Spicy Roasted Carrot “Hummus”: Veggie Dip Recipe - The Tomato Tart (2024)
This spicy roasted carrot “hummus” isn’t actually hummus at all because it doesn’t contain chickpeas, but that doesn’t stop this from being one of the tastiest vegan & gluten free appetizers in your arsenal. It’s big on flavor, a nutritional heavy hitter, but light on calories. Since it’s vegan, gluten-free, paleo, and allergy-friendly, so make this veggie dip recipe and you’ll have something for everyone at the party! Jump Straight to the Recipe
I just dropped Joshua off at the airport. As I watched him walk away in his plaid button-down, pulling his grey suitcase, I got all kinds of mushy. Truth be told, it’s usually him watching me as I head off to conferences, retreats, or sponsored travel. There is something about airports that fills me with gentle melancholy- even when I’m looking forward to wherever I’m going. Airports are full of emotion, from excitement to trepidation and from joyous hellos to longing goodbyes.
This morning, about an hour after he left for work, Joshua texted me “I miss you already”. It’s no wonder I hardly let the guy out of my sight for the past 17 years. It feels so strange to say 17 years. Perhaps by the time I get used to hearing 17, it will be another year.
While I’m missing him already, there are some things I love about being alone. The big one is sleeping alone in a king sized bed. Well, not really alone since I let all the animals sleep with me when he’s gone. I’m also planning to listen to all the music he hates on full blast. Mostly early girl-fronted R&B like Wynona Carr and corny rockabilly like Janis Martin.
Oh the other thing I always do when I’m flying solo is eat like a bachelorette. There will be salad, and eggs, tea and toast, maybe a mug cake and of course chocolate. Also, this roasted carrot dip = a meal.
I love everything about this roasted carrot dip. It’s thick and creamy, a little spicy, a bit nutty, and super pretty. Think hummus without the beans or tahini. I brought this to my friend Papabear’s house last weekend and he was shocked to learn that there was no tahini and it was garbanzo-less too. “What the what?”
My other favorite story about this carrot dip is that I was teaching some produce-focused cooking classes last fall. One of the programs was all about carrots. I made carrot mac and cheese, carrot top ranch dressing, and this carrot “hummus”. One day, I had two classes scheduled. I made huge batches of the mac and cheese, but made a smaller batch of the spicy carrot dip. Well, boy was I mistaken when I thought the kids wouldn’t be too into my veggie dip recipe. I had to use the entire batch I’d made for the kids + the stuff I was saving for the adult program. You can’t imagine how awesome it is to see kids dipping raw carrots into roasted carrot dip and asking for more. I completely ran out!
This roasted carrot dip is vegan, gluten free, nut free, paleo, and even Whole30 compliant. It uses ingredients I always have on hand. You probably have most of them too- except maybe the pepitas. If you don’t know pepitas, they’re just hulled pumpkin seeds. You can find them at many grocery stores. I usually buy mine at Trader Joes or at the Mexican market down the road. They taste nutty and delicious. If you haven’t tried them, holy cow, get out and get some! They’re great on salads, as a crunchy topping for soup, or just eating out of hand.
I’ve been making this for a few years now, and this Mexican-inspired version is the one I knew I had to share with you. I mean, I’ll share the recipe, but don’t ask me to share the dip! Luckily, since I’m solo this weekend, I don’t actually have to share my roasted carrot dip with anyone at all.
Preheat oven to 375º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On the baking sheet, toss carrots, onion slices, and jalapeño with one tablespoon of olive oil and spread out so that nothing is touching. Check the onions and jalapeños after 20 minutes and remove if they are cooked through and soft. Turn the carrots and cook for another 25-30 minutes. They are done when they’re caramelized and quite soft.
In a food processor, pulse pumpkin seeds, olive oil, and fresh herbs (if using) until the mixture is creamy with a bit of texture- not unlike chunky peanut butter. Add the carrots, olive oil, onions, jalapeños (if using), cumin, lime juice, and salt and process until smooth and creamy. I stop just short of completely smooth as I love a bit of texture, but you can keep processing until completely smooth. Serve with crudités, chips, crackers, or spread on toast for a fabulous treat. If you like, you can add a little drizzle of herbed olive oil and some toasted pepitas on top!
