Many of us love hummus. These days, there are so many different varieties and flavors. In fact, chocolate hummus is even a thing, go figure! I have multiple hummus recipes I’ve developed over the years simply because we LOVE hummus and eat it almost daily. Today, I’m excited to share my Italian White Bean Hummus with roasted garlic and Italian parsley.
What Makes Hummus?
Traditional hummus is comprised of several key ingredients. The primary ingredients are garbanzo beans (or chickpeas) and tahini (a type of sesame paste). In addition, you’ll also find garlic, cumin, lemon juice, and olive oil.
My Italian Take on the Traditional Hummus
My pantry stays stocked in beans year-round for making soups, chili, bean patties, grain dishes, etc. They are a fantastic plant-based protein to add to most any dish. In varying up my hummus recipe, I thought, why not do a little switcheroo and use a different bean? White beans are traditional in Italian cuisine, so I thought… let’s add roasted garlic and Italian parsley. Bam! Recipe created! We LOVE this recipe and I’m excited to share it with you.
Italian Hummus Ingredients
For the ingredients, you’ll need 1 head of garlic (or about 12 small / 6 large cloves), juice from 1 small or most of 1 large lemon, 2 cans (30 ounces) great northern beans or white beans like cannellini, extra-virgin olive oil, cumin, Italian parsley, salt, water, some bean liquid from the cans, and tahini.
Roast Garlic
Begin by roasting the garlic. Preheat the oven (or toaster oven) to 400˚F(204˚C). Cut off the hard, root end of a head of garlic. Place it or loose cloves on a sheet of foil. Rub olive oil and salt all around the garlic or individual garlic cloves. Curl up the edges of the foil to create a “bowl” and pour in 1 tablespoon of water. Seal the foil with the opening at the top and gently shake it to disperse the water. Place the foil on a roasting pan. Roast for 45 minutes or until caramelized.
Rinse & Drain Beans
Drain 2 cans (30 ounces) of great northern or white beans reserving ½ cup (1 can) of liquid to add to the hummus. Rinse and drain the beans.
Process the Ingredients
In the bowl of a food processor or blender, add beans, ¼ cup of oil, 1½ teaspoons of cumin, 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of water, 2 tablespoons of bean liquid, ¼ cup or handful of parsley, roasted garlic, and ¼ cup of lemon juice (1 small or most of 1 large).
TIP: If you forgot or choose not to reserve any bean liquid, just increase the water by 2 tablespoons.
Process for 30 seconds or until smooth. Scrape down the sides as needed. Add ¼ cup of tahini paste. I like to add tahini near the end because tahini absorbs liquid, and we want the water to thin out the beans instead of soaking into the tahini right away. Process again for another 30 seconds or until smooth.
Taste and check consistency. Add additional tahini, water, oil, lemon juice, and/or bean liquid depending on preferred consistency and flavor. Season with additional salt, as needed. Process for another 30 seconds or so until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Italian Hummus Final Touches
Scoop the hummus into a bowl or on a serving platter. You can decorate the hummus by adding a swirl with a spoon. Drizzle on additional olive oil in the swirl perhaps. You can sprinkle on additional parsley or roasted garlic. Serve and enjoy.
Italian Hummus Close-Up View
Storing Suggestions
Cover and store homemade hummus in the fridge for up to a week. It freezes really well, too! To freeze, scoop it into a zip-top bag and freeze for up to several months. Thaw in the fridge for 24 hours and transfer the dip to a serving dish. It tastes just as good as freshly made.
Serving Suggestions
Serve as a dip with pita chips, crackers, crudité plate w/ carrots, celery, and radishes, naan or pita. It also makes a great spread on sandwiches in place of mayonnaise.
Italian Hummus Final Thoughts
This is a great take on hummus. It is one our favorite dips. We like the smoothness of the great northern beans without having to remove any bean skins like with garbanzo beans for traditional hummus. The preparation was typical of a dip and the flavors were well balanced reminiscent of Italian cuisine. Keeper? Most definitely! I make it often and will continue to do so.
Baker’s Perspective
In general, this is an easy recipe. While I think the roasted garlic makes a big different in the flavor of this dip, you could forego the roasting and just add 3-4 garlic cloves. If you roast the garlic ahead of time and store it in the fridge for several days, you can make this hummus in as little as 10 minutes. White beans are generally a very soft bean, so they blend smoothly quickly. The parsley adds a beautiful green color. The viscosity of the olive oil and bean liquid enhances the creaminess of the natural texture of the beans. The acid in the lemon juice keeps the colors bright. Worth making? Absolutely!
Taster’s Perspective
Have I said it enough how much we love this dip? The flavors are well-balanced. The white beans have enough flavor to hold their own and are found in Italian cuisine. While they have a nice flavor, they are enhanced by roasted garlic and parsley. The brightness of the lemon juice adds freshness while the parsley adds earthiness. The olive oil and bean liquid create a smooth and creamy textured dip. The tahini and cumin remind you the dip is hummus, but the flavors are faint enough that the others stand out reminding you of Italian cuisine. I really hope you give this Italian homemade hummus a try and enjoy it as much as we do. Hands down, we prefer it over any store-bought version.
Check out my YouTube video for visual details of making this recipe. “Italian White Bean Hummus: White Beans, Roasted Garlic, & Italian Parsley Create a FANTASTIC Dip!”
Italian Hummus
Ingredients
- 1 head garlic or 12 small garlic cloves
- ¼ cup lemon juice 3/4 large lemon or 1 whole small lemon
- 2 cans (30 oz) great northern beans or white beans like cannellini beans
- ¼ cup (2 oz) extra-virgin olive oil plus more for serving
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ cup (handful) fresh Italian parsley
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (1 oz) water
- 2 tbsp (1 oz) bean liquid reserved from draining the cans
- ¼ cup (65 g) tahini paste
Instructions
Roast Garlic
- Preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 400˚F (204˚C). Cut off hard, root end of a head of garlic. Remove any loose exterior paper. Place the garlic (or cloves) on a sheet of foil. Rub olive oil and salt all around the garlic. Curl up the edges of the foil to create a "bowl" and pour in 1 tbsp of water. Seal the foil with the opening at the top and shake it likely to disperse the water. Place the foil on a roasting pan. Roast for 45 minutes or until caramelized.
Process All Ingredients
- Drain 2 cans of great northern or white beans reserving ½ cup (1 can) of liquid to add to the hummus. Rinse and drain the beans.TIP: If you forget or choose not to reserve the bean liquid, just increase the water by another 2 tbsp.
- In the bowl of a food processor or blender, add beans, oil, cumin, salt, water, bean liquid, parsley, roasted garlic, and lemon juice.
- Process for 30 seconds or until smooth. Scrape down sides as needed and add ¼ cup tahini. Process again for another 30 seconds or until smooth. Taste and check consistency. Add additional tahini, water, oil, lemon juice, &/or bean juice depending on preferred consistency and flavor. Season with additional salt, as needed. Process for another 1-2 minutes until the mixture is smooth and creamy.TIP: Add tahini near the end because the tahini will absorb much of the water and the water should thin out the beans and not soak into the tahini.
- Scoop in a bowl or on a serving platter. Drizzle additional olive oil over the top and sprinkle fresh parsley as desired. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Interested in Other Simple Recipes & Dips? Check These Out.
Silky Smooth Middle Eastern Hummus
Colombian Pandebono Gluten-Free Cheese Rolls (30 minutes!)
Dulce de Leche (4 Preparations)
Granola Bars (Chocolate Chip & Almond Strawberry)
Hazelnut Spread (Nutella Alternative)
Nut Butter (3 Nuts & 3 Recipes)
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