My easy roasted red pepper hummus is made with sweet red bell peppers, chickpeas, garlic, and tahini. It’s super simple to make and tastes much better than the hummus you can buy at the store.

After falling in love with how easy it is to make hummus at home, we’ve been playing around with more of our favorite store-bought hummus flavors. I love roasted peppers, and am excited to share this roasted red pepper hummus recipe with you! It’s creamy, smooth, and so delicious.
Roasted bell peppers add a smoky sweetness to the hummus. We roast the peppers at home (it’s easy), but if you are short on time, you can use jarred roasted peppers. Serve with veggies, in sandwiches, with pita bread or flatbread.
Key Ingredients
- Red Bell Peppers: I roast red bell peppers for this hummus, blend them in, and use them as a topping. If you don’t want to roast your own, most stores sell jarred roasted bell peppers, which also work.
- Chickpeas (or garbanzo beans): These are the base of this red pepper hummus. You can use canned chickpeas or cook them from scratch. I use both, but homemade chickpeas have a slightly better flavor. If you do cook your own chickpeas and have some leftover, I highly recommend this smashed chickpea salad.
- Tahini: Use a high-quality, drippy tahini. You can buy it at the store or use my homemade tahini recipe. For more ways to use tahini, try our creamy tahini sauce or this tahini dressing.
- Lemon: Fresh lemon juice is key to making great hummus.
- Garlic: I use one small clove, but feel free to add more if you prefer a stronger garlic taste.
- Ground Cumin and Salt: These two spices enhance the flavor of the hummus, and the cumin adds a bit of extra richness and spice.
- Olive oil: Olive oil gives hummus a rich and smooth texture.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
You asked for more hummus recipes, so here we go. Adding roasted bell peppers to hummus is one of my favorite ways to spice it up. If you’ve seen our original hummus recipe, you know that making the best hummus at home is easy. This red pepper hummus recipe is simple. We’ve added two roasted red peppers to our original recipe.
I roast the peppers myself (although store-bought roasted peppers will do the trick). To roast peppers for this hummus, I remove the core and cut my peppers into a few flat pieces so they don’t roll around on me. Then I place them, skin-side up, onto a baking sheet, slide them under the broiler, and broil until the pepper skin chars.
It only takes 10 minutes to roast the peppers. Then, I add them to a resealable plastic bag or a bowl covered with plastic wrap and set them aside. They steam a little, which helps the skin pull away from the pepper, making it extra easy to peel. You can see how easily it peels away in the photo below.

When you have roasted red peppers, you can make your hummus. I use a food processor and blend my tahini and lemon juice first, which helps to cream the tahini and lemon juice, guaranteeing the creamiest homemade hummus.

Then, I blend in olive oil, garlic, cumin, salt, and the chickpeas. When all chickpeas have been added, I add my roasted red peppers and blend until smooth. At this point, the hummus is usually a bit thick, so I drizzle in a bit of cold water or aquafaba. Then it’s ready to serve! I love saving some of the roasted pepper for chopping and placing it on top so everyone knows they are about to dig into red pepper hummus.

Ways to Serve Red Pepper Hummus
I love serving this red pepper hummus with a variety of veggies. Sliced carrots, celery, cucumber, radishes, snap peas, cauliflower, and even roasted broccoli are perfect for dipping. It’s also amazing with homemade bread. I especially love this homemade pita bread or this quicker no-yeast flatbread.
We often make hummus bowls and fill a bowl with salad greens, some cooked quinoa (here’s my quinoa recipe), hummus, some homemade labneh or feta cheese, and a drizzle of tahini sauce.

