Dreena’s my name. Hummus is my game.
Hummus purists beware, I am taking liberties with this classic dip once again. We’ve all had roasted red pepper hummus – at least I think most of us have, right? And, many of us have had roasted garlic in hummus. But, what a hummus made with this:
A combination of tomatoes, garlic, herbs and a tangy marinade, roasted until softened, and the flavors concentrated and sweetened. It’s this roasting process – with the herbed marinade – that makes the flavor in this dip so special. No need for oil in this recipe, because the garlic cloves are tucked into the cavities of the tomatoes, which keeps them moist and snuggly. 🙂 And, the tomatoes roast in the marinade, which helps them caramelize and concentrate without the need for added oil.
Sure, you could use the finished roasted tomato and garlic mix for other things: As a topping for pizza, mixed into hot pasta, or worked into a grain-based salad – a few ideas at top of mind. But, why not churn into a delectable, oil-free, nutrient-dense dip hummus?
Once this hummus is prepped, it can be eaten room temperature or chilled… OR, heat it and serve on top of brown rice, along with sliced avocado. YUM! Speaking of avocado, add some chopped with other veggies, and roll with this hummus in a collard wrap. (I wish I had photos of all of these ideas.) But, you guys are a creative bunch. You’ll have your own ideas for serving this… and maybe you’ll use the roasted tomato/garlic component in some other fabulous plant-powered dish!
Marinated and Roasted Tomato Garlic Hummus gluten-free, soy-free, oil-free click to print/share
1 1/2 lbs roma (or other) tomatoes, cut in half and juices gently squeezed out (see note)
8-9 large cloves garlic, cut in quarters or more
2 tbsp balsamic
1/2 tbsp tamari (or coconut aminos for soy-free option)
1 tsp blackstrap molasses
2 tsp dried oregano leaves
2 tsp dried basil leaves
1/8 tsp sea salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 cans (14 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed (this is about 3 1/2 cups)
3/4 – 1 tsp sea salt (adjust to taste, sometimes I use 3/4, other times I need 1 tsp)
1 -2 tbsp tahini (I like 1 tbsp, but you might like it creamier with 2 tbsp)
Preheat oven to 450. Place tomatoes cut side up in a glass baking dish (or small rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper). Insert the garlic pieces into the seedy portions of the tomatoes (to keep them moist while roasting). In a small bowl, combine the balsamic, soy sauce or aminos, molasses, oregano, and basil. Drizzle mixture over tomatoes. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over top of the tomatoes. Place tomatoes in oven, and bake for 40-45 minutes until tomatoes are very soft and a little caramelized. Remove from oven and let cool.
While cooking, add the chickpeas, salt (starting with 3/4 tsp), and tahini to a food processor. Puree to break up. Then, add the cooled (or slightly warm) tomatoes, scraping all the juices from the dish/parchment with a spatula. (There is a lot of flavor in those caramelized juices, so get them off and into the processor!) Process until well combined. Taste, and if you’d like extra salt (or pepper), add and puree through.
Roma Tomatoes Note: I like using Roma tomatoes because they are dense and meaty, with less seeds than other tomatoes. If you have other beautifully ripe tomatoes, you can substitute – the dip may be a little looser with the extra moisture.
Serving Ideas: Serve room temp with whole-grain crackers, breads or tortilla chips. Try using in a wrap, using a sprouted tortilla or collard/lettuce leaves. Or, make a “hummus salad” – assemble a veggie-dense salad, and then top with a mound of this hummus. Use as a layer on pizza, topping with veggies of choice, and olives and capers. Try baking the mixture until heated through, and serve over quinoa, rice, or other whole-grain, and top with sliced avocado.
Ideas: Top your hummus with rehydrated sun-dried tomatoes, sliced green onions, pitted olives, or sliced green onions.
Thanks again to Ricki Heller for including this recipe in her Weekend Wellness post!
I’d love to hear your ideas. How would you serve this hummus? Or the roasted tomatoes/garlic? Stay in the loop, subscribe to my posts.
Laura Black (Plant-Based Junkies) says
DUDE!! This is going on the list of snacks this weekend. Thank you, Dreena. This looks FABulicious!
