Pizza hummus with sun-dried tomatoes

This garbanzo bean spread is a melding of sun-dried tomatoes, tahini, lemon juice, oregano, basil, onion powder, and garlic.

After blending the hummus, it’s finished with a pinch of red pepper flakes, and a drizzle of oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes.

Then garnish it with your favorite pizza toppings.

(If you have sun-dried tomatoes left afterwards, make a batch of raw tacos!)

Serve it with your choice of toasted pizza crust wedges, pita chips, or red bell pepper slices.

To keep this hummus mostly oil-free, I use the wizardry of aquafaba.

In this post:

Aquafaba is the liquid inside of a can of chickpeas or other beans.

It’s surprisingly helpful in recipes.

I use it to brown the top of pastry in my vegan pot pie.

People also use it as an egg replacer.

(My pal, Becky, has a whole aquafaba guide with everything it can do.)

In this recipe for sun-dried tomato hummus, aquafaba is used in place of oil.

I used to add water to my hummus instead, but that diluted the flavor.

By using chickpea liquid, you keep all of that garbanzo bean flavor while thinning out the hummus, so that it’s not overly thick.

It depends.

I recommend starting with a few Tablespoons and working up from there.

Some chickpeas are drier/denser than others.

If a chickpea has more moisture already in it, the hummus won’t need as much additional liquid.

But if the chickpeas are harder & drier, you’ll need to add more liquid to smooth it out.

So you’ll need to add more or less liquid depending on your beans.

As you’re blending it, the hummus should run smoothly through the blade of the food processor.

If it’s thick or paste-like, you need more.

But you also don’t want to make a chickpea smoothie. So add the aquafaba slowly.

If you need to add a lot of chickpea liquid, I recommend increasing the tahini a bit and adding a splash of sun-dried tomato oil (or more sun-dried tomatoes). That way those flavors still stand out.

Tahini is similar to peanut butter. But it’s made with sesame seeds instead of peanuts.

It adds a muted nuttiness to hummus. And it kind of mellows everything out.

It also adds some lustrous fat, which makes hummus so addictive.

You can find tahini in the Mediterranean section or health market of most grocery stores.

You can also find it online. (Here is my favorite brand!)

Some tahini brands are runnier than others.

If yours is particularly dry, you may want to add a splash of sun-dried tomato oil or more aquafaba to your hummus.

Here’s how to make this recipe at a glance. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.

Use a fine mesh sieve over a bowl to strain the chickpeas from a can.

(You’ll need the chickpea liquid, also known as aquafaba. So don’t throw it down the drain. Not a fan of aquafaba? Use water or extra virgin olive oil instead.)

Then put the chickpeas into a food processor along with aquafaba, sun-dried tomatoes, tahini, and lemon juice.

Blend until mostly smooth, stopping once to scrape down the sides.

Then add the following seasonings:

• Dried oregano
• Dried basil
• Onion powder
• Granulated garlic
• Salt

Blend until fully combined.

Move the hummus to a bowl & top with your favorite pizza toppings.

Here are some topping ideas:

• Fresh basil
• Spinach
• Browned seitan pepperoni (I especially like the Herbivorous Butcher pepperoni shown here)
• Artichoke hearts
• Olives

Finish with a drizzle of sun-dried tomato oil & sprinkling of red pepper flakes.

To really amp up that pizza feeling, I like to serve it with slices of grilled pizza crust.

Trader Joe’s sells shelf-stable pizza crusts. They come two to a pack.

Use kitchen shears to cut them into triangles.

Then toast them in a grill pan or skillet.

You can add a little oil to the pan if you like, but it’s not essential.

Warm the crust for a few minutes on both sides until the slices get a little nutty brown on top.

Serve the toasted triangles with the hummus, and let guests dip their own.

Or slather the hummus on top of the crust & adorn it with toppings.

It’s a really fun & unique appetizer that is reminiscent of a focaccia sandwich in flavor.

Sun-dried tomato hummus is also great with homemade pita chips.

You can also use this hummus on a vegan bagel sandwich, rolled into tortilla pinwheels, or added to a veggie platter.

For a gluten-free spread, garnish the hummus with grilled artichoke hearts & olive slices instead of seitan pepperoni.

Then serve with bell pepper wedges for dipping.

Here are even more hummus ideas for your next gathering!

• Easy hummus
• Buffalo hummus
• Dill pickle hummus
• Kalamata olive hummus

📖 Recipe

Pizza hummus with sun-dried tomatoes

Author: Cadry Nelson

5 from 5 votes

This pizza-flavored hummus brings together everyone's favorite dip with everyone's favorite Friday night dinner. This sun-dried tomato hummus has massive party appeal, because toppings can vary to fit your group's preferences – just like regular pizza.

Add vegan pepperoni and green onions for something classic. Or elevate your hummus with grilled artichoke hearts and Castelvetrano olives. The options are limitless!

Nutrition & calorie info is for the hummus alone. It doesn't include optional toppings or dippers, since those vary.

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 2 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 7 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 people

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Middle Eastern, Vegan

Keyword: dip, spread, vegetarian

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 can (15 ounce) chickpeas drained & liquid reserved*
• ▢ 3 Tablespoons aquafaba chickpea liquid + more as needed
• ▢ ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes from oil-packed jar, drained (About 6 to 7 whole sun-dried tomatoes)
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons tahini + more as needed
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• ▢ ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ ½ teaspoon dried basil
• ▢ ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon oil from sun-dried tomato jar
• ▢ Pinch red chili pepper flakes optional
• ▢ ¼ cup your favorite pizza toppings Any or all of the following: browned slices of vegan pepperoni, green onions, Castelvetrano olives, jarred grilled artichoke hearts, chopped spinach, fresh basil, or any of your favorite diced vegetables

For dipping

• ▢ 1 toasted pizza crust cut into triangles, or 2 toasted slices pita bread**
• ▢ 1 bell pepper cut into chunky wedges

Instructions

• ▢
  In a food processor, combine drained chickpeas, 3 Tablespoons aquafaba, sun-dried tomatoes, tahini, and lemon juice. Stop to scrape down the sides, and continue blending until the hummus is smooth.

  The viscosity of tahini & dryness of chickpeas can vary by brand. So if your hummus is too dry, add splashes of aquafaba until the hummus runs smoothly through the food processor blade.
• ▢
  Add dried oregano, dried basil, onion powder, garlic granules, and salt to food processor. Blend until fully combined.

  Taste the hummus. If it needs another pop of flavor or is too thick, add more aquafaba (to thin it), sun-dried tomatoes or sun-dried tomato oil, or tahini.
• ▢
  Move the hummus to a serving bowl. Drizzle with a teaspoon of oil from sun-dried tomato jar and a pinch of red pepper flakes (optional).
• ▢
  Top the hummus with ¼ cup (total) of your preferred toppings. Serve with toasted pizza crust wedges or pita chips, and bell pepper wedges.

Notes

*Save liquid (aquafaba) from can of chickpeas. You’ll need it for the recipe.

**I like to use Trader Joe’s pizza crust for serving. You can find it near the baguettes & ciabatta loaves. Cut it into triangles. Then toast it in a grill pan for a few minutes on each side until brown.

Or you can serve it with homemade pita chips.

To make this dip gluten-free, serve with bell pepper wedges instead of pizza crust or pita bread. Don’t top it with seitan pepperoni. Instead, top it with any of your favorite vegetables. (I recommend grilled artichoke hearts from a jar & slices of olives.)

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Nutrition

Calories: 40kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 84mg | Potassium: 102mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 510IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg

Content, recipe, and photos updated January 2020. Originally posted July 2017.