Meet my new favorite snack, spicy sweet potato hummus! It’s brilliant orange and bursting with flavor, both savory and sweet. I’ve been eating it with everything: pita wedges, bite-sized vegetables, toasted bagels and quesadillas.
I’m pleased to share photos of this vegan recipe with you all, which is the first of my monthly contributions to One Green Planet. One Green Planet is “the online destination for the ecologically ethical generation” and a great resource for vegan recipes from chefs and food bloggers alike. While I certainly don’t believe that a vegan diet is right for everyone (and I do love my cheese), I fully support anyone’s commitment to consuming less meat and animal products. I hope my recipes can help in that regard.
Whether you’re a vegan, vegetarian or self-professed carnivore, I’ve posted several savory sweet potato recipes you’ll love. This sweet potato chili is my end-all, be-all vegetarian chili recipe. It’s so good that I don’t even want to try any others. Then there’s my recipe for sweet potato fries, which includes my tips for attaining crispy fries. I’m so excited that sweet potatoes are in season that I’ve been snacking on sweet potato fries the past two nights in a row!
Just in case those aren’t enough to satisfy your sweet potato tooth, I also have an easy recipe for baked rosemary and parmesan sweet potatoes and sweet potato enchiladas over here. For even more, check out Naturally Ella—Erin is a fellow sweet potato fanatic and is always coming up with interesting ways to serve them.
I want to know: what is your favorite way to eat sweet potatoes?
PrintSpicy Sweet Potato Hummus
- Author:
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 55 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 cups hummus 1x
- Category: Dip
Vegan hummus that’s bursting with flavor, both sweet and spicy. Enjoy it as a snack with pita wedges and veggies or as a spread!
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas (or one can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained)
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- juice of 1 lemon
- zest of ½ lemon
- ground sea salt, to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (start with less, season to taste)
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the sweet potatoes on the middle oven rack or in a baking dish for 45 minutes to an hour. They should yield to a gentle squeeze when they’re done baking.
- While the sweet potatoes are cooling, toss all of the other ingredients into a food processor (if you’re sensitive to spice, you may want to save the spices for last and add them to taste). Once the sweet potatoes have cooled enough to handle, use a knife or your fingers to peel the skin off of them. Add the sweet potatoes to the food processor.
- Blend well, and serve! I garnished mine with a light sprinkle of cayenne pepper and sesame seeds.
Notes
- Based on recipes by My New Roots and Whole Family Fare.
- This recipe yields 3 to 4 cups of hummus (a lot!).
- Strangely, the hummus tasted a lot spicier on the first day, but mellowed out overnight. Please add the spices slowly and taste as you go to suit your preferences. If your hummus tastes too spicy at first, just refrigerate it for a day and try it again—it should be just right!
la domestique
The hummus looks great and I’m definitely putting those fantastic black bean+sweet potato enchiladas on my list to do- perfect for a meatless Monday!
erin
oh YUM. This sounds amazing!!!
Lauren
Sweet potatoes are one of my very favorite foods, and this hummus looks fantastic!
Kate King
Sweet Potatoes definitely rock my world. I’d say my favorite way to eat them…fries or in a stew!
Jordan Strickland
girl you are the sweet potato queen! you have the best sweet potato recipes
Katrina
This is a fantastic idea! Can’t wait to try.
Maria
Love this hummus! Can’t wait to make it!
Brittany @ MDR
I love hummus and I loooove sweet potatoes! Now why didn’t I ever think of combining them…? Thanks for the inspiration!
Gena Kennedy
I love the Black Bean and Sweet Potato Hash from the Moosewood cookbooks! It’s perfect for chilly nights.
kate
I love sweet potatoes with black beans! I have a Moosewood cookbook on my wish list, hope that recipe is in there.
Christine
There is a black bean and sweet potato burrito recipe in the ‘low fat’ Moosewood Cookbook. I’ve been making this recipe for years – it’s really a great combo.
