Make high-protein Beetroot Hummus that tastes incredible. This healthy version is made with red lentils and tahini. It's so creamy, and is the perfect sandwich spread, dip, or protein addition to any veggie bowl! It lasts 5 days in the fridge. Plus, it's gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan.
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Did you know you can use red lentils instead of chickpeas for making hummus? They pack in more protein and fiber and are quick to prepare. Plus, I added roasted garlic and spices to this recipe so it's packed with flavor.
I know the color is more than vibrant, but the beet flavor is very subtle. You hardly taste it at all. Yet you still get the multiple health benefits from the beets!
Beets are rich in natural nitrates, which your body can convert into nitric oxide. This process explains why researchers have been able to show a ten-point systolic blood pressure drop in volunteers within hours of their consuming beet juice-an effect that lasted throughout the day. One little shot of beet juice, for example, allowed free divers to hold their breath for a half minute longer than usual. No drug, steroid, supplement, or intervention had ever before been shown to do what beet juice could do, and this effect works with whole beets too.
This beetroot dip was inspired by my Roasted Red Pepper Dip (Muhammara) on this site, as well as this 5-ingredient High-Protein Red Lentil Dip.
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👩🏼🌾 Ingredients
You need just 7 ingredients to make this recipe.
- Beets: Use packaged precooked beets to save time. Or roast your own for maximum flavor.
- Red Lentils: Packed with protein and fiber, these little gems cook in just 10 minutes.
- Tahini: Instead of olive oil, use tahini for a creamy and heart-healthy fat.
- Cumin, turmeric, black pepper, and smoked paprika: These spices add tons of flavor and antioxidants to this healthy Beetroot Hummus recipe.
See the recipe card for quantities.
🧄 Substitutions
- Beets - Omit the beetroot as desired, this hummus recipe still works without it. Or use roasted sweet potato instead. Roasted beets pack in the most flavor, but you can use store-bought cooked beets instead to save time.
- Turmeric - optional for extra health benefits
See this 5-ingredient Chipotle Black Bean Dip with Pico de Gallo for another meal prep snack idea.
📖 How to Make Beetroot Hummus
Step 1. Slice both ends of the beetroot and cut it into about 2-inch wedges. Slice the top of the garlic to expose the cloves. Toss with olive oil and salt to taste. Wrap the garlic in parchment or aluminum foil for more even roasting.
Roast them at 375ºF for about 35 minutes, or until the beets are fork-tender.
Step 2. Simmer the red lentils in 1 ½ cups water for about 10 minutes or until al dente but not mushy.
Step 3. Strain the lentils to remove excess water.
Step 4. Transfer the beets, lentils, lemon zest and juice, tahini, smoked paprika, cumin, turmeric, and black pepper to the canister of a food processor. Add about one-half of the garlic cloves. Add 2 tablespoons water or olive oil.
Step 5. Process until smooth and creamy, adding more water or oil as needed until the desired texture.
Step 6. Optional: Add the remaining roasted garlic to about 2 tablespoons olive oil and a generous dash of smoked paprika, and salt to taste. Mash the garlic. Spread onto pita wedges.
Step 7. Spread onto pita wedges and bake at 380ºF for about 10 minutes or until lightly crispy. They will crisp up more upon cooling.
Step 8. Enjoy Beetroot Hummus with garlic pita as a healthy snack or side.
For more easy and healthy side dish ideas, visit my Vegan Side Dish Recipes page.
💡 Expert Tips
- If you are roasting your beets, it is better to roast a few and make a big batch of this hummus to store. You can freeze it for up to one month.
- Storage: Refrigerate Beetroot Hummus in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Store the pita chips on the kitchen counter for up to 2 days.
🙋🏽♀️ Recipe FAQs
Even though this dip is bright pink, you can hardly taste the beet! This hummus tastes lemony, garlicky, and deliciously creamy.
Use it as a spread in sandwiches or wraps. You can also add it to veggie bowls for additional protein. Plus, it's delicious with quinoa and farro. Or serve it with crudités (raw veggies), pita, chips, or crackers for a healthy snack or weekday lunch.
Beets add a ton of nutrients to hummus for very few additional calories. They are rich in fiber, folate, vitamin C, and antioxidants that may help lower blood pressure and fight inflammation. Beets are also a source of betaine, a type of antioxidant that's evident in its rich, red-colored roots. They are also a source of potassium, which supports bones and muscles.
