Beet Hummus - Guest Post from Marianne

Today I have the pleasure of sharing a guest post by Marianne, of From French Fries to Flax Seeds. Marianne went to high school with me eons ago and last year, we reconnected over Facebook. Turns out she likes food as much as I do so we became Farmer's Market buddies! Marianne is training to be a registered dietitian, so along with having great recipes, she is also extremely knowledgeable about dietary health and nutrition. This may just be the longest post I have ever posted and include the most pictures, but is also one of the best! I cannot wait to make my own batch of beet hummus!

Beet It!
by Marianne of From French Fries to Flax Seeds

There are plenty of foods I may declare that I don’t like, but it’s not always true. It’s just easier to say “I don’t like (blank)” than to try and explain the situations in which I enjoy said food. Take tomatoes, for example. I often say I don’t like them, but I do eat them in things like salsa, ketchup, soups, stews, and of course Caesars ;) But tomatoes in salads or sandwiches, or in a pasta sauce? No thanks. I’ll pass. Because “I don’t like tomatoes”.

But this post isn’t about tomatoes. It’s about beets.

Check out the rest of Marianne's awesome post, mouth watering photos and great recipe for Beet Hummus after the jump.




Beets are another food I will proclaim I don’t like. I’ve had them a few times – roasted at a work Christmas party, on top of a salad, in borscht – and generally, they haven’t done much for me. Yeah, they were sweet, but they also had this weird earthy flavour that I didn’t enjoy. Borscht was probably the only way I could tolerate them, but I always have preferred my grandpa’s borscht better. I wanted to give them a fair shake, because not only are they a fetching shade of magenta, but they have it going on in the nutritional department. Beets are an excellent source or folate, and they are high in potassium, fibre, and manganese. Their purple colour comes from the compound betacyanin, which has been shown to have antioxidant properties, and specifically has shown promise as a cancer-fighting agent. Why wouldn’t I want to work them into my diet? But I had yet to find the right way.

Until now.


Beet hummus has popped up around the blog world from time to time, and always in the back of my mind I thought perhaps this was my gateway into beets. Because everything is better when made into hummus, right?


So I set out on my own beet hummus making project, wanting to put my own twist on it. Our dill plant was on its last legs, and knowing that beets and dill pair nicely together, I decided to give my hummus a decidedly Eastern European spin. Representing my Russian roots, yo!


I even employed Brittany’s trick to make my hummus uber-smooth by removing all the pesky chickpea skins. If you have the time, try it. It’s a weirdly calming process once you get into a rhythm. Who needs meditation when you have chick pea skins to remove?


What I was left with was a stunning magenta coloured dip, that almost looks like it couldn’t occur in nature. But trust me, this is no franken-food.


I promptly conducted a taste test.


And what do you know, it was really good. Like, really, really good. Dare I say – the best hummus I’ve made? The beet adds some sweetness without that earthy flavour I remember. And the dill was genius – the flavour improved the longer it mingled. Both my mom and sister tried it, and gave it the thumbs up. In fact, mom raved about it a little bit.

I tried it out with other foods, just to make sure it was up to snuff. Like in a wrap with shredded carrots, avocado, and aged white cheddar.


With assorted veggies.


Aussie style on a beef burger.


And in my favourite portable, refrigeration not required sandwich – hummus, avocado, and cheddar.


And it was all good.

Dill Beet Hummus
makes approx. 2 cups

Add a pop of colour to your next veggie platter or sandwich with this stunning magenta coloured hummus. The dill and beet flavours give this hummus an Eastern European twist. You might not want to go back to regular hummus after this.


•1 can (19 oz or 540 mL) chickpeas, rinsed and skinned
•2/3 cup cooked beets
•1 large clove garlic, chopped
•3 tbsp olive oil
•2 tbsp tahini
•juice of 1 lemon
•1/3 – 1/2 cup fresh dill
•sea salt & pepper to taste
•1/4 – 1/3 cup water

1. Combine all ingredients except water in a food processor, and blend until combined. Add water until desired consistency is reached. Allow to sit for several hours before serving to let flavours meld.

Notes: Although I cooked my beets from scratch, you could easily used canned beets (which would be much less messy). Skinning the chickpeas is completely optional, but it does give you a smoother product.

This post is part of Fight Back Friday @ Food Renegade.