Jenniffer says
This recipes looks amazing, and I love the thumbs up comments! Would it be a big deal to omit the molasses? I remember as a little girl thinking that it smelled awful and would hate to buy organic molasses and it go to waste. Thank you for your delicious recipes! 🙂
Dreena says
Hi Jennifer, for sure you can omit it. You don’t taste the molasses though, it just adds a certain background of flavor along with the other marinade ingredients. But for sure, if you are hesitant, can omit!
mrsg says
Insted of tahini, I add sesame seeds. The Vitamix purees them. Use about twice as much seed as tahini.
MG says
It looks fabulous but you can’t call it oil free if you put tahini in it. For this reason I’m experimenting with hulled sunflower seeds. They probably contain a small amount of oil in the seed but there won’t be any oil added into the recipe. Adding tahini is the same thing as adding oil and that’s what we all would like to avoid. Nice try though. I may tweak this recipe and see if I can come up with a more oil free hummus.
Dreena says
Thanks Mark, hope you enjoy it. You can omit the tahini if you want, there’s not much in the recipe and it makes a significant size batch. Tahini is a whole-food product, though. It is not an oil, it is sesame seeds churned into a pureed butter. The seeds have oils as well, so adding seeds is not different than adding the pureed seed – except for the type of seed and how much you add. Want to clarify that for readers, as tahini is not an extracted oil.
susan says
Dreena, sounds FAB and am going to definitely try. do you think it will be as delicious without
the tahini, since it has too much fat and am trying to avoid . thanks
Dreena says
Susan, yes, I think you can. There isn’t much for the size of the batch (it makes a substantial amount), but you can still reduce it or omit it altogether if you need to – there is quite a lot of punch from the herbs/seasonings to carry the flavor! 🙂
Danielle Hache says
I will be dreaming of this until I wake up tomorrow to make it!!!!
Terri says
I made this last night. So good!! It has such a unique flavour that I would never expect in hummus. I love roasting the garlic in the tomatoes – will definitely do that again for other recipes. Thanks for sharing!
Dreena says
Excellent Terri!!! I’m thrilled to hear it. I agree, it’s far different than a standard hummus, even the texture is different. I just cannot resist calling it hummus! 😉 Thanks for the report!
Rebekah says
I just love the idea of tucking garlic cloves into the juicy tomatoes for roasting! The hummus looks great, but my mind is coming up with all sorts of possibilities for those gorgeous tomatoes, too!
Dreena says
Ha, I hear you Rebekah. Pizzas, pastas, salads, soups… SO many possibilities. And using different tomatoes too!! Have fun experimenting. 🙂
Chelsea says
I made this tonight on toasted 9-grain bread topped with olives and green onions as a side with some soup. It was delicious!
Dreena says
FABulous! Always great to hear reports back after folks try it. Thanks Chelsea!
Lynne says
This sounds awesome. I am always looking for Plant Based recipes. Even better when they are oil-free. Thank you : D
Dreena says
Wonderful to hear, thank you Lynne!
Christine says
Oh my, you wouldn’t believe the amount of tomatoes I’ve been getting from my CSA!!! That’s a good thing since the tomatoes in my garden didn’t do so well. And I love roasted tomatoes and adding them to a hummus sounds so delicious! I made creamy hummus over the weekend and am loving that but I’ll be making this one once we’re out (which shouldn’t be much longer… 🙂 )
Thank you for sharing all of your great ideas!
xo
Dreena says
excellent!!!! Good time of year, tomatoes are still local and fairly abundant and with great flavor. So glad the timing worked for you – if you try it let me know how it goes and if you luv!! Thanks Christine. 🙂
janet @ the taste space says
This looks flippin’ fantastic. I froze a bunch of roasted tomatoes after I bought a crate recently. I wonder if I could still them if I defrosted them?
Dreena says
I’d say you could, Janet. The tomatoes might be a bit watery after thawing, so you might want to heat the mixture after pureeing it, as it helps reduce it down further, and intensify flavors even more! Also, you could roast a bulb of garlic and add it in there with the other seasonings (reducing vinegar/tamari slightly).
Eve says
Thank you so much for this. It looks incredibly tasty and I’m going to make it. Thanks for your oil-free recipes. I’ve been reading up on all the plant-based nutrition recommendations from doctors such as Fuhrman, Essylstyn, McDougal, and Barnard, and am very excited whenever I find a great new oil-free recipe for my collection.
Dreena says
Oh, thank you Eve. You’re very welcome, I am enjoying expanding my recipe repertoire with more oil-free recipes as well. Hope you enjoy!