Kathryn O
Hi Kate- I just stumbled on your blog and you’ve pulled me in already! I could practically live off of hummus and pita, and I LOVE your spin with the spicy sweet potatoes. As for my favorite thing to do with sweet potatoes… nothing fancy, but I do love some sweet potato fries with spicy cajun seasoning. :)
kate
Glad you found my blog! Always nice to hear from a fellow Kathryn(e) and sweet potato lover!
Natalie
Spicy hummus! My fave!
Kayla @ Pure.Sweet.
I love sweet potatoes in my egg scramble for breakfast! And last weekend I made caramelized sweet potatoes.. so tasty! Now I’ve gotta give this hummus a go..
Sylvie @ GITK
What a nice way to eat sweet potatoes, I usually like mine baked and topped like a baked potato.
renee@sweetsugarbean
Sweet potato pallooza!!! Your hummus looks crazy good. That colour is fantastic! I adore sweet potatoes in soup, with coconut milk and chili. Sweet and spicy!
Ashley T
I just made some sweet potato hummus last night! Such a great way to make a great vegetable even better!
emily
I have made the sweet potato black bean enchiladas and they were a HIT even with my boyfriend and his roommate who are not vegan to say the least. Excited to try the hummus and the chili!
kate
Glad to hear that you all enjoyed the enchiladas! I think you’ll like the chili and hummus just as much. I’m sure I’ll post even more sweet potato recipes this fall!
lisaiscooking
Perfect timing! Lots of sweet potatoes keep arriving from my CSA. Can’t wait to use some for this!
kankana
ooo hummus! My fav snack bite :) Never tried with sweet potato though … looks interesting.
Russell van K
Love the colors in this hummus. Looks delicious!
Katherine Martinelli
Mmmmm this sweet potato hummus looks just wonderful! Such a great idea. I love sweet potatoes! Just had chile-roasted sweet potato wedges with dinner last night, yummmm. I’ll have to go check out your post on One Green Planet, very cool!
Meghan
ooooo! Amazing! I love sweet potatoes! I love adding them to chili. Homemade sweet potato fries are my go-to meal when I don’t feel like cooking a big dinner too.
chinmayie
Love the colour!! I can imagine how good that can taste :)
Lemon
Lovely, I very much like the idea of a sweet potato hummus, delicious.
Mandy
I’m a hummus addict :-) So I make it quite often, never thought of a sweet potato version, it’s definitely something I want to try! Thanks for sharing.
http://mandykoster.blogspot.com
Ashley@BakerbyNature
That hummus is stunning! I’m totally nowhere close to living a vegan or even vegetarian lifestyle, but I do love my ” clean ” eating days, and this hummus is sure to be made very soon.
xx
Averie @ LoveVeggies
this looks awesome & i keep seeing your recipes all over pinterest.
gorgeous photos!!!
jen
made it this weekend – yum! but it was too dry and not easily mixed in my food processor. what do i need to do to make it smooth and creamy, and not grainy and dense? add more oil? water? please help!
kate
Hey Jen! I’m at a loss—you used baked sweet potatoes and cooked chickpeas, right? I would try putting the hummus back in your food processor and slowly drizzling in a tablespoon or more olive oil. I’m not sure water is a good idea. Please let me know if that does the trick!
Lyzel
I had the same issue, it was very dry in the food processor.
I added some of the water I boiled the chickpeas in and loads more olive oil. I also doubled the spices and it turned out fantastic.
★★★★
Kate
Lyzel, I’m sorry your hummus was dry at first, but glad you managed to rescue it! I’m not sure why your hummus was dry in the first place. Maybe because sweet potato’s moisture content varies? I don’t know.
Jill
These are great inspirations for sweet potatoes! I am always impressed with the combinations you come up with in your recipes. Lately, I have been enjoying sweet potatoes in tacos–roasted with some cajun spices and put in corn tortillas with melted pepper jack and avocado. Simple, but really good!
kate
Yum, sweet potato tacos sound amazing! I will definitely have to try those soon. I love all of those ingredients.
Bruno
Hi Kate- I just stumbled on your blog and you’ve pulled me in already! I could practically live off of hummus and pita, and I LOVE your spin with the spicy sweet potatoes. As for my favorite thing to do with sweet potatoes… nothing fancy, but I do love some sweet potato fries with spicy cajun seasoning. :)
+1
Erica
That looks absolutely delicious! I LOVE hummus, and the addition of sweet potato sounds amazing. The color is lovely too!
