I’m not ashamed to admit that I eat a lot of hummus. It’s pretty healthy, plus it’s quick and delicious. Sometimes, along with some crackers and vegetables, it makes up a whole meal. Usually lunch, but it’s been dinner, and I’m sure one day it’ll be breakfast. Actually, I have had it on toast with spinach or radishes for breakfast. So the only frontier left is dessert. Which I don’t see happening any time soon, but you never know.

While I love standard, plain hummus, I’ve also played around with some variations. A couple of years ago I even made a hummus flight, which consisted of roasted red pepper hummus, chipotle feta hummus, spinach artichoke hummus, and spicy hummus. And now I’ve gone and made two more flavors. This week I whipped up some pesto hummus and balsamic hummus. Ready for the complicated recipes?

Pesto Hummus

Stir 1 tsp pesto (pre-made or homemade) into 1 cup of hummus. Taste, and add more pesto if desired.

Balsamic Hummus

Stir 1 tsp balsamic vinegar into 1 cup of hummus. Taste, and add more balsamic if desired.

Below is my standard hummus recipe. Once you’ve made your hummus base, the variations are incredibly easy. I make my hummus from scratch, from dried chickpeas (instructions here), and I think that makes a big difference, but you can definitely use canned beans to save time.

Hummus Base Recipe

3 cups cooked chickpeas/garbanzo beans
1/4 cup tahini
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
water

In a large food processor, puree the chickpeas, garlic, tahini, olive oil, and lemon juice. If the hummus is too thick, add water by the teaspoon to thin it out to the desired consistency.