Easy Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
I love this roasted red pepper hummus so much. When we first figured out how to make hummus, we were shocked at how easy (and fast) it was. In this recipe, we’ll blend in roasted red peppers and serve the hummus with more on top. The recipe includes instructions for roasting the peppers, but you can substitute them with jarred roasted peppers.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
2 red bell peppers or substitute ¾ cup chopped jarred roasted peppers
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas or 1 ½ cups (250g) cooked chickpeas
¼ cup (60ml) fresh lemon juice, 1 large lemon
¼ cup (60ml) tahini, see homemade tahini recipe
1 small garlic clove, minced or finely grated
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch cayenne pepper, optional
2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45ml) water or aquafaba
Salt to taste
Directions
- Roast Peppers
1Move an oven rack so that it is about 5 inches from the broiler. Turn the oven broiler on.
2Remove the core of the peppers, then cut them into large, flat pieces.
3Arrange pepper pieces, skin-side up, on a baking sheet. Broil for 5 to 10 minutes until the pepper skin has charred.
4Add peppers to a resealable plastic bag, seal it, and then wait 10 to 15 minutes until cool enough to handle. (Or, add the peppers to a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap.)
5Gently peel away the charred pepper skin and discard. Reserve 1 to 2 pieces of the peeled roasted pepper pieces to use as a garnish, then roughly chop the rest.
- Make Hummus
1In the bowl of a food processor, combine the tahini and lemon juice and process for 1 minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then process for 30 seconds more. This extra time helps “whip” or “cream” the tahini, making the hummus smooth and creamy.
2Add the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin, cayenne, and a ½ teaspoon of salt to the whipped tahini and lemon juice. Process for 30 seconds, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and then process for another 30 seconds or until well blended.
3Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor and process for 1 minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add the remaining chickpeas and process them until thick and relatively smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.
4Add the roughly chopped roasted peppers, saving 1 to 2 pieces for use as a garnish. Process until smooth.
5The hummus will likely be too thick and still have tiny bits of chickpea. To fix this, slowly add 2 to 3 tablespoons of cold water or aquafaba with the food processor turned on until you reach the perfect consistency. Taste and adjust as needed.
6Finely chop the reserved peppers. Spoon hummus into a bowl, make a small well in the middle and add the chopped peppers.
7Store homemade hummus in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to one week. Freeze, covered with a thin layer of olive oil, for up to one month.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- How to cook dried chickpeas: Use canned or home-cooked chickpeas for this recipe. To see how we cook dried chickpeas, see our simple tutorial here. We have included three methods, including in the slow cooker.
- Aquafaba is the starchy liquid in a can of beans (or the bean cooking liquid). You can use this instead of water in the last step of the recipe. Before using, taste it to see how salty it is. If it is salty, hold some of the salt in the ingredient list back, and then season to taste after adding the aquafaba. See our deep dive into aquafaba here.
- Blender: A food processor is best for making hummus, but a high-powered blender will work. Be sure to scrape the sides down a few extra times as you make it.
- Tahini & lemon juice are not creaming: Depending on your food processor, the blade might not come into contact with the tahini and lemon juice. You need to increase the amount of liquid in the food processor, so add the olive oil. If they still do not cream, add a tablespoon of cold water.
- Nutrition Facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.