NicoleD
I love that this is spicy in addition to the sweet potato part! Yum! I must try this.
Mekkie
Hi Kate!
I found your post on one green planet and I absolutely love your blog! Gotta say I’m a cat lover, but anything associated with the words “cookie” and “hummus” is good with me!
Great pictures by the way
kate
Thanks, Mekkie! So glad you found my blog. Cat lovers are welcome. :)
Sherilyn (Wholepromi
Love sweet potato for so many reasons and you have just given me one more…
Christine
Hey Foodies, Kate’s Special Spicy Hummus recipe has been selected by Knapkins to be featured in a Recipe Guessing Game. Invite fans to play: http://knapkins.com/guess_games/658?source=blog
Mia
I love the idea of sweet potato hummus, but am wondering how you keep your tahini from spoiling. I’ve found that each container of tahini I’ve bought has gone rancid very quickly, and I don’t know why. That stuff is too expensive to waste! Thanks!
kate
Great question, Mia. I’ve hesitated to buy tahini because it is expensive! Are you storing yours in the refrigerator? I’ve had some last well over a month in my fridge. If you have access to a Whole Foods or similar store, you may be able to find tahini in the bulk section, which would let you just buy as much as you need. And if you are looking for other recipes to use up extra tahini, check out my roasted garlic hummus recipe, or you could substitute tahini for the peanut butter in my peanut soba noodle bowls! Hope that helps!
claudia
A friend uses sesame seeds. Just grind them first in the blender. Your hummus won’t be as smooth as with tahini, but most folks would not even notice.
kate
That’s a great tip, Claudia! I’ve always wondered if that would work. Tahini can be expensive and hard to find, so that’s a terrific alternative.
Sue R
You can freeze tahini for up to a year. I freeze it in small recipe size portions as I usually use it to make hummus. You’d be surprised at how many things you can freeze.
claudia
Looks yummy! I just made Thai Curry hummus. Recipe called for pumpkin, but next time I will use sweet potatoes. My fave way to eat them (out of many) is Thai curry. I smash up the sweets to use in the sauce and add chunks of red peppers, broccoli and other veggies–chicken, too. Don’t forget to use coconut milk in the sauce!
Samantha
Just make this and it is amazing! I never imagined in my wildest dreams that hummus and sweet potatoes would make such a perfect match. Thank you so much for the fabulous recipe!
★★★★★
kate
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy the hummus, Samantha! Thank you for commenting to let me know!
Sue R
I just made this and it is fabulous! We are in the middle of baseball season and dinner is often late. I have been looking for some easy take-along snacks that pack a punch. This fits the bill perfectly. Thanks so much!
elyssa
this recipe looks amazing. I just recently found out i was allergic to white potatoes, among other things, so i have rekindled my love of the sweet potato. thanks for some great ideas! i cant wait to make this
Amanda Neubart
I’ve made this hummus twice. The first time i made it spicy. The second i made it more sweet with some spice. Both times everyone loved it ! Healthy and delicious.
Amanda
Kate
Happy to hear it, Amanda! Thank you for commenting to let me know.
Amanda
& i give this 5 stars =)
★★★★★
Kitty
I make a mixture of sweet potato and milk to bake over mac n’ cheese. Another is whipped sweet potato and applesauce. My son who loves butternut squash calls it applesquash (I disguised it as such) Shhhhh.
Leah
I made this for a laid-back superbowl night (just my husband and I) and we devoured half of it, it was so good! We loved the spiciness. I didn’t have tahini on hand but we didn’t miss it. Great recipe, really appreciated the variety from traditional hummus. Will be making this again for other get togethers with friends!
★★★★★
jodi
I just made this with a mixture of sweet potato and pumpkin and it tastes AMAZING!!!!!! Thank you so much for such a delicious recipe that is so EASY to make and delicious with fresh ingredients. There is no need to buy ‘fancy’ ones at the supermarket, you could even add cashews or pinenuts to alter the flavour!!
