I dare you to resist the delicious charms of my Paleo, vegan, Whole30-friendly, bean-free beet hummus. In fact, I DOUBLE-DARE you. (And if you say “PHYSICAL CHALLENGE,” I will salute your knowledge of 20-year-old Nickelodeon game shows, and then ask that you tackle this recipe while avoiding the pink slime that I’ll tell you about in a second.)

A bowl of paleo beet hummus on a plate with sliced carrots and cucumbers.

But, this isn’t hummus!

I know, I know—I don’t use chickpeas in this recipe. Instead I use soaked cashews as a substitute because chickpeas aren’t paleo or Whole30 approved. I recognize that to the true term of hummus (which means “chickpeas” in Arabic) this recipe isn’t it. By calling my recipe beet hummus, I don’t mean any disrespect to the original recipe, instead, this is just my paleo version. Much like how I call cauliflower rice “rice,” this is beet “hummus.”

Use fresh beets!

I know—some of you hate beets. Maybe you grew up eating canned beets, and you’re haunted by the blandly muddy taste and disturbingly mushy texture of the iridescent glop that came out of those cans. I understand. I hate canned beets, too.

But fresh beets are a whole ’nother story. Not only are they packed with essential nutrients and antioxidants, they’re earthy and sweet—like nature’s candy. Don’t believe me? Head to the market and look for deeply-colored, firm-skinned beets with leaves still attached. Take them home, and make a batch of my Marinated Roasted Beets or Instant Pot Beets. Taste them. And if your picky kids remain unconvinced, whip up this Beet Hummus recipe! Sometimes, the best way to get your loved ones to eat more vegetables is to tempt them with a vibrant and bright fuchsia plant-based creamy dip!

One thing to keep in mind: Although you might be tempted to use packaged, pre-cooked beets for this recipe, DON’T DO IT. I tested this recipe several times with plastic-sealed, already-cooked beets (which I love to toss into salads and directly into my mouth), but ended up with results that—while delicious—look like pink slime. (I suspect it’s because these beets are a lighter colored variety than the fresh beets you can buy at the market.) And no one want to eat pink slime. Not even millennials who are obsessed with the color.

Moral of the story: When it comes to food, shortcuts can sometimes lead to pink slime.

In life and in the kitchen, there are times when you just need to do things the right way. When you take the time to cook your own beets, either in the oven or pressure-steamed in an Instant Pot, you’ll be rewarded with a drop-dead-gorgeous technicolor dip that’ll have you dipping veggies in, well, more veggies. Sure, your fingertips and cutting board will be stained for a while—but you can just tell people that you’re a super-cool pink-obsessed millennial, and you’re starting a new trend.

Need to cut down the cook and prep time for this Beet Hummus?

For those of you pressed for time, note that there are two rate-limiting steps in this recipe:

Soaking the cashews. You can soak the raw cashews in 2 cups of warm water mixed with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice for 2 to 4 hours OR do a quick soak of 10 to 20 minutes in boiling water; and
Cooking the beets. It takes 30 minutes to pressure-steam the beets in an Instant Pot or about 90 minutes to roast them in the oven.

But once these steps are done, the rest can be done in no time flat. Ready to make a Paleo-friendly bean-free beet hummus with me?

Time to make Beet Hummus!

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

½ cup (70 g) raw unsalted cashews, soaked and drained (see note above)
3 medium raw beets, about 2 inches in diameter or 1½ cups (200g) cooked, peeled, and roughly chopped beets
⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil and additional for drizzling
2 tablespoons tahini
1½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt
1 medium garlic clove, minced
Freshly cracked black pepper

Equipment:

Large bowl
Measuring cup
Chef’s knife
Cutting board
Instant Pot (optional)
Steamer insert (optional)
Oven-safe baking dish (optional)
Aluminum foil (optional)
Food processor or Blender
Measuring spoons
Silicone spatula

Method:

If you haven’t already, soak your cashews according to one of the two methods mentioned above. Then, rinse and drain them.

Next, cook your beets! Either roast them in the oven by following these instructions…

…or pressure-steam them for 15 minutes under high pressure in an Instant Pot (see recipe here).

Once your beets have cooled to room temperature, trim, peel, and cut them into 1-inch pieces. Measure out 1½ cups of the chopped beets and set them aside.

Grab your soaked and drained cashews and dump them in a food processor or blender.

Toss in the beets…

…and add the lemon juice, olive oil…

…tahini, salt, minced garlic, and freshly ground black pepper.

Pulse a few times to combine. Scrape down the sides if necessary.

Then, blitz until you get a smooth, hummus-like consistency.

Taste for seasoning and adjust with additional salt, pepper, and lemon juice if needed. Drizzle with additional extra virgin oil, too!

Serve the dip with your favorite raw and steamed veggies! The dip will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).

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