Easy Vegan + Gluten-Free Dip Using Everyday Ingredients
You will love this recipe even more if I told you that you can put this together with just a handful of pantry and fridge ingredients.
A can of cooked chickpeas, jarred roasted red pepper, Tahini, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and seasoning, all get blended to get this velvety smooth dip. If you don’t like chickpeas, you can substitute those with northern white beans. But, if you want to go the extra mile and make it from scratch, read below to see how.
Make Red Pepper Hummus from Scratch
In this recipe, there are two star ingredients- Red Bell Peppers and Chickpeas. if you don’t wish to use cans and jars, it is very easy to cook both at home.
How to Cook Chickpeas
You can cook dried chickpeas using a pressure cooker, like Instant Pot. Get the detailed recipe. This recipe has cooking instructions for both, presoaked and unsoaked chickpeas.
Similarly, you can roast your own red bell peppers in the oven or air fryer. Here are the detailed instructions for both methods:
How to Roast Red Peppers in Air Fryer or Oven
I slice a red bell pepper in half, de-seed and rub it with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Then, I roast it one of the following ways:
OVEN: I place the greased pepper on a lined baking sheet and roast in a pre-heated oven at 400°F, for about 30 minutes, flipping it half way through.
AIR FRYER: Place the pepper in the airfryer basket and roast at 400°F for about 22-25 mins, rotating it twice in the middle. Rotating is an important step so the pepper get evenly roasted. The same step can be done using a Mealthy Crisplid.
Once done, I cool the pepper for 5 minutes, and then transfer it to a gallon size ziplock bag and seal it. I leave it aside for 10 minutes. Since the pepper is hot when you seal the bag, it traps all the steam in the bag, causing the skin to separate from the pepper.
After 10 minutes, I remove it from the bag and peel off the skin. It comes off very easily. You can do the same process in a bowl with a tight lid on.
How to Make Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
It takes 10 minutes to put this dip together. Here are the step by step instructions and pictures to show you how: Add roasted red pepper, drained cooked chickpeas, garlic, tahini, paprika, lemon juice, EVOO, salt and cayenne to the blender jar and blend till smooth. Check for seasoning and adjust to preference.
Serving Suggestions for Roasted Red Pepper hummus
Garnish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, paprika and pine nuts. Optionally, you can add chopped parsley as well. Serve with veggies, crackers, pita chips or pita bread.
Low Carb Alternative
Whenever I am serving dips, I always like to offer a low-carb alternative to chips and crackers. So, I add carrots, cucumbers, celery to the platter in addition to the chips. You can customize that selection and add anything that can be used to scoop this dip, like endives, radish rounds, cut up peppers etc.
Make a Sandwich
My girls love to spread a layer of this Hummus in their sandwich. They top it with some thinly sliced chicken, or just a couple of slices of mozzarella cheese, and it makes for a really tasty and healthy sandwich.
Some more Vegetrian Dips & Appetizers from my Kitchen
Spinach & Artichoke Dip
Baked Brie in Puff Pastry
Peach Chutney (goes great on a cheese board)
Stuffed Mushrooms
You Might also like: Easy Vegetarian Appetizers, Side Dishes and Drinks
📖 Recipe