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks, Jodi! Sweet potato and pumpkin sounds like a great idea. I think I’ll make sun-dried tomato hummus next!
Victoria
When I recently found myself swimming in sweet potatoes, I turned to your archives for inspiration and stumbled across this gem of a recipe. I have some picky eaters in my family, so I was skeptical about making it, but I’m so glad I did. Everyone LOVED it. The spices are simply perfect against the sweetness of the potatoes. Thank you so much!
Kate
Thank you, Victoria! Glad you all loved the hummus.
Thoughts du Jour
I love this hummus! I especially enjoy it as a snack on top of whole wheat Ritz crackers. Absolute perfection.
I featured my take (and some other thoughts) on it here!
★★★★★
Foxes Love Lemons
Just wanted to let you know that I featured this recipe (with full credit and a link-back) in a hummus recipe roundup today on Foxes Love Lemons. Happy Friday!
Jas
I’ve made this recipe three times now and it’s turned out delicious every time!! I don’t have Tahini but I use natural peanut butter instead and that seems to work. I also usually add a tablespoon or two of agave just to give it a bit more sweetness.
★★★★★
Kate
Jas, glad you’re enjoying the hummus! Peanut butter sounds like a really interesting substitution. I love roasted sweet potatoes with peanut sauce, so I have no doubt the hummus is delicious with peanut butter!
The PInk Grapefruit
Awesome recipe! We were looking to make something similar at our store, that and a beet hummus. Love the bright colours. Do you take your own photos?
★★★★★
Kate
Yes, I do!
Holly
This is super delicious but…I had to add almost 1/4 C water and at least an additional 1 T lemon juice to get it to the correct consistency so that my little food processor would get it smooth. I used 1 can of well-rinsed garbanzo beans. Maybe my sweet potatoes were too big but I don’t think so. That said, don’t let this stop you from making it because it is absolutely wonderful. Just work with it if it’s a bit too thick. Thanks for the recipe!
Kate
Thanks, Holly. Glad you made this recipe work for you!
Holly
Forgot to rate it…5 stars!
★★★★★
Michelle Huffman
This looks so great! I’m having friends over for dinner this weekend, and I’m definitely thinking that this would be the perfect appetizer!
★★★★★
Edita
Just made it. Let me quot my husband – Mr. Picky, – ” the best hummus ever! A+ !” If you would know my husband, you would know how hard it is to get such grade ;-) Thank you for sharing such great recepies. By the way – sweet potato fries became our favorite snack, too.
★★★★★
Kate
Edita, thank you! So glad this hummus pleased Mr. Picky. I’m roasting up some sweet potatoes right now!
Charlotte
Yum! Swapped the olive oil for some chickpea liquid from the can and the consistency was perfect.
I was in a rush so baking the sweet potatoes was a bit time consuming, so next time I might try microwaving or steaming the sweet potato instead.
I eat houmous pretty much every day so this was a nice change!
Thanks for another great recipe!
Charlotte x
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks, Charlotte! So glad you enjoyed it!
Kendra
Has anyone tried this with canned sweet potatoes?
Kate
I’m not sure. I didn’t know that canned sweet potatoes were an option!
kirby
Hello! I love this recipe so much. I made mine without as much oil or tahini, and it still turned out great! The creamy sweet potato makes up for it! thanks again,
Kirby
Kate
Thank you, Kirby!
Sandra
Loved the hummus. Shared with friends as I had plenty and they all asked for your recipe.
I was wondering how long you think I can keep the hummus in the fridge?
Kate
Delighted to hear it! I think it will keep for about 5 days? Keep an eye out for fuzzy mold on top.
Judy
I like baked sweet potatoes topped with cinnamon and vanilla yogurt. :)
★★★★★
Kate
That sounds tasty!
Anne Marie
I have some leftover sweet potatoes in the fridge, but they’re boiled, not baked. Do you think that will make much of a difference in flavour?
Kate
Hi Anne, I’m sorry I didn’t answer you sooner, and I wish I had a better answer! I’m not sure. I would suspect that roasted sweet potatoes would have a little more flavor from the caramelization that happens against the hot pan, but you’d probably still end up with tasty hummus with the boiled sweet potatoes.