🍽 Related Recipes
👩🏽🍳 Made This Recipe
Share your Beetroot Hummus with me on Instagram. It makes my day to see you recreate my recipes.
I would love it if you would ⭐️ rate this recipe and leave a comment. Thank you in advance.
Beetroot Hummus
Ingredients
- 1 large beet scrubbed and rinsed
- 1 small-medium head garlic
- ¾ cups dry red lentils (optional)
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest (about one-half lemon)
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 large lemon) plus more as needed
- 1 to 2 tablespoons water or extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric (optional)
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- Salt to taste
Optional for homemade pita chips:
- 2 whole wheat pita
- Extra-virgin olive oil (about 2 tablespoons)
- Dash of smoked paprika
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Instructions
- Roast the beet and garlic: Slice both ends of the beetroot and cut it into about 2-inch wedges. Slice the top of the garlic to expose the cloves. Toss with olive oil and salt to taste. Wrap the garlic in parchment or aluminum foil for better roasting.Roast them at 375ºF for about 35 minutes, or until the beets are fork-tender.
- Simmer the red lentils in 1 ½ cups water for about 10 minutes or until al dente but not mushy.
- Strain the lentils to remove excess water.
- Blend: Transfer the beets, lentils, lemon zest and juice, tahini, smoked paprika, cumin, turmeric, and black pepper to the canister of a food processor. Add about one-half of the garlic cloves. Add 2 tablespoons water or olive oil.Process until smooth and creamy, adding more water or oil as needed until the desired texture.
- Optional Homemade Pita Chips: Add the remaining roasted garlic to about 2 tablespoons olive oil and a generous dash of smoked paprika, and salt to taste. Mash the garlic. Spread onto pita wedges. Spread onto pita wedges and bake at 380ºF for about 10 minutes or until lightly crispy. They will crisp up more upon cooling.
Notes
- If you are roasting your beets, it is better to roast a few and make a big batch of this hummus to store. You can freeze it for up to one month.
- Storage: Refrigerate Beetroot Hummus in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Store the pita chips on the kitchen counter for up to 2 days.
Nutrition
This information is provided as a courtesy and is only an estimate. Nutritional values may vary depending on factors such as product types and brands used.
Amy says
Follow the recipe exactly except doubled all my spices and use the entire head of garlic. I still found it rather bland. I’m wondering if it’s because I used a yellow beet instead of red since that was what I had on hand…
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Hi Amy, Yellow beets have a completely different flavor. I would not recommend using them for this recipe.
Linda Johns says
Hi Nisha I am madly saving your recipes. Are you going to publish a new book with all these tasty recipes and dressings. I would gladly buy it instead of
copying into a file on my computer. Your dishes are so delicious and this is the
way that I want to eat all the time. Thank you for all your input.
Linda Johns
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
So glad you are enjoying the recipes. Thank you. I am not planning on another book right now. But maybe next year.
Alkuds says
Five Stars!
This was delicious! Best recipe for beetroot hummus. Creamy and very flavorful. Thank you Nisha.
This goes well with the quick pickled carrots-another great recipe!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Yayyy! So glad you enjoyed this beet recipe! Thank you.
Lauren O’Grady says
This recipe is incredible! I’ve made it several times-my friends have begun requesting it. It’s beautiful and looks great on the table. Can’t wait to make your gluten free homemade crackers to go with it. Thank you.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Awww thank you for letting me know. So happy to hear this.
Jan Brockway says
Thank you so much!! I can’t wait to make this.
I usually roast my beets and me and my dog eat them so I will save her some 🤗💕💕💕💋
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Hehe! Love that! Enjoy:)
Lauren O’Grady says
Love your comment! I eat beets with my dog too. She’s absolutely crazy for arugula, of all things. They aren’t really designed to eat arugula so watching her chow down on it is adorable. She’s 16 and going strong.
Five Count says
Great recipe for incorporating beets and red lentils into hummus! It says "5 servings/serves 5", but what is the "actual" serving size (i.e., 1 cup, 150g)? Thanks.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Hi. Sorry, I did not measure the cup equivalent. If you measure the total cups it would be one-fifth of that amount.
Martha says
I followed the recipe and it turned out fantastic. Thank you so much. I will make this hummus again.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
So glad to hear. Thank you!
Gerri says
OMG! My new favourite hummus! Texture was lovely and creamy. Absolutely delicious. Thank you.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Yayyy. So happy to hear. Thank you.
Jann says
Can canned lentils be used? Looks yummy!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Yes! Rinse them first by running them under cold water in a fine mesh sieve.
