Sweet potato hummus is a mellow backdrop for briny artichoke hearts (or olives, if you prefer the variation). Readymade hummus is available almost anywhere food is sold, but it’s economical and easy to make your own, with a myriad of variations.
Somehow, no matter what the variety, the store-bought kinds taste pretty much the same to me, so I like making it with different ingredients and embellishments.
Homemade hummus is an economical option
Compared with the store-bought varieties, which typically come in 10-ounce containers (just over a cup), you get more bang for the buck by making your own.
This recipe in particular is party size, since it incorporates a cup of mashed sweet potato in addition to the chickpeas and tahini.
How to serve: Serve this tasty hummus as a spread for fresh pita as an appetizer. It’s also nice as a dip for cut fresh vegetables, including carrots, bell peppers, turnips, and celery. Slather it generously on veggie-filled wraps, sandwiches, and bagels.
This is super quick to make! Once you’ve got a sweet potato cooked and cooled, this comes together in minutes. You’ll need a medium sweet potato to get one cup of it mashed, but if all you’ve got is a large sweet potato, that’s fine, too — you can save the rest for another use, such as incorporating into a soup base. Or just eating plain with a little vegan butter.
Explore more …
- Easy Cold & Hot Vegan Appetizers
- Vegan Sweet Potato Recipes
- Easy and Tasty Chickpea Recipes
- Vegan Hot Artichoke Dip
Sweet Potato Hummus with Artichoke Hearts (+ an Olive Variation)
This sweet potato hummus is a mellow backdrop for briny artichoke hearts (or olives, if you prefer the variation).
Ingredients
- 1 cup well-cooked sweet potato
- 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)
- 1 to 2 cloves garlic, crushed (see note)
- Juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup)
- 12-ounce jar quartered marinated artichoke hearts
- Pinch of salt
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- Black or white sesame seeds for garnish
- Paprika
Instructions
- You’ll need one medium sweet potato to get one cup mashed. Bake, microwave or cook it in your preferred method until soft. Microwaving is easiest and quickest. Once cool enough to handle, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh. Measure out 1 cup of it (if there’s a little less, that’s fine, but if there’s more, save the excess for another use.
- Combine the sweet potato, chickpeas (reserve a few for garnish, if you'd like), tahini, garlic, lemon juice, and the liquid from the artichoke hearts in a food processor along with 1/4 cup water.
- Process until smoothly pureed. If need be, drizzle in just a bit more water to keep the mixture moving, but let it stay nice and thick.
- Reserve a few artichoke hearts for garnish and add the rest of them to the food processor. Add a pinch of salt and a few grindings of pepper and pulse on and off a few times.
- Transfer the hummus to a wide shallow serving bowl.
- Arrange the reserved artichoke hearts in the center. Garnish with sesame seeds, if using, and a dusting of paprika.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
Notes
For some aficionados, hummus isn’t the same without garlic, but since I’m not a fan of raw garlic, I sauté it first in a tiny bit of olive oil until golden.
Variation: Briny black olives (like Kalamata) work really well with sweet potato in place of artichokes. You won't be using liquid from the artichoke hearts, so you'll need a little extra water, and maybe a little more lemon juice to taste.
After step 2, once the other ingredients are smoothly pureed, add 1/2 cup olives to the food processor (I also like to add about 1/4 cup of a fresh herb — parsley, cilantro, or scallion), and pulse on and off a few times until chopped and incorporated into the pureed.
Don’t over-process — you want to retain chunks of olive. You can serve as is, or add a sprinkling of additional olives over the top of the hummus.
Photos by IriGri / Bigstock
Here are more tasty vegan appetizers and snacks
Leave a Reply