Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus

Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus

We make this hummus embarrassingly often. There's something about sun-dried tomatoes blended into a creamy chickpea base that just hits differently to regular hummus, it's richer, a bit more complex, and honestly way more exciting to dip into. The sun-dried tomato oil is the real secret weapon here, it carries so much flavour and makes the whole thing incredibly smooth. This is the kind of snack you put out thinking it'll last the evening and it's gone in ten minutes. Make it tonight and you'll see exactly what we mean.

Cook: 10 min
Serves 6

Before You Start

  • Food processor
  • Colander

Ingredients

  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 10 tbsp sun-dried tomato oil - from a jar of sun-dried tomatoes
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 x 400g can of chickpeas drained
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 10 sun-dried tomatoes
  • small handful parsley leaves
  • Pinch of flaky sea salt
  • smoked paprika
  • 3 sun-dried tomatoes
  • pepper to taste
  • fresh pita bread or seeded crackers

Method

1

Make the hummus

  • Drain the chickpeas
  • Peel the garlic
  • Put all the ingredients and 2 tbsp of the sun-dried tomato oil into the food processor
  • Whizz to a chunky paste, then slowly add the remaining oil with the motor running until you get a smoother paste
  • Add a splash of water and do a final blitz to get a creamier texture
  • Season to taste
2

Prepare the toppings and sides 

  • Finely chop the remaining sun-dried tomatoes and parsley leaves
  • Spread the hummus out onto a sharing bowl and top with your choice of toppings, and a drizzle more sun-dried tomato oil from the jar
  • Serve with some fresh pita bread or seeded crackers, and dig in!

Tips & Variations

  • Use jarred chickpeas: We find jarred or pre-cooked chickpeas give a creamier result than tinned ones. If you can get them, it's worth it.
  • Warm your chickpeas slightly: Henry always warms the chickpeas a little before blending. It sounds odd but warm chickpeas blend much smoother than cold ones straight from the fridge.
  • Don't skip the water blitz: That final splash of water and extra blitz at the end is what takes this from good to genuinely brilliant. Don't rush past that step.

Why This Works

The trick is using the oil from the sun-dried tomato jar rather than plain olive oil. It's already packed with herby, tomatoey flavour, so it does loads of the heavy lifting without any extra effort. Adding a splash of water at the end and doing a final blitz is something we always do to get that really creamy, almost whipped texture that makes all the difference.