This healthy carrot hummus is made with raw carrots, fresh ginger, lemon, and miso. Inspired by carrot-ginger salad dressing served in Japanese-American restaurants, this colorful, oil-free hummus is lightly sweet and salty with a subtle kick of ginger. Perfect for dipping and spreading!
It's been many, many years since I've been to a Japanese steakhouse, but Trader Joe's on the other hand, well, I go there every week.
Ever since I discovered their carrot ginger miso salad dressing, I've been meaning to create a homemade version, like this copycat version of TJ's turmeric almond butter dressing.
This hummus captures those same fresh, zesty, and exciting flavors that keep you coming back for more. It's:
- lightly sweet thanks to carrots and maple syrup (or agave)
- tangy and bright with lemon juice and rice vinegar
- salty with a hit of umami from white miso
- and wonderfully ginger-forward!
Unlike a lot of carrot hummus recipes, this one requires no cooking, so it's very quick and easy. Raw carrots are tossed right into the food processor or high-speed blender along with fresh ginger, lemon, and garlic.
The result is a creamy, light, oil-free hummus you'll want to scoop up with veggies and crackers, dollop onto salads, and spread on toast and wraps!
Ingredients
- chickpeas - for convenience, the recipe is written to use one 15 ounce can of chickpeas
- raw carrots - the fresher and more flavorful the carrots are, the better the hummus will be! You'll need about 3 medium/large carrots.
- ginger and garlic
- tahini - this paste made from ground sesame seeds is traditional to hummus, but of course, we're not making a traditional hummus recipe. Feel free to use a different nut or seed butter instead.
- rice vinegar - in keeping with the Asian-inspired theme, a touch of rice vinegar adds nice acidity. Feel free to sub another vinegar, lime juice, or additional lemon juice, to taste.
- miso - a traditional, fermented Japanese seasoning, miso adds saltiness and umami to everything from soups to sauces. Look for it in the refrigerated section of your grocery store near the tofu. Check out this post all about miso to learn more!
Carrot Hummus Tips
For an ultra creamy hummus I recommend using a high-speed blender. I usually use a food processor for hummus because it's so much easier to scrape it out of the bowl than trying to dig it out of the blender jar.
You can see in the photos there's still a bit of texture from the carrots, which is reminiscent of the chunky Japanese dressing that inspired the recipe. But if you prefer a smooth carrot hummus, break out the blender.
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For the best flavor be sure to use fresh ginger and garlic. Old, dry ginger root that's been hanging around on your kitchen counter for a while won't do you any favors in the flavor department.
Add a splash of water, oil, or aquafaba during blending if you prefer a fluffier texture.
This recipe is oil-free as written, but if you include oil in your diet feel free to add a few tablespoons of olive oil to the blender or food processor.
Serving Suggestions
Carrot hummus is delicious served with raw veggies, crackers, pita, chips, or tortilla chips for dipping.
The zesty ginger flavor also tastes amazing spread on sandwiches. Try it with toasted whole-grain bread and thinly sliced baked tofu. Add fresh lettuce and a few strips of red bell pepper, and call it lunch!
Carrot-ginger hummus also pairs well with noodles, rice, and quinoa. Add sautéed kale to the bowl, fresh green onion, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds for a nutritious plant-based dinner.
Whip up a batch of carrot hummus on meal prep day for an easy snack and flavor booster to enjoy on busy week days.
I hope you enjoy this Carrot-Ginger Hummus! If you try it be sure to drop a comment below to let us know. And if you're on Instagram, tag a photo with @myquietkitchen. I always love to see what you're making!
Happy snacking!
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Recipe
Carrot Hummus With Ginger & Miso
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fresh carrots (about 3 medium), trimmed and peeled
- 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh ginger - Approx a thumb-size piece of ginger root, peeled.
- 1 large clove garlic, peeled and chopped
- 1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice - about 1 large lemon
- 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup or agave
- 1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- 4 teaspoons mellow white miso
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 to 3 tablespoons water, oil, or aquafaba, for consistency
Instructions
- After washing and peeling the carrots, roughly chop into thick coins. Place carrots, ginger, and garlic in food processor or blender and process until finely chopped.
- Add garbanzos, tahini, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon miso (that's 3 teaspoons), and onion powder. Process until mostly smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning; if desired add another teaspoon maple syrup for sweetness and miso for saltiness and umami.
- Continue processing/blending until the hummus is smooth and fluffy. Drizzle in water 1 tablespoon at a time for consistency.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used.
Louise says
Love this recipe, it’s so easy to make and tastes surprisingly good.
I had to substitute a red onion and balsamic vinegar for the items listed, as I had them in. I wizzed the mixture until smooth to fully incorporated the onion. The result looks and tastes great. This will become a firm favourite, thank you.
Bill says
Interesting combination of flavors. I was skeptical but it really turned out delicious!
Sarah says
I thinking cooking carrots would help...just can't seem to blend the chewiness out of it. It definitely does taste like the carrot ginger dressing, though.