Video:How to Make Beet Hummus

Transcript:How to Make Beet Hummus

Hello, I’m Daniel Kazel for about.com. If you like beets, and you like hummus, you'll love this beet hummus recipe that we are making today. It contains healthy folic acid that the body needs and it’s easy to make. So, let’s get started.In this recipe, the beets are a replacement for the chickpeas that add a rich ruby red color and contain folic acid, which is a B complex vitamin that the body needs to manufacture red blood cells. \

Beet Hummus Ingredients:

• ½ pound beets (about 4 medium sized beets), scrubbed clean, cooked, peeled, and cubed
• 2 tbsp sesame seed
• 5 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp lemon zest (zest from approx. 2 lemons)
• 1 generous pinch of sea salt or Kosher salt
• 1 fresh ground pepper to taste

Boil or Roast Beets

To cook the beets, cut off any tops, scrub the roots clean, 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.

Or Roasting beets intensifies their flavor, brings out their earthy sweetness. Start with beets that are firm and feel heavy for their size. Rinse any dirt or debris from the beets – some beets may need to be scrubbed clean. Put beets on a large piece of aluminum foil and preheat the oven to 375. Drizzle the beets with a bit of oil before roasting. I like to use olive oil, but grape seed oil or canola oil work just fine, too.

For even roasting of the beets, fold the foil over them and crimp the sides closed. Roast beets until tender. The amount of time this will take can vary greatly depending on the size of the beets, how many there are, if other things are in the oven, and how fresh the beets are (fresher beets cook up faster). For smaller beets, start checking them for tenderness at about 25 minutes. Larger and older beets can take up to an hour.

Blend Beets with Ingredients to Puree

Remove beets from oven when tender. Let sit until cool enough to handle. When beets are cool enough to handle, slip their peels off. You can use a paring knife, if you like, but you can also marvel at how easily the peels come off with just a rub of your fingers. Now, 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 crustini with goat cheese and shaved mint.