Add Roasted Garlic To Your Hummus For Restaurant Worthy Dip

It's easy to buy store-bought hummus, but it's not too that much harder to make a homemade bowl of the creamy Middle Eastern dip. It will certainly impress dinner guests, and it's an easy way to use that can of chickpeas that's been in your cabinet for too long. You can also elevate the hummus with a variety of mix-ins just like the plethora of tubs available at the grocery store. Everything bagel seasoning and roasted red peppers are common mix-ins, but try roasted garlic for a rich, umami upgrade to your next homemade hummus.

Roasting garlic takes minimal effort but offers maximum flavor to anything, including your homemade hummus. It offers rich, sweet, and savory notes that meld well with hummus, which can surely benefit from more flavor. The garlic will be soft out of the oven, so it's easy to blend into the smooth consistency of the dip. Be warned, there are some common mistakes you might make when roasting garlic, like using old garlic, but follow Tasting Table's simple oven-roasted garlic recipe and your hummus will be spruced up in almost no time.

After your garlic is roasted, you'll need a hummus recipe to use as a base. If you don't have one, consider Tasting Table's simple creamy hummus recipe that uses canned chickpeas with a food processor. Another option is this Instant Pot hummus recipe to use dry chickpeas instead of the canned variety. To give the hummus that umami boost without overpowering the drip, use one bulb of garlic for eight servings. You can always use less if you want other flavors to stand out or use two bulbs if your garlic heads are on the smaller side. Add the roasted garlic to the food processor along with the chickpeas and other ingredients to blend it together.

Don't stop with the roasted garlic, however. Lemon juice is a necessary component of hummus because it offers fresh acidity, which will contrast with the richness of the roasted garlic. So consider a little more lemon juice, or zest, when using roasted garlic in the dip. Give your dip some crunch to add contrast with ingredients like toasted pine nuts or roasted chickpeas. Meanwhile, a garnish of fresh herbs like parsley, a pinch of Za'atar seasoning, or a dash of smoked paprika will offer contrasting flavors to meld with the rich roasted garlic in the hummus.