This butternut squash hummus is the perfect festive hummus for fall. It’s creamy and savory, and as an added bonus, delivers some extra velvety sweetness. Grab your crackers and buckle in for this one – you won’t want to miss it!
Equipment
This butternut squash hummus requires some basic kitchen equipment, nothing fancy.
- Medium saucepan – for preparing your chickpeas. If you’re using canned chickpeas, you will not need.
- Strainer – for straining your chickpeas
- Chefs knife – for chopping butternut squash
- Cutting board – for chopping butternut squash
- Baking sheet – for roasting butternut squash
- Microplane – for lemon zest
- Blender, immersion blender, or food processor – for blending your hummus
- Mixing bowl – if using an immersion blender
Ingredients
Hummus traditionally has two key ingredients – chickpeas and tahini.
Since we’re blending our chickpeas, we typically want them to be extras soft. Canned chickpeas won’t make that extra creamy hummus we’re looking for, but will work in a pinch. I recommend rehydrating your chickpeas.
To rehydrate your chickpeas, put chickpeas in a medium saucepan and cover with an inch or two of water. Bring to a boil for 5 mins, then turn off heat and let sit for 1 hour. Then drain the water and add the chickpeas back into the pot.
To cook chickpeas once they’re rehydrated, cover with 2-3 inches of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer with lid slightly ajar, this time for 3-4 hours.
Tahini is basically blended up sesame seeds. It has a texture similar to peanut butter. Tahini typically has a bitter taste. To offset, we add some lemon juice.
In addition, lemon zest adds lemony flavor, some olive oil thins it out, garlic is optional for flavor, and finally, we season with some salt and pepper.
Pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds make a wonderful and festive garnish.
Finally, you’ll need some roasted butternut squash. Roasted butternut squash has a buttery texture, and is sweet like a sweet potato, but a little more savory. Peel and dice the butternut squash, toss with some cooking oil (such as grapeseed) and salt & pepper. Roast at 350 F for 30-40 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
But Eliza…
Is hummus vegan? Hummus doesn’t typically contain animal products, so it is vegan. This hummus uses fresh chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and a few other pantry ingredients.
I don’t like butternut squash – can I make this with [insert vegetable of choice here]? Absolutely! This hummus recipe works with roasted pumpkin, cilantro and lime, and beets. Simply replace the butternut squash with roasted vegetable (or fresh herb and citrus) of choice.
How do you fix hummus that is too thick? Add a little more olive oil to thin it out. Start with 1-2 Tablespoons and work up from there.
How do you fix hummus that is too thin? If you have some extra chickpeas, add them. Refrigerating the hummus will also help it thicken. Otherwise, there isn’t a ton you can do.
My hummus tastes too bitter – what do I do? Add acid! Lemon juice and rice wine vinegar both work well – start with 1-2 Tablespoons and add more to taste. For future reference, you might want to use less tahini.
What kind of chickpeas should I use for hummus? Rehydrated and cooked chickpeas work best for hummus. You can use canned chickpeas, but they don’t blend as nicely.
Print
Butternut squash hummus
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3-4 hours
- Yield: 5–6 cups 1x
- Category: Snacks & sides
- Method: Blending
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 cups roasted butternut squash
- 2 cups dried chickpeas (or 3-4 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed)
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1–2 cloves garlic
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of 4–5 lemons
- 3–4 Tbsp tahini
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Rehydrate chickpeas: put chickpeas in a medium saucepan and cover with an inch or two of water. Bring to a boil for 5 mins, then turn off heat and let sit for 1 hour. Then drain the water and add the chickpeas back into the pot.
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Cook chickpeas: cover with 2-3 inches of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer with lid slightly ajar, this time for 3-4 hours.
- Roast butternut squash: meanwhile, peel and dice butternut squash. Toss with some olive oil, salt, and pepper, then roast at 350 for 30-60 mins, flipping halfway through.
- Blend & taste: put all ingredients into a blender (or large bowl if using an immersion blender) and blend until homogenous. Taste, and adjust as needed per suggestions above. Garnish with sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, and olive oil if desired. Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Keywords: hummus, butternut squash hummus, vegan hummus, vegan snacks
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