Pesto Hummus with Homemade Pita Chips
Pesto hummus mixes our two favorite dips to become one truly tasty experience. It's very easy to make and delicious served with homemade pita chips for a party appetizer, packed for work or school lunch, spread on a sandwich, or as a dinner side dish.
If you love dips, make sure to try our sweet potato hummus and our baba ganoush!
Pesto hummus
Pesto and hummus should shack up and are getting it on. Sure, hummus spends a good deal of time flirting with black olives and sometimes with roasted red pepper too, but this is the real deal. True love, a match made in heaven, and all that other cheesy stuff.
Speaking of cheese, make sure you add the parmesan (of course you were going to anyway, right!) It's like the kinky side of pesto that hummus just can't get enough of.
I thought of trying to describe the flavor but I think you'll just have to make it and see. Each flavor really stands out without overpowering the other, and they work so well together (see the part about a match made in heaven blah blah blah.)
Since the first time we shared this recipe (years ago!), we've made it many many times again; it's become a long-time favorite around here. Our two favorite dips become one and by mixing them together, they become even better.
We serve the pesto hummus with crunchy, oven-toasted pita chips, but it would also be great in a sandwich or with veggies.
Whether you're putting some in a lunch box, spreading it on a sandwich, serving it as a party appetizer, or as a simple side with some chicken and salad, I know you're going to fall in love with pesto hummus.
Pesto and hummus might sound like a strange combination but I promise you that it totally works.
How to serve pesto hummus
We love the combination of pesto hummus with our homemade crispy pita chips. But you could also use store-bought crackers, veggies, or even tortilla chips. Here are a few other tasty ways to serve this hummus recipe:
- In a sandwich (bonus points if you use our no yeast bread with herbs and cheese!)
- Tossed with some spaghetti noodles – so good!
- Piled high on top of baked chicken.
- As a pesto pizza sauce – yes!
Popular Hummus Recipes:
- Easy Hummus Recipe
- Creamy Pumpkin Hummus
- Creamy Roasted Beet Hummus
- Creamy Cauliflower Hummus
- Spicy Harissa Hummus Platter
Pesto Hummus with Homemade Pita Chips
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
The Pesto Hummus
- 2 14-ounce cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- Ā½ cup fresh basil leaves
- ā cup grated parmesan cheese
- Ā¼- Ā½ cup olive oil, depending on how creamy you want it to be
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 3-4 cloves garlic, grated with a Microplane or very finely minced
- Juice from 1 lemon
- Optional garnishes: olive oil, pesto, toasted pine nuts, parmesan,
The Pita Chips
- 6 pieces pita bread
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- A generous pinch of each: sea salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, and red pepper flakes
Instructions
For the Pesto Hummus:
- Combine all the pesto hummus ingredients in a food processor and blend on high until smooth. Taste and season with extra sea salt, if needed. Top with any or all of the garnishes.2 14-ounce cans of chickpeas, Ā½ cup fresh basil leaves, ā cup grated parmesan cheese, Ā¼- Ā½ cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 3-4 cloves garlic, Juice from 1 lemon, Optional garnishes: olive oil, pesto, toasted pine nuts, parmesan
- Serve immediately or keep covered in your fridge for up to 5 days.
For the Pita Chips:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Cut the pita into triangles and tear them apart so that they are a single layer, instead of two triangles held together by the top seam.6 pieces pita bread, 1 tablespoon olive oil, A generous pinch of each: sea salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, and red pepper flakes
- Toss with olive oil and spices. Bake in a single layer (ish) on a baking sheet for 10-12 minutes, turning half way through.
Notes
The hummus pesto can also be served with veggies as a dip.
Missing the tahini. Ā Made this recipe because I had a pesto hummus recently at a beach restaurant. Did not enjoy it. Doesn’t taste like nor resemble hummus or a pesto dip.Ā
I am so excited to make this! What is the green, kale-ish looking ingredient garnished on top of the hummus?
That’s some pesto!
this hummus is AMAZING!! I made it with half and avocado and it was so creamy and delicious. I will definitely making it again:)
Hooray! I’m so happy to hear the recipe was a hit!!
How long will this keep refrigerated?
About a week. š
What a shame that instead of showing us your sample photos of food, you only give us a collage of thumbnails so small that it’s hardly worth trying to view them,
Reply not required.
This Pesto Hummus should win awards. It is the best hummus in the entire world. Not that I have been around the entire world but I’m still positive it is. Love every recipe I have tried but this is truly award winning!!
Awww thank you so much! Your comment totally made my day. I’m so happy you like the recipe!!
My only complaint about this recipe would be the whole sharing thing. I’m sure others would want to eat some of it…and I would not want to share.
Ha ha! That’s a great complaint! š
We eat hummus often and have begun making my own experimenting with different flavors. I made this one and it was super yummy!! Hubby declared it the best one I’ve made so far. I was surprised that your recipe didn’t call for any tahini though, which seems to be a staple ingredient in hummus. Is there a reason for no tahini? Btw, I love all of the recipes I’ve made from your site. Good for you food that tastes super good! Thank you for sharing! š
The best one? That’s awesome! To be honest, I initially made it without tahini because I had ran out and was too lazy to walk up to the store. But … I liked it so much that I never bothered to add it afterwards. I do still love tahini in regular hummus, though!
Oh my god this looks amazing! I love love love the pesto flavour hummus I get at the store but I bet the homemade version is even better š I’ll definitely be trying this!
Homemade is always better, isn’t it?! You should totally try it. š
How much pesto do you put in the recipe?
Just follow the recipe as is. All the ingredients, except for the chickpeas, are pesto ingredients and what give the hummus its flavour.
Holy guacamole… err… hummus, Batman! When you’re right, you’re RIGHT! I had made some plain hummus and hubby and I couldn’t figure out what was missing. I added the fresh basil and {Voila!} C’est Magnifique! I didn’t realize till later that I had forgotten to add the parmesan cheese but just the added basil took my hummus from OK to Fab. Thanks for sharing. Now, i’m off to try my hand at making pita chips.
Wow thanks, Jen! Sounds like our taste buds like the same kind of tasty food. So happy you love basil in your hummus too š
Shack up indeed–feasting my eyes on this now, and will be feasting my stomach on this shortly. Thanks for sharing, Kristen! If I eat enough of it before the Thanksgiving meal, it looks like there may be hope for my jeans after all… š
Thanks for this delicious recipe! I love making my own hummus so when I saw my other favorite thing, pesto, I knew I had to try it. So yummy!!!
No problem at all, Erin! So happy you loved it as much as I did!
I would love to have these for a snack.
I hope you make these to snack on!