This cauliflower hummus combines roasted cauliflower, tahini and a touch of apple cider vinegar. It's perfect with crackers, crudites or other dishes as an appetizer, for a light lunch or as picnic food. This hummus without chickpeas is vegan, gluten-free and low histamine.
Have a peek at my carrot hummus without chickpeas for another fun appetizer!
Coming up with hummus-like recipes is something I love to do. While I love the taste of regular hummus, it doesn't work for me (those dang chickpeas!), so my beetroot hummus and zucchini baba ganoush are on repeat instead and equally delicious!
This cauliflower hummus is a very simple recipe and I think tastes as close to the real thing as you can get without chickpeas. I hope it becomes a favourite of yours too!
Looking for something to dunk in your hummus? I think you'll love my easy air fryer pita chips!
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⭐ Why you'll love this recipe
- Full of flavour. Roasting the cauliflower really brings out the flavour and it combines so well with the garlic and tahini.
- Hummus without chickpeas. If chickpeas don't work for you then this is the perfect swap!
- Easy to make. No difficult steps, this is a very simple recipe.
🥘 Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are set our in the recipe card below.
- Cauliflower - the main ingredient and swap for the traditional chickpeas of hummus.
- Tahini - gives great flavour and makes it so creamy in texture.
- Extra virgin olive oil - for flavour and also helps the creamy texture.
- Garlic and sweet paprika - both give a hint of spice to this cauliflower hummus.
- Salt - to season.
📖 Variations to the recipe
See below for whether to roast or not the cauliflower for this recipe.
You can change up the sweet paprika for other spices, or fresh herbs, if you fancy a change.
🔪 Step by step instructions
This vegan cauliflower hummus recipe has two versions. Personally I find the first version to give a more flavourful hummus, but if time is tight the second version is so good too! The process shots below are for the first version.
Version 1
- Roast the cauliflower first, which gives a greater depth of flavour and works so well with the other ingredients to make hummus. Simply slice and drizzle with olive oil and roast until fork tender.
- Once cooled, combine the cauliflower with the other ingredients in a blender.
- Blend to a thick hummus, adding a touch more olive oil or water if too thick, to preference.
Version 2
The other version is to skip roasting the cauliflower and steam or boil it instead to get a soft texture. It doesn't have the same flavour, but I've done it this way many times and it tastes good to me! Then simply add all your ingredients to a Nutribullet or food processor and pulse blend to get the consistency you prefer. Personally I like it a little chunky.
🍽 Serving suggestions
As an appetizer this hummus works really well with my seed crackers or crudites of sliced carrots, celery and bell peppers. It's also great in a salad, or with a baked potato.
I'm always on the hunt for crackers that have as 'good' ingredients as possible, and the best ones I have found are the Rude Health spelt oaty crackers and the Rude Health oaty crackers. I'm fine with them, but have a check of ingredients to see if they would work for you.
🥣 More fun appetizers
Find so many fun dips and little bites to enjoy as appetizers or snacks here on the site, including my herbed cream cheese stuffed sweet peppers and my roasted pesto Brussels sprouts. Some recent recipes to enjoy:
I’m always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes. And please do leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐ if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Cauliflower Hummus (without Chickpeas)
Ingredients
- 2 cups cauliflower cut into large pieces
- 2 tablespoon tahini
- 1.5 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 0.5 garlic clove optional
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or white distilled vinegar optional
- pinch pink himalayan salt
- pinch turmeric or sweet paprika
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C / 390F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- When the oven is at temperature, drizzle about half a tablespoon of olive oil over the cauliflower and roast for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through.
- Once the cauliflower has cooled, add to a blender alongside the other ingredients except the turmeric or sweet paprika. Blend until you have the consistency you like.
- Serve in a dish with a sprinkle of turmeric or sweet paprika, and enjoy with crackers, crudites or other dishes.
Notes
- Keep an eye on the cauliflower in the last ten minutes of cook time. The time required will vary slightly depending upon how small the florets are.
- Add more olive oil or water if the hummus comes out too thick for your preference.
- If you prefer to stick to foods rated 0 on the SIGHI list, then swap out apple cider vinegar for white distilled vinegar. Or you can omit the vinegar.
- The garlic can also be omitted if you prefer it without.
- Please note that nutritional information is offered as a courtesy. It is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- tahini (sesame seeds), which score 1.
- apple cider vinegar, which scores 1.
- garlic, which scores 1.
Maryanna says
Add a little bit of unsweetened cranberry juice in place of lemon. This is what I do for dressings, too.
Claire says
Great idea! Pomegranate juice is also a good swap.
Joseph R says
I'm going to make this as soon as I get some tahini.
I think I'll be able to digest this well, because I've kind of outgrown legumes (too many carbs). I'll be looking at all of your recipes and probably making more of them.
Thank you for your time on this.
Claire says
Hope you enjoy this and other recipes on the site and they work for you.
Claire says
Could you freeze this?
Claire says
Hi Claire, I haven't frozen it myself, but I don't see any reason it wouldn't be fine to do so. Just don't leave it in the freezer too long 🙂
Melanie Wood says
I've been making this with delicious results, but want to try without tahini for a batch, just in case that is making me react... any good substitutes? Perhaps cottagecheese?
Claire says
Lovely to hear that you enjoy the cauliflower hummus Melanie. You could try cottage cheese as a swap or perhaps a very small amount of a nut or seed butter that works for you. Do let me know how it turns out!
Pam says
This recipe is amazing. I’ve missed hummus so much. I added some air fryer roasted peppers to it and that made it even better.
Claire says
So glad you liked it Pam! It's one of my favorite dips for summer too.
Petra Rushing says
Can I leave the tahini out and /or use something else?
Claire says
Hi Petra, you can leave out the tahini and have more of a cauliflower dip. I would suggest roasting the cauliflower if so, to give more of flavor. I haven't tried it, but a very small serving of a nut or seed butter may work too.
Katie Clark says
Love hummus, but I don't think chickpeas sit well with me (I'm just figuring this out). Will be trying this version! Thanks!
throughthefibrofog says
I haven't ever been able to tolerate nay quantity of chickpeas either, so this may be a good alternative for you!
Sheryl Chan says
What a delicious sounding mix! I think I need to taste test some cauliflower recipes as I've never done so.
throughthefibrofog says
Oh really! I love cauliflower, and used to eat cauliflower cheese all the time. Maybe that's a UK thing?!
Shruti Chopra says
I would never think hummus would be possible with cauliflower. This is such a clever idea - love it! And I'll try this soon 🙂