This was delicious. I used 3 red bell peppers and added an extra tbsp of lemon juice and there was a little bit of liquid from the can of chickpeas after I drained the can first, so I didn’t even need to add any water. I even added about three spoonfuls of spicy harissa at the very end and blended it in and it came out the perfect amount of spicyness. This was the first time I’ve made hummus too.
This is the best hummus I have ever made. I cooked my beans in an instapot. I blend everything thing while the beans are still warm making them so creamy. I used Harissa tahini,and also blended most of the peppers into the hummus. Perfection
Hi there, I haven’t made this yet but intend to. I’ll be using canned chickpeas this time and just want to know should they be drained and washed first? If yes, I’ll of course, reserve some of the aquafaba to use also.
Thanks a mil
Sarah
Hi Sarah, Yes, you want to drain your chickpeas before using them (the rinsing is up to you).
Hi Joanne, thank you so much. Just made a batch, sensational, tasted even better than it looked. I did sprinkle some chopped coriander over the top and a drizzle of olive oil, hope you don’t mind 😉 Thanks again
Sarah
Love the personal touch! 🙂
just made your hummus. I added two tbs. of water but it seemed too thick so added 1 more tablespoon now seems too thin. Any fix for this?
Hi Beth, If you have any more chickpeas, you can blend an extra spoonful in. The hummus may also firm up a bit after leaving it in the fridge for a bit.
This is the 2nd hummus I made and it was delicious! Added a touch of red pepper for spice and that made it even better for my family. Now to try the tampanade.
I just won the family over with this recipe tonight. Thank you!!
So delicious! I roasted the red pepper in my air fryer (12 minutes at 380 degrees). It charred the skin beautifully, making it easy to peal and chop. This recipe is a home run at my house. Thank you!
You are so welcome! Glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Thank you so much this is amazingggg, for me as well I put a little extra garlic and added a good amount of seasoning pepper and it is sooo good!
Just made this this week for hungry teachers…they loved it! I wish peeling chick peas was easier…but after having done that…I ain’t going back to the old way! Peeling them added 20 minutes.
I have tried quite a few different recipes for hummus, some were very good;however, this is exceptional! I used some home canned red bell pepper that I made earlier this season and it worked great. Thank you for such a delicious hummus recipe.
I got tired of spending so much at store for hummus so tried this. We think it is much better than store bought and while the roasted red peppers is great, also made a batch with olive tapenade – WOW. Thanks!
Amazing! I’ll give in and buy some from the store sometimes and I’m always so disappointed!
Loved your red pepper hummus. Made it to the exact recipe you gave. Best Hummus.
I was super excited about trying this recipe as I love red bell pepper hummus and I was sorely disappointed. I ended up adding an entire second can of chickpeas because the end product had the consistency of soup! Even after chilling overnight it never achieved the texture of hummus.
Hi Nicole, I am not sure what went wrong here. The hummus really shouldn’t be the consistency of soup. Is it possible you added more lemon juice or other liquid than the recipe calls for?
1st timer here!! Can I use fresh red bell peppers for this recipe?? Thank you!! Diane
Hi Diane, You can, but you’ll get a much better flavor and texture with roasted peppers.
Just made this for a Super Bowl party, I sampled it and was blown away at how good it was. Can’t wait to see what others think. Easy to make and I love your step by step videos.
This recipe is amazing. It is far better than store bought hummus. I used Mozzetta brand roasted red peppers & the taste was perfect . I made the tahini according to your recipe as well. So good.
Food of the gods. This was my first time making it. Itseemed intimidating at first. But it turned out to be easy. I had some liquid from the roasted peppers which sat for a day or two in the fridge until I had time to put it all together. I used that to thin it out. Marvelous.
Best hummus recipe!!! I don’t often leave reviews but this is now my go to recipe, thank you 😊
Hello Adam and Joanne,
The first time I made this recipe it was delicious-in addition to cooking the chickpeas from scratch and roasting the peppers myself, I also used some roasted red peppers from the prepared food section at Whole Foods (which, disappointingly, they haven’t had there since). In addition, I blended everything in a vintage blender, which made the finished product smooth and creamy. These last 3 times making it, I used a Ninja food proceessor as the vintage blender pooped out, again cooked the chickpeas from scratch, roasted the peppers myself, and added 1 pepper from a jar for flavoring. The finished product was very gritty and unflavorful. Would you please be so kind as to let me know why it’s not coming out like the first time I made it? Also, I don’t prefer added salt in the dishes I make, therefore, would you please suggest an alternative for flavoring? Thank You So Much-I’m very frustrated with wasting money, time, and ingredients trying to get this hummus to come out tasting as good as the first batch!!
Hi Lisa, It may be that your new processor is less powerful than your older one? You can soften your chickpeas a bit by adding them (canned or cooked) to a saucepan with a little baking soda and enough water so they are covered. Then simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. This may help them break down into more of a smooth consistency when you process them.
This recipe is so delicious. I don’t like tahini so I just add a bit more olive oil and omit the water. I also used a jar of roasted red peppers. Thanks for these recipes!
I need to omit cumin. I am allergic. When I buy at the store they put so much cumin you can smell it
Not a review but a query. How long will the hummus last in the fridge?
About 1 week.
I made this recipe in two steps. I prepared the beans the night before, allowed them to sit for a few hours to cool, and refrigerated them until the next day. Then, the skin from the beans was removed quickly, and I was delighted with the process. I followed the rest of the recipe exactly as written. I bought a high-quality tahini, which is essential for the final flavor. I was blown away by how this recipe came out. I have tried many other recipes and have had poor results. This is a keeper! I love that it stays fresh, refrigerated for a week, and can also be frozen. I am on Weight Watchers, and this is a PERFECT snack with fresh veggies. Thank you so much! I have subscribed to your newsletter and look forward to exploring new recipes!
Hi! Is there anyway to make this without oil? What would you suggest as a sub? Thank you so much!
Hi there, you can leave out the oil and replace with a bit of extra water or the liquid in the can of chickpeas.
Do you have to peel the peppers? I have chopped red peppers in my freezer and wondering if I could roast them and blend as is. I’ve never made hummus before so no idea if that would work! Thanks!
I prefer them peeled as they break down more easily without the peels. That said, you can leave them on, just expect that the texture will not be quite as smooth.
I want to try this! How long will the hummus keep in the fridge?
About 1 week.
I don’t recommend adding aquafaba it vanishs tahini flavour and increase the taste of chickpeas
I love this hummus! I use a haberno infused oil when making this… so I hate to ask but how many calories would you say is in this dish? Thanks
Love the infused oil addition! All of the nutrition facts are at the bottom of the recipe 🙂
Love the recipe. Last few times I needed to add more chick peas, as it was too liquid. Don’t know why, but still good!
A wonderful recipe! Even better the next day. I will make this again.
This is delicious! I will make it again. Thank you for this great recipe!
The recipe is missing a step between #2 and #3. It doesn’t state “add the chopped roasted red peppers, and blend until smooth” The recipe video has this step included but not the recipe text
Hi Cory, I’ve made sure the recipe is correct. There was a small update and this step was lost. Thank you for letting us know.
Excellent, comes together quickly. I used 3 cloves of roasted garlic and a small drizzle of red pepper oil. Loved it.
I love this recipe! I made a double batch today with 1/2 going to freezer for later. If I have time I’ll bake some sourdough discard crackers and eat the hummus with it. Take the time to make the homemade tahini. It makes a huge difference in the flavor.
So happy you gave the recipe a try and used homemade tahini! Thanks for coming back!
Me and my daughter love this recipe! I struggle to find shop brought hummus that doesn’t have seed oils.
Hi! I am not a fan of chunks, but like the flavor or roasted red peppers. Is there a way to add those in and mix them so its still smooth any creamy? I know the recipe says the order of things is important, so I want to make sure id add those to the food processor at the right step. Thank you!
Hi Andrea, Go ahead and add ALL the peppers to the food processor and don’t save any for adding to the top when serving.
Made this and oh my lanta, amazing. Better than any store bought or restaurant bought red pepper hummus I’ve ever had. Fyi, I used ONLY your recipes to make it from scratch. Sesame seeds to the tahini to the roasted peppers to the dry garbanzo beans to the finished product. Wow…10 out of 10!