Mor Sagmon
Another serving proposition (popular in the Middle East):
Pour a little olive oil on top and sprinkle some chopped parsley.
Kate
Love that idea! Thanks, Mor.
Laina
Made this tonight for Thanksgiving cocktail hour and I had to hide it way back in the fridge so I don’t eat it all with a spoon. Amazing thanks for this recipe
★★★★★
Kate
Woohoo, thanks Laina!
Tracy
Hello…I found this recipe through High Carb Hannah. I made a slight adjustment to it, instead of chickpeas, I added blackbeans and more lemon juice to smooth out the flavours. It was a hit! Thank You.
Kate
Awesome! Thanks Tracy!
Kerry Dermietzel
Hi there, great to have found your website…thanks!! Just wondering if you can omit the tahini in your spicy sweet potato hummus??? Thanks in advance. Kerry
Kate
You can, but it won’t be as thick, tangy or delicious without it!
Elizabeth
Delicious. Also works great w sweet potatoes cooked in the pressure cooker- 8 mins and done!- or microwave. Enjoy!
KD Baldwin
Didn’t have any tahini left in pantry, but totally loved the combination. The sweetness shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it was. Quite wonderful!
★★★★
Mo
Wow, made this last night. Had an already cooked sweet potato sitting in my fridge that I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with. Seriously seriously good. Mine was the opposite of dry. Like a big orange spicy pillow. Your recipes never disappoint!!
★★★★★
Martha
Made this hummus tonight, using one medium sweet potato and about a third of a package of dried lentils I cooked. It is sooo yummy! My adjustments: less of everything else since i I started with smaller portions of garbanzos and potato; my blender was struggling so I used a few splashes of almond milk along with a single splash of dark maple syrup to thin it out a bit. The end result is a pretty color, creamy and with interesting, tantalizing flavors. Taking most of it on a girls road trip so we can snack healthily! Bookmarking this page for future reference. :-)
★★★★
Franci
Excellent recipe . I will now investigate more.
★★★★
Kristen
Just made this and it turned out great!
★★★★★
Kate
Perfect!
Melissa
Delicious! This may be my new go-to fall appetizer recipe. I couldn’t find sesame seeds so I used sunflower seeds for a garnish and liked the texture so much that I ended up mixing them throughout the hummus. I also used a little extra olive oil and it came out great!
★★★★★
Kate
Great choice, Melissa! Thanks so much for the review!
Lav
Is there any way to make this recipe without tahini? Can I just add in sesame seeds and extra oil in its place?
Kate
Hi Lav, tahini is a standard ingredient in hummus responsible for the thick texture and tangy flavor. You could try adding extra sesame seeds and blending the hummus as well as possible, since tahini is essentially just blended sesame seeds.
Lynn Kershaw-Smith
Fabulous!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Lynn. I really appreciate the review!
Stacey
Can you freeze this dip?
It sounds delicious.
Kate
I have never tried to freeze hummus, but it might be worth a shot! I would let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
Erin
Just made this and it’s delicious!! Added in quite a bit of aquafaba from the chickpeas, I think my sweet potatoes were quite large. Love the lemon flavour mixed with the spice. Thanks for another fab recipe Kate :)
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Erin! Thanks for your review.
MARYJEAN RICCI
This worked very well. I added fresh parsley to offset the garlic, omitted cumin and paprika. This is delicious, thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome! Thanks for your review.
Barbara
Yummy as is! Made it several times already. Most recently without the added oil and subbed veggie broth. Still delicious!
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for sharing, Barbara!
Denise
I have made this several times and we love it! it’s a wonderful combination of sweet and spicy.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Denise!
Su
Second recipe from here that I tried in 2 days, absolutely amazing!! Thank you for sharing, am now subscibing!!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome!
Amanda
Very dry and difficult to blend. Needed a lot more oil to be able to blend it. Interestingly others (who have actually made it) have made the same comments. Perhaps the recipe needing reviewing. Once the moisture content was sorted it was very tasty. Thank you
★★★★
Maura
Made this last night for a work gathering after I couldn’t hunt down an old sweet potato hummus recipe that I made in the past. It was a total hit and so easy to make with things I already had in the fridge/pantry. Thanks for a great recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome! I love that you had everything on hand.
