together easily in the food processor. I served with Adams Pita bread (Kuboos) and salad for an easy tasty lunch, this recipe is certainly going to be one of my go-tos for lunch.