Print Options

Beet Hummus

Beet Hummus

For those of you out there who cannot fathom even the idea of beets, fine. Truly, I'm a-okay with it. That only means there is more of this beet hummus for me. I ate this entire batch, save one teaspoon that my mother caught just in time, before it was all finished off. (In this family, you snooze, you lose.) Seriously, if you like beets, and you like hummus, you'll love this beet hummus. The ingredients are beets, tahini, garlic, lemon, cumin, and salt and pepper. Use as a pretty topping for cucumber rounds, scoop some up with pita triangles or celery ribs, or just dive in, like oink-oink here, with a spoon, and eat it up before anyone knows what they're missing. Many thanks to neighbor, pastry chef, and friend Evie Lieb, for sharing this terrific recipe with us.

Print Options

Beet Hummus Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound beets (about 4 medium sized beets), scrubbed clean, cooked, peeled, and cubed*
  • 2 Tbsp tahini sesame seed paste
  • 5 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 small clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 Tbsp lemon zest (zest from approx. 2 lemons)
  • Generous pinch of sea salt or Kosher salt
  • Fresh ground pepper to taste

*To cook the beets, cut off any tops, scrub the roots clean, put them in a covered dish with about 1/4-inch of water in a 375°F oven, and cook until easily penetrated with a knife or fork. Alternatively, cover with water in a saucepan and simmer until tender, about 1/2 hour. Peel once they have cooled.

Method

Place all ingredients in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings and ingredients as desired.

Chill and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for longer storage.

Eat with pita chips, or with sliced cucumber or celery, or on a crostini with goat cheese and shaved mint.

Makes 2 cups.

You might also like...

42 Comments

This is an inspired use for beets! I cannot wait to try it. I personally love the little red (sometimes yellow, orange or bullseye) roots! And there's just enough time for a late season planting for them in my Texas garden. Mmmm.

Posted by: Cecilia on February 28, 2010 2:40 PM

So glad you are sharing the delights of beet hummus, Elise. Your photos are incredible! I'd like to remind your readers that wearing rubber gloves while peeling cooked beets saves a lot of mess. Dish-washing gloves are fine; the red won't stain them the way it does your hands.

Posted by: Evie Lieb on February 28, 2010 3:12 PM

Would never think to put tahini and beets together--will have to try that. I think you might like the russian beet spread version: grated cooked beets, mayo, and garlic.

Thanks for the suggestion! I did try mixing this up with goat cheese which was pretty darn good too. ~Elise

Posted by: maria on February 28, 2010 3:59 PM

Gorgeous, Elise, as ever, so glad some else is evangelizing beets too.

One detail: it's fine to cut off the tops but do leave an inch or so of the stems intact. If you cut into the beets themselves, their liquid will pour out while during cooking.

Posted by: Alanna on February 28, 2010 4:29 PM

Count me in as one of the beet-haters. This is such an interesting combo -- I never would have thought to put beets in hummus.

However, what I really want to know is where you got that beautiful blue plate!

Ah, that's the Valencia pattern from Arabia Finland. Now discontinued. I love this pattern and wish I had a whole set. ~Elise

Posted by: Liza (Jersey Cook) on February 28, 2010 5:15 PM

The colour in this photo is fantastic. And the beet hummus looks delicious. I think I might try it as a pasta filling.

Oh my, it would be great as a pasta filling. ~Elise

Posted by: Heather(eatwell.eatgreen) on February 28, 2010 6:15 PM

My mother-in-law makes the best homegrown, homemade pickeled beets and I can literally oink-oink eat the entire jar! I absolutely love hummus and have turned many friends on to it. So this looks like a match made in heaven to me. Can't wait to try it.

Posted by: Nancy Gunn on February 28, 2010 8:19 PM

I am a great lover of beets but not so great on the lemons. Can this be made with very little of the lemon or without it completely?

Sure, use vinegar instead. You'll want the acid to balance the sweetness of the beets. ~Elise

Posted by: Linda on February 28, 2010 8:46 PM

I may get shunned for this, but I happen to think that beets are one of the few veggies that stand up well to canning. Not to mention I have a phobia of peeling those terribly colorful beets! Would this recipe work with canned beets, or would it ruin everything?!?

Great question. If you try it, please let us know in the comments how it turns out. ~Elise

Posted by: Meg on March 1, 2010 4:39 AM

Hi Elise, we easily find sliced, roasted beets here in Italy...do you think they would do?

Sure, roasted would work great. ~Elise

Posted by: Rossella on March 1, 2010 6:30 AM

Sounds good, but why is it called hummus? "Hummus" means chickpea in Arabic.

Because it is reminiscent of hummus. In beet form. ~Elise

Posted by: Sally on March 1, 2010 8:20 AM

I have pickled beets from the fall crop. Would these work as well, if I omit the lemon juice?

