Savory Pumpkin Hummus
This creamy pumpkin hummus has amazing smoky, savory flavor spiked with a hint of sweetness thanks to the pumpkin. It takes about 5 minutes to make, and it's packed full of protein and fiber, making it the perfect healthy snack for Fall!
🔍 Recipe At-A-Glance: Pumpkin Hummus
- ⏰ Total Time: 5 minutes
- 🎃 Flavor Profile: Smoky, savory, garlicky with a hint of sweetness.
- 💪 What Makes It Healthy: ¼ cup hummus = 6g protein and 6g fiber!
- 🥄 Good For: Snacks, hummus platters, game day, tailgating, topping falafel lettuce wraps, veggie pinwheels
- ↪️ Make Ahead: Make it on the weekend and eat on it all week long. It also freezes wonderfully!
- 🧡 Difficulty: The hardest part about this recipe is opening the cans of beans!
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🧡 Why You'll Love This Recipe
Hey friend: This bright orange pumpkin hummus is such a fun twist on traditional chickpea hummus! It's packed with the same creamy texture and sesame flavor you're used to, with an added hint of sweetness and smokiness.
Here's why you'll love this recipe:
- Smoky and sweet: Maple syrup and pumpkin give a hint of sweetness that balances out the savory flavors of smoked paprika and tahini. It's a killer combo!
- Really good for you: Packed full of plant-based protein and fiber, this hummus is incredibly nourishing.
- So easy to make: If you can open a can of chickpeas, you can make this hummus. Or, if you prefer to save some cash, learn how to cook chickpeas from dry and use those!
🫘 The Ingredients You Need
- Pumpkin puree: you can use store-bought from a can or homemade pumpkin puree-either work great!
- Chickpeas: again, canned chickpeas are great or you can learn how to cook chickpeas from dry and use chickpeas from that batch.
- Paprika: I prefer smoked paprika because the smokiness is so good with the sweetness of the pumpkin, but regular paprika also does the trick.
- Tahini: Tahini is sesame paste (basically peanut butter but made with sesame seeds instead of peanuts). You can find it at most major supermarkets in the international foods section.
- Maple syrup: You don't have to add the touch of syrup, but I find the added sweetness and maple flavor a really nice addition.
Make sure to check the recipe card below for the full ingredients list, along with quantities and my expert tips and tricks.
🔁 Variations & Substitutions
- Make it sugar-free: Leave out the maple syrup.
- Make it spicy: Add in a pinch or two of ground cayenne pepper or a few squeezes of hot sauce.
- Make it using a different veg: Pureed butternut squash and sweet potato also work in place of the pumpkin.
🥣 How to Make Pumpkin Hummus
Step 1: Combine all ingredients in the basin of a food processor or blender.
Step 2: Blend or process on high until very smooth. You may need to scrape the sides of the carafe.
Step 3: Spoon hummus into a bowl, then drizzle on olive oil and pumpkin seeds for garnish.
Step 4: Enjoy with pita wedges, veggies, chips, or crackers.
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🙋🏻♀️ Pumpkin Hummus FAQs
Pita is always the right answer for hummus-dipping-both warm, soft pita wedges or pita chips are great. Other options: carrot sticks, bell pepper slices, celery sticks, cucumber slices, tortilla chips, pretzels, and crackers.
Hummus freezes great! Spoon it into a ziptop freezer bag. Then freeze flat. When you're ready to defrost, just let it sit on the counter for a few hours or defrost in the fridge overnight. Hummus gets just the slightest bit less smooth after a rest in the freezer. Just whirl the hummus in the food processor or blender again to smooth it out.
👩🏻🍳 My Expert Tips & Tricks
- Salt to taste: Different cans of chickpeas have different sodium levels, so I include a baseline amount of salt in the recipe, but the best way to season your hummus is to taste it, then add more salt if you like.
- Peel your chickpeas: If you want truly the smoothest hummus on the planet, you need to peel the chickpeas. You can either peel each chickpea by hand (SO TEDIOUS THO) or boil your chickpeas with ½ teaspoon baking soda for about 20 minutes. This doesn't "peel" the chickpeas, but does break down the peels enough to give you a super smooth hummus. It's worth the time.
🎃 More Sweet and Savory Pumpkin Recipes
If you tried this Pumpkin Hummus or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments!
📖 Recipe
Savory Pumpkin Hummus
Ingredients
- 15 ounces pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 30 ounces canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus more for garnish
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika plus more for garnish
- ¼ cup water
- Pepitas or pumpkin seeds for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a high-powered blender or the bowl of a food processor and whir until smooth.
- Taste the hummus, then add more salt, if desired.
- To garnish, smooth hummus into a bowl and drizzle with additional olive oil. Sprinkle on pepitas and additional paprika.
Notes
- For dreamy smooth hummus, put the chickpeas in a saucepan and cover with 1 inch of water. Add in ½ teaspoon of baking soda and boil for 20 minutes. Drain well, then proceed with the recipe. The extra cooking time with the baking soda breaks down the chickpea peels making for a much smoother hummus.
- Hummus freezes well! Just freeze in a ziptop bag flat. To defrost, just let sit out on the counter for about an hour. Frozen hummus can separate, but a whirl in the food processor or blender will bring it right back.
This makes a large amount of hummus. We didn't enjoy it for a number of reasons. The hummus was very bland and lacked a distinctive flavor. The recipe didn't say to drain the chickpeas, so I used the aquafaba. Luckily I didn't add the extra 1/4 cup of water. We found it best if used with a very salty chip or cracker. I made some veggie wraps, but we had to add something like Sriracha or Tajin.
Thanks for the feedback—we've added a note to the recipe card that the beans should be drained before adding. I suspect that the additional water is why it came out bland, as it likely diluted the spices and flavor. We hope you'll give it another shot!
Pumpkin hummus is so delightfully different that you have to try it! It's got amazing flavor, beautiful color, and perfect creamy texture. Enjoy!
I need to add this to our menu soon! I know it'd be a hit at our house!