Best Paleo & Vegan Hummus Recipes

In this week's post you get not one but FOUR delicious hummus recipes to try.  Making your own hummus is simple, easy and tastes EXTRA fresh. Follow along to learn how you can make an amazing hummus from fresh ingredients and delicious flavors that will knock your socks off!  These hummus recipes were created with you in mind focusing on your dietary needs without compromising the flavor, consistency or overall satisfaction that we all look for in a good hummus.  So grab your cup of tea and take some notes, for this will forever change the way you eat hummus.

I can't think of a better way to celebrate and welcome Spring than by praising the fruits from the Earth.

So spring is here (yay!) and I cannot begin to tell you how happy I feel.  For one thing, the change in the seasons always refreshes me at a deeper level.  Additionally this is the time when I begin to plan and work on my vegetable garden, which by far is the single most satisfying and fulfilling activity I do, apart from raising my children alongside my soulmate.

When I think of spring I think of connection.  It's that time of year again when I get to re-connect with the soil, get my bare feet on the ground and breath the fresh new air.  Life begins again!   This is also a great time for me to plant the seeds of dreams and hopes into the universe and much like the vegetable seeds I will be planting... with some basic needs, attendance and love, it will sure to sprout.

Brainstorming this week's recipe I wanted to praise the fruits from the Earth.  It's colors, flavors, textures and richness. Root vegetables are great in a sense that they are very hearty and yet delicate.   They grow beneath the ground, hiding from the world and you never know what you get until you pull it out.

So I chose to use beets and carrots as a flavoring for this hummus recipe, to represent our root vegetables.  If you have been reading my blog for a while, you are familiar with my "lovesession" for beets and my childhood story of my Grandmother's famous beet potion which she forced down my throat whenever I was feeling under the weather.  Nowadays I use my grandmother's special concoction as a natural way to boost energy, health and vitality.  Beets do have a special place in my heart.

organic carrots from my vegetable garden 2015

Another one of my countless childhood memories comes from a big tall avocado tree I had in my backyard as a young kid. Unfortunately my love for avocados turned sour after years of use-and-abuse of this superfood. However with a little bit of love and patience I started to welcome avocado back into my diet, on occasion.

So the story goes something like this,  a long time ago (well, maybe not that long), there was a young girl who lived in a small village in Brazil.  She loved to run wild and free.  Her favorite shoes was the ground beneath her... that  is when she wasn't pretending to be a monkey hanging upside down from her favorite cocoa tree.  Every so often, her caring sweet grandmother would summon this little girl into her rustic kitchen. Here is where my grandmother would rub the avocado all through my hair, then cover my hair with a plastic grocery bag and make me sit outside under the sun for a while (at that moment it felt like hours)... insane right?

But I have to say, my hair was so shinny and smooth and the best part was, there were no toxic ingredients!

I also feel the need to mention the size of the avocados from my backyard.  They were HUGE!! Like I've never seen again.  I don't kid you when I say these avocados were the size of a large grapefruit.

Now, what better combination for this grain-free avocado hummus then spicy jalapeño.  I mean they go together complementing each other's flavors in a way that no other ingredient would.  The avocado cushions the spiciness from the jalapeño, helping enhancing its flavors without the painfulness.  It just has a little bite to it! Other flavors such as roasted garlic, tahini and cilantro also help in absorbing the impact of the jalapeño, adding great taste to this paleo choice of hummus.

Lastly, I wanted to create a hummus that was light, creamy and simple with easy flavors, much like the original hummus recipe.  That's when zucchini came to mind.  Over the past few years I started to use zucchini in many of my cooking and baking for it's simple flavors, lightness and easy to digest qualities.  Often times I add zucchini to my baking for the extra nutritional value for my kids diets (since they refuse to it plain).  They cannot taste the zucchini at all.  In fact, my kids love my Chocolate Zucchini Brownie recipe which you can find it here.

This particular recipe turned out so creamy and delicious that everyone in my house enjoyed it (yes, even the kids!).  I loved the added hint of flavor from the roasted zucchini and artichokes (optional).  The other ingredients I kept the same to maintain it's simplicity and taste.

I think hummus is one the best foods to have in your refrigerator at all times, it is such an easy go-to option that gives everyone a little fill in between meals.  It is also a great way to get the kids to eat more vegetables, as they enjoy dipping their favorite veggies into a pool of something flavorful. Its a great way for them to get fresh raw vegetables into their diet.

But honestly I have had days when I was completely satisfied with a platter of vegetables and a good tub of hummus without having to eat a big meal.

One cool thing about making your own hummus is that you get to add the flavors that your family likes and to have better control of what's in the foods you eat.  Unfortunately we can't completely live off of the good ol homemade stuff, but the more we cook our own foods the less salt, sugar, saturated fats, processed foods, preservatives, among other toxins we put into our bodies.  The BONUS... it tastes a lot fresher.

Print Recipe

Paleo Beet & Cauliflower Hummus

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time45 mins

Total Time55 mins

Course: Appetizer

Servings: 6 oz

Author: Ribas with Love

Ingredients

• 1 medium beet roasted
• 1 cup cauliflower florets about half head of a cauliflower
• 2 tablespoon tahini
• 2 garlic cloves roasted
• juice from ½ lemon
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt + pepper to taste

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Place the peeled beet cut into quarter and the garlic cloves in aluminum foil, wrap it and bring it to the oven for about 45 minutes. It doesn't matter if you overcook it or undercook it, we just want to get it to a soft texture so it's easier to blend.
• Meanwhile, add the cauliflower florets to the steamer for a couple of minutes (3-4), just to soften up a bit.
• Remove the beet and garlic from the oven and let it cool off completely.
• Add all the ingredients to the food processor (I used a Vitamix) and blend. Different appliances will require more or less time. For me, using a Vitamix, it took a total of approximately 2 minutes of blending, stopping a few times to bring the ingredients together. As long as you reach a smooth consistency paste like, you are good to go.

I could not end this post without mentioning my award-winning most Pinned recipe of all times.  My Raw Pumpkin Seed Hummus was featured by New York Times bestseller Kris Carr and received many compliments from fellow readers who tried it.  You can get this recipe here!

Print Recipe

Roasted Carrots Hummus

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time45 mins

Total Time55 mins

Course: Appetizer

Servings: 6 oz

Author: Ribas with Love

Ingredients

• 2 medium carrots peeled and cubed (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup chickpeas cooked
• 2 tablespoon tahini
• 2 garlic cloves
• juice from ½ lemon
• pinch of cumin
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt + pepper to taste

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Place the peeled, cubed carrots and the garlic cloves in aluminum foil, wrap it and bring it to the oven for about 45 minutes. This is a good time to catch up on the laundry 🙂 Oven temperatures may vary, so don't worry about overcooking it or undercooking it. It just need to soften enough so it's easier to blend.
• Remove the carrots and garlic from the oven and let it cool off completely.
• Add all the ingredients to the food processor (I used a Vitamix) and blend. Different appliances will require more or less time. For me, using a Vitamix, it took a total of approximately 2 minutes of blending, stopping a few times to bring the ingredients together. If you need to adjuster the texture feel free to add more oil or water, as long as you reach a smooth consistency paste like, you are good to go.

I hope you get to try one or all of these recipes.  If you do so, please tag #ribaswithlove on Instagram (clickable link) or leave a comment below this post sharing your thoughts.

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Thanks for reading, xoxo

Silvia