Great question. You could try it with just a small amount and see if the combo works. ~Elise

Posted by: Jess on March 1, 2010 9:00 AM

I love hummus, and although I've never liked beets, I'm going to have to try this, just for the color!!

Many years ago I was visiting Denmark and wanted to go to Finland just for the Valencia dinnerware, but the weather was bad so I didn't go. Looking at that plate 35 years later, I'm still sorry I didn't try harder!!

And I regret not buying the entire set I found in a second-hand store. So wish they hadn't retired that pattern. ~Elise

Posted by: Marion Olson on March 1, 2010 9:59 AM

Ooh, when I saw the photo I thought it might be pkhali. Pkhali (or mkhali) is a similar dish from Georgia (the country) which is pureed beets, walnuts, garlic and other herbs/spices. If you like beets and walnuts, you should really try it sometime! I've never made it myself, but I found a recipe here: http://georgiantaste.blogspot.com/2007/12/charkhils-mkhali-beet-puree.html

And I can't wait to try this beet hummus. I recently learned that I love the combination of butternut squash, tahini and lemon juice. I'm guessing the same will be true of beets!

Posted by: Leslie on March 1, 2010 12:19 PM

I made this yesterday not 5 minutes after I saw the recipe. I used a 15oz. can of beets and it turned out great! My husband was wolfing it down. Awesome recipe!

Good to know the recipe works with canned beets. Thanks! ~Elise

Posted by: Karen on March 1, 2010 5:09 PM

OK, now that's just weird - in a good way. Lurid, actually. You'll have to make some for me next time I am over. And I have just the herb to add to it, too: lovage! Lovage and beets are a perfect marriage...

Posted by: HankShaw on March 2, 2010 9:14 AM

How long will the beet humus last in the fridge? What about regular humus?

Hmm, about 3 days or so. I imagine the same with regular hummus. ~Elise

Posted by: Elana on March 2, 2010 11:19 AM

I made this today as I love all kinds of hummus and I love beets so thought this looked good. I think it's a bit too much lemon juice/zest - the lemon was pretty overpowering so I added more of everything else to compensate (ran out of tahini though and thought a bit more would have done the trick). Eating it on sliced baguette helped to counteract the lemony-ness. I think a dollop on top of a sweet lettuce (Boston or bib) would be good too. Next time (and I will try it again), I may add the lemon juice slowly as I pulse the mixture and taste as I go. Thanks.

Posted by: Alexandra on March 2, 2010 3:02 PM

Made this last night and I absolutely love it. I'm eating it for lunch right now, spread on pita bread with slices of cucumber and a sprinkle of pepper. Perfect!

Posted by: Anna on March 3, 2010 11:45 AM

This is beautiful. I used to HATE beets, but then again I only ever had them canned. A few years ago I started eating them fresh, roasted and just sliced on salads. My favorite now is grating raw beets onto my salads, adds a nice texture as well as color and flavor.

I absolutely LOVE hummus and make it regularly. I'm always amazed how many people don't know how to make it since it's such a simple thing to do.

I can't wait to try this. Thanks for all the great recipes and keep up the good work!!

Posted by: Jessica on March 3, 2010 2:46 PM

I love beets, though my sis can't figure out why I eat them. Would love to make this but haven't found tahini in small town India. I have sesame seeds though, any ideas?

You might try roasting sesame seeds, then grinding them with a mortar and pestle to make paste, and using that for the recipe. ~Elise

Posted by: shikey on March 3, 2010 11:00 PM

What a fantastic colour and how great to see vivid colour this time of year. Gorgeous bowl.

Truly great idea, beetroot is my beloved favourite veg so we have a lot of beetroot & orange salad, various beetroot salads, beetroot cake, roasted with balsamic....it goes on.

He hates hummus so this would be an interesting experiment! mmm..could I change his mind??

Posted by: azelia on March 4, 2010 2:48 AM

So good! I've done the River Cottage version in the past. Delicious with crispy flatbread, especially with burnt bits... yum.

Posted by: Zoë on March 4, 2010 8:30 AM

I couldn't wait to make this beautiful combination of beets, tahini and lemon, etc. I was rewarded with a first taste of sweet (from the beets) then the fresh lemon and finally the rest of the ingredients bursting in my mouth with flavor and texture. As others have said, wonderful with crunchy cucumber and pita bread - a very impressive and healthy appetizer.

I'm so glad you liked it! ~Elise

Posted by: Annette on March 4, 2010 2:24 PM

Yum! Though I understand that not everyone does, I love roasted beets.

I actually just made a spinach hummus today. I love the colours you get when you add these brights veggies. Not to mention the nutrition!