Jenna says
Delicious and something different than traditional hummus. Mine wasn’t as purple but still a pretty paprika color.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Thank you for commenting. Sounds beautiful!!!
Elizabeth says
Delicious and super easy to make! Strong lentils taste, next time I’m going to add more cloves of roasted garlic to up the flavor.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Love garlic! Sounds good! Thank you.
Zuzana says
Dear Nisha,
I found your amazing recipes on youtube shorts (wonderful videos!). This is the first one I´ve tried - and I am definitely going to try a lot more. This beetroot hummus is absolutely delicious! I love your website with all the extra info, beautiful pics and practical tips in notes section. As well as the possibility to print out the recipes just by one click. Thank you so much for inspiring us and sharing these yummy meals! Love from the Czech Republic.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Welcome to the site and I'm so happy to have you here! Thank you for your kind comment. I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Christina Chicky says
I had to use white beans in place of lentils and golden beets instead of red beets. Otherwise I followed recipe exactly and it was delicious! Beautiful gold color and great flavor.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
I'm so glad it worked out. Thank you for leaving a comment.
Sonia Marie Wagner says
Did you use the same measurements for the substitution of beans for lentils? I need to do the same.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Yes!
Linda says
Your hummus is so delicious, bright and we had with celery sticks. Best snack after work EVER !! Thank you
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Yayyy makes my day to read this. Thank you!
Brittany says
Very delicious. Been looking for ages for some vegan recipes my kids will actually get used too and yours are the key. Thank You 😊
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
I'm so glad they liked it! Thank you for taking the time to comment.xox
Jan Brockway says
I love roasted beets. But your recipe calls for 1 large. Large is not an amount. How about cups amount?
And roasting a whole bunch of garlic but only need a few cloves?
I have been following you but now I’m stumped. Please help! Thank you
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Hi. The amount of beet does not significantly change the outcome of the recipe. Not enough to require an exact amount. 1 large beet, roasted, will work. The other half of the roasted garlic is used to make the garlic oil for the toasted pita chips. Hence, the entire garlic is used which is why I went through the effort of making the chips to show this.
Laura Simmons says
I made this beetroot hummus dip this evening, its outstanding!! The color is so gorgeous and the flavor is scrumptious. This dip is going to be very versatile for grilled veggie sandwiches and crackers, but it's delicious simply eaten by the spoonful. Thank you, all of your recipes hit the mark with flavor and nutrition
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Thank you for your lovely comment. I'm so glad this hummus was a hit!
Adrienne Frazee says
This is so delicious. I love the way you describe the health benefits of beets. It makes me excited to add more to my diet. I know it’s not healthy, but salt and vinegar potato chips dipped in this is such a treat!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Omg those were my favorite chips growing up!!! Sounds delicious!
Halina says
Did I miss chickpea amount in this recipe?????
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
There are no chickpeas. It uses red lentils instead.
August says
But the second and fourth bullet points under ‘Notes’ mention chickpeas - hence the confusion
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Oh I see! I'm so sorry. This was an updated post where I changed the entire recipe and forgot to change the notes! Thank you for alerting me! I removed that now.
Tiago says
Thank you for your work. You make it so delicious and nutritious being vegan, helping saving innocent sentient beings. 💚
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Grateful for your kind words. Thank you.
Andrea says
I really dislike beets and keep trying them thinking maybe there’s SOME recipe out there that will make them good. This was it! Been trying a lot of recipes lately and have yet to be disappointed! I prepped this into small containers for my teen daughter’s lunch. I think she’ll love it. Also with Valentine’s Day coming up-these would be perfect for a kid’s lunch. Thanks again!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Awww so so happy to read this! Thank you for commenting! You're right, these are great for Valentine's day!
Jan Brockway says
Hi. I haven’t made this yet. Thank you for sharing your recipe. 💋🤗
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Enjoy:)
[email protected] says
I’ve long loathed the smell, taste and texture of beets but also know that beets may be the greatest vegetables to grace Mother Earth. I made this recipe and can’t believe how tremendous this tastes. I’m not sure I can go back to plain old tan-colored hummus ever again. Thanks for the recipe. It can’t be beet!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
I updated the images of this post just 2 days ago because I love this recipe and I felt the old image didn't do it justice! So the fact that you who-hated-beets made it since and liked it, makes me very very happy! Thank you!!!
Neena Chandiramani says
Wonderful for dips and sandwiches!
Nisha Melvani says
Thank you. Enjoy!