Carrots are a good source of vitamin A and potassium, so the pairing makes a balanced and nutritious snack. 1 As far as calories go, one-half cup of hummus has about 200-300 calories,2 while eight baby carrots have only about 30 calories. Hummus is also good with baked pita chips or pieces of pita bread.
What to eat with hummus? Here are a few of the best ways to use this creamy spread: Veggie dip with carrots, celery, cucumber slices, bell pepper, radishes, snap or snow peas, broccoli, and more. Dip for bread or chips like pita bread, pita chips, flatbread, pretzel chips, bagel chips, crackers and crostini.
Hummus is usually gluten-free, but not always. Traditional hummus is naturally gluten-free as are most brands such as Sabra Hummus. There are reports out there of certain brands either including flour in their hummus or just declaring that their hummus may contain wheat and/or is made on shared equipment.
Here are a few of the healthy things to dip in hummus. Carrots: These bright veggies (a favorite of Bugs Bunny) have many health benefits, including the ability to improve eyesight, ward off cancer, and relieve blood pressure. Carrot sticks and hummus are a staple for a reason – it's tasty!
Even though hummus has lots of great things going for it, you'll want to pay close attention to what you use to scoop it up. For better satiety and nutrition, go with veggie-based dippers like red pepper strips, sliced cucumbers, baby carrots or radishes and limit highly processed pita chips.
Hummus is a truly nutritious snack that is good to include in your daily diet in moderation and when combined with a diverse range of food. Hummus can be a part of the daily diet if consumed in moderation, and the rest of the diet contains a diverse range of foods.
That's proper food. But avoid snacking between meals. You can have your carrots and hummus as part of your lunch. I would add some wholemeal pitta bread, some celery sticks, and perhaps another dip like tzatziki, taramasalata or even guacamole.
For starters, homemade humus will almost always spoil faster because store-bought, which is prepared in sterile and contamination-controlled environments. Homemade varieties will generally last anywhere from 3-4 days, whereas store-bought brands generally lasts 6-7 days after opening.
Next, enhance the blank slate of flavor with a few squeezes of lemon juice, a sprinkling of garlic salt, a turn of freshly cracked pepper, a heavy-handed sprinkle of paprika, and a generous drizzle of your nicest olive oil. Bonus points if you have an herby olive oil on hand with a little color to it.
Spices like paprika, cayenne pepper and sumac all lend a marvelous layer of nuance to a classic hummus dip. Seasoning your hummus with spices is perfect when you want to supercharge your hummus dishes with flavor. This trick also works with making canned soup taste better.
Hummus is packed with healthy ingredients that may help reduce chronic inflammation. Olive oil is one of them. It's rich in powerful antioxidants that have anti-inflammatory benefits.
Even a small amount of sesame protein can set off a reaction. Some of the highest-risk foods for people with sesame allergy include foods that commonly contain sesame seeds or sesame oil. These include foods like hummus and sesame bagels, and also: crackers, chips, and other snack foods.
Does hummus need tahini? You bet! In fact, tahini is one of hummus' main ingredients, along with chickpeas and olive oil. That's why our favorite dip can be so rich and delicious—in hummus, tahini adds smoothness to the texture, as well as a wide variety of vitamins and minerals.
Vegetables. Baby carrots or carrot sticks are probably the most common raw vegetable eaten with hummus here in the United States. But you should also consider other fresh veggies for a healthy snack. Try mini bell peppers, celery sticks, broccoli, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, or snow peas.
Plus, pair hummus with vegetables and you have a filling, satisfying and healthy snack. Between the humus and vegetables you're getting fiber, a nutrient most of us don't eat enough of.
Introduction: My name is Tish Haag, I am a excited, delightful, curious, beautiful, agreeable, enchanting, fancy person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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