At some point last year, I unwittingly became one of those people who eats a big pile of raw veggies for lunch every day. It all started late one night when I didn’t have time to cook lunch for the following day, and it just kind of stuck. Turns out that in my old age I’ve grown to love chowing down on carrots and broccoli stalks and red peppers and everything else in between. I keep lunch exciting by making a different flavor of hummus every week. This chipotle hummus is one of my favorites, and it would be just as at home in your lunchbox as it would be in your next party’s snack spread!
I love spicy food, but I’m not a fan of food that’s so hot you can’t taste anything. Chipotle peppers are perfect in that respect; they’ve got some kick, but also pack in the flavor. You can find cans of chipotles packed in adobo sauce at just about any grocery store. Toss a couple of those suckers in your food processor with some chickpeas and a few other ingredients, and you’ll have a cheap and flavorful dip in no time. You won’t even have to worry about purchasing store-bought hummus that’s indirectly supporting Zionism. Everyone wins!
There are a lot of recipes floating around the Web that recommend painstakingly removing the chickpea skins if you want to make smooth hummus. Although I felt pretty silly doing it, I did try that method once just for kicks, and honestly, I didn’t find it made enough of a difference in texture to warrant the ridiculous effort. Don’t believe the hype, y’all! If you prepare your hummus like it’s an emulsion — and use enough liquids — you’ll have no problem making smooth hummus with any old food processor.
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp tahini
- 2 c cooked chickpeas
- 2 Tbsp chipotle peppers packed in adobo sauce
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ to 1 tsp salt (see note)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp water, plus additional as needed
- chipotle peppers, olive oil and paprika, to garnish
- In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil and tahini. Set aside.
- In a food processor, pulse chickpeas, 2 Tbsp chipotle peppers, garlic and salt until mostly ground.
- With food processor running on high, stream in lemon juice and water.
- When mixture is relatively smooth (this may take a few minutes, depending on your food processor), slowly stream in olive oil and tahini mixture.
- Continue processing until completely smooth.
- You can add more water at this point if you'd like the mixture to be lighter; just drizzle it in a tablespoon at a time while the food processor is on until you've reached your desired consistency.
- Just before serving, transfer hummus into serving bowl. With a large spoon, make a shallow well in the center of the hummus.
- Fill depression with olive oil.
- If desired, mince up to 2 Tbsp chipotle peppers and arrange around olive oil.
- Lightly sprinkle olive oil with paprika.
- Serve with warm pitas or fresh veggies.
Happy New Year, everyone!
10 comments
Shannon says:
Jan 7, 2014
Dang girl why didn’t I flippin’ think of this? You are so awesome. I love chipotle peppers packed in adobo sauce…I will have to make this when my roasted red pepper hummus is gone. Thank you for posting!!!!
claryn says:
Jan 8, 2014
Happy to help out, Shannon! 😉
Sally says:
Jan 7, 2014
I made hummus for a sandwich yesterday – I’m going home tonight to add chipotle peppers to it. Can’t wait to try it. Sounds positively delish.
Renard Moreau says:
Jan 7, 2014
[ Smiles ] That is sort of my kind of recipe; once it is vegan, it gets the thumbs up from me!
LaVerne Nixon says:
Jan 8, 2014
Friday I made hummus with Sriracha, sesame oil, whole garlic cloves and lemon juice, spicy and delicious. I will make your recipe next. It will be great on English cucumber.
claryn says:
Jan 9, 2014
That sounds delicious, LaVerne! And I agree, spicy hummus is great with cucumber.
Monica says:
Jan 10, 2014
Thanks for posting this! My entire family loved it, including all 3 kids. This will be our new go-to hummus recipe.
Nptexas says:
Aug 29, 2014
I make hummus often and this version is great. I’m a little confused by the mention of Zionism, though.
eileen says:
Oct 26, 2014
DELISH! I put it on a wrap with some Greens, Roasted Eggplant, roasted Red Onion and some artichokes does not get much better!!
Cheryl says:
Mar 15, 2016
Made this a couple times now. #TheBomb