Posted by: katerina on March 10, 2010 3:55 PM

I saw this recipe and ran out the next day to buy beets.I made it a few nights ago and don't think I've ever made anything so colorful.The flavor is really intriguing but, I have to agree with Alexandra's post above. The 5 Tbs. of lemon juice overpowered the sweetness of the beets. Also, I found 1 Tbs of cumin to mask more than enhance the beet flavor. My next batch will be cut down to 3 Tbs. of lemon juice and just a teaspoon of cumin powder.(Maybe cumin seed was intended instead of cumin powder?)In any event, this recipe is a keeper, purple fingers and all.

Posted by: Paul on March 12, 2010 5:45 AM

If you don't like beets you can do the same thing with the ends (roots) of white swisschard. You cut them in cubles and boil them. Then add all the other ingredients and mix. It is extremely delicious with Middle Eastern bread!

Great suggestion, thank you! ~Elise

Posted by: pattty on March 16, 2010 6:03 AM

Wow! This is amazing. So delicious and so pretty! I'm eating it on cucumber slices as suggested. So good! Thanks!

Posted by: Karin Jung on March 20, 2010 11:44 AM

I just made the hummus and it is delicious. However, I feel like I had to use more liquid (more lemon and more tahini) than was called for in the recipe (I even cooked the beets for 45 mins instead of 30). But nevertheless, this is a very delicious combo and a great use for beets!

Posted by: Lakshmi on March 21, 2010 11:30 AM

I made this for a party this weekend and it was a great hit! served it with celery sticks and people loved it. It was a little messy to make but it made the dining room table very colorful and fun. I actually liked it better with a little bit of beet chucks inside instead of it all smooth.

Posted by: tao on March 22, 2010 4:32 PM

I'm going to have to try this, but I might add in a little horseradish as well...

Posted by: Larry on March 25, 2010 8:13 AM

I did end up trying this dip with canned beets, and I liked the way it turned out. The color wasn't as vibrant as in your picture, but the flavor was very nice. My boyfriend and I ate the whole batch with veggies and pita for lunch. Yum!

Posted by: Meg on March 26, 2010 11:58 AM

I guess we could then try spinach/ brocolli to make it green, sweet potatoes to make it orange, fun ideas.

Posted by: ILikePaperCutting on April 1, 2010 1:37 AM

So months later I finally found time to make this five minute recipe. Had my chef friends over for burgers and served this hummus with a wonderful soft brie and some crackers. We all loved the flavour (lemony, cumin-y and beets, mmmmm), but it was overwhelming with the cheese. In the end we used it as a garnish on the burgers and everyone agreed that it made good burgers outstanding!

Posted by: Geoff on April 7, 2010 8:39 AM

I like the traditional humus.
I tried to do this according to your recipe with beets.
Unfortunately it is not in my taste.I do not recommend it.

Posted by: Margaret on April 30, 2010 7:35 PM

What an absolutely wonderful recipe - healthy, well presented, and very tasty. Made it today and added a TBSP of Asian chili garlic sauce to give it a little kick. Ate it with English cucumbers and almost finished half the bowl myself. Thank you so much for this!

Posted by: JT on May 2, 2010 6:11 PM

Yum - thanks for this. I LOVE beets - original beetaholic I think. This is going to be a firm fave I can see that!!!!
Great to have something a bit different!
Cheers and thanks again.

Posted by: Deb (New Zealand) on May 5, 2010 4:05 AM

Can't wait to try this. I am always looking for gluten free and casein free recipes. Love your website!

Posted by: Maryann Barry on June 25, 2010 10:19 AM

This is addicting! Possibly my new favorite use for beets. It makes for a great beet/cheese quesadilla.

Posted by: Charli on June 26, 2010 2:44 PM

I am not really a fan of beets, but this stuff is fabulous. Tasty and beautiful.

Posted by: Emiko on August 3, 2010 2:27 PM

Oh my goodness this is the most amazing recipe ever! The best hummus I have ever had. It's so fresh tasting. What a great compliment to an already awesome vegetable.

Posted by: Julie on August 27, 2010 7:39 PM

Fabulous. This hummus seems like a perfect solution for my beet surplus! Have you tried freezing the hummus? Did the texture hold up after thawing? Thanks!

I have not tried freezing the hummus. But if you do, please let us know here how it turns out. ~Elise

Posted by: maneesha on August 30, 2010 9:03 PM

Post a comment

(Your comment may need to be approved before it will appear on the site. Thanks for waiting. First time commenting? Please review the Comment Policy.)

Link to this recipe

Bookmark this page using the following link: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/beet_hummus/

Do you have a website? You can place a link to this page by copying and pasting the code below.

<a href="http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/beet_hummus/">Beet Hummus</a>