Ellen Yazbeck
Oh my gosh, this is a delicious hummus recipe. Just whipped up with a leftover garnet yam, and hope I have enough left to put in the frig! I make regular hummus all the time, and this one is special.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Ellen!
Diane Briggs
I love your vegan recipes and rely on thoughtful and helpful comments from cooks. It can be frustrating to read so many comments that talk about WANTING to make a recipe rather than actual comments about the experience and outcome of making the recipe. Thanks to those who share their wisdom, especially when it comes to vegan recipes as I strive to find new healthy recipes for my family.
Kate
Hi Diane! Thanks for your comment. I’m happy you are enjoying the recipes. I love to hear what you are excited about and what your experience is with the recipes.
Elizabeth Pace
Oh my goodness this is my new favourite!!!! I’ve made this a couple of times now and I love it.
Kate
I’m so happy to hear that, Elizabeth!
Michelle Mathiot
Awesome recipe. I used coconut oil instead of olive oil which is really good too!
★★★★★
Scarlet
Sweet potatoes are so good you too! I can’t wait to try them in this new way. I never thought of sweet potato hummus but I am pinning it to make soon.
Len
I have a question. It seems most (all?) comments that I have read say that those commenters have not tried this.
I have made other versions that use 3 cloves of (raw) garlic and it was over-powering.
I was wondering: do you roast that garlic first to reduce its “strength”?
★★★★★
Kate
Hi Len! It really depends on the recipe. I like this one as directed. But in my best hummus recipe, I mellow the garlic by letting it rest with lemon juice and straining it. I hope that helps some. Here is my best hummus recipe: https://cookieandkate.com/best-hummus-recipe/
Kathy
This was delicious! I made it for a group of non-vegan gals (I AM vegan) for card night. Made a beautiful presentation on my charcuterie board….it was gobbled up and pronounced very good! I did. I don’t use tahini, so I added about a tsp of sesame oil and 1/4 sesame seeds, and I didn’t add any other oil….whirled up in my vitamin and YUM, so delicious! Thanks. Bookmarking.
★★★★★
Lindsey
I just made this hummus. It is so good. I used chipotle powder because I know cayenne is way too hot for me. I have been using hummus as a salad dressing lately. It really makes for a more stick-to-your-ribs salad. The great thing about this hummus is that is adds another vegetable to my salad. I just love the smoky, spicy, sweet taste.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for your review, Lindsey!
wendy espy-metz
I’ve made this three times and we all love it!
Once I didn’t have tahini so I used almond butter, and it was still great. Thanks for the recipe!
Amanda
Just made this recipe and it is incredible!! Our local grocery store used to carry a sweet potato hummus but recently discontinued it. This homemade hummus is 1000x better than the boughten. Thanks for the recipe!
Ellie
Hi Kathryne,
This looks delicious! How do you cut/slice the sweet potatoes for baking them? Should they be thinly sliced? Thanks in advance!
Kate
Hi Ellie! You can bake them whole, or you can slice them lengthwise and roast them face down.
Denise Dorsey
I bought a purple sweet potato at my local farm stand. Could I use it for this recipe? I think the color will be fun for the holidays
Kate
Hi! As long as you follow the recipe, you can try it. Not sure the color result with the other ingredients. Let me know!
Amanda Segal
Wow! This is delicious and exactly what I wanted to make. I only put 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper and it is enough for me. Thank you – I will add this to my list of recipes to make often.
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray! I’m glad this will make your list to make more often. I appreciate your review!
Deb
Fabulous! Just love this recipe! Thank you! Eased up on the cayenne but other than that made it exactly. A winner!!!!
★★★★★
Melissa
I made this Spicy Sweet Potato Hummus just as the recipe instructed, then added a cup of roasted pecans at the end. I think it turned out delicious! My husband, however, says, “It has way too much garlic in it.”
Oh well. More for me. ;)
★★★★★