I made this spicy serrano hummus recipe because our pepper garden is thriving in the Texas heat! We are overflowing with jalapeños, habaneros, serranos, and chile de arbol peppers. It’s a great problem to have. I have tried to use them up by making my Easy Homemade Red Salsa Recipe and Easy Tomatillo and Jalapeño Salsa (Recipe) but wanted to see what else to make.

I’ve bought spicy hummus at the grocery store before and wanted to recreate it at home. Hummus is simple and easy to make, don’t be intimidated! You throw all the ingredients together in a food processor and add olive oil slowly. This spicy serrano hummus is a flexible recipe that can substitute out serrano peppers for other peppers, see the recommendations in the recipe.

This spicy serrano hummus goes great on sandwiches, pita wraps, or as a snack with vegetables throughout the day. Let’s make some hummus!

Hummus with garden ingredients

Our garden this year has been semi-successful. The biggest success has been our pepper garden! We planted variations of jalapeños, serranos, habaneros, and chile de arbols. We also planted cilantro in the same box and it also thrived in our Texas heat.

I’ve been making plenty of salsa, like my Easy Homemade Red Salsa Recipe. To switch up our snacks, I wanted to try a spicy hummus. It’s a great way to use up peppers and cilantro from the garden!

Using a food processor for hummus

I have made variations of hummus over the years. I love making hummus when I want a healthy snack or as a way to use up vegetables in the fridge. It’s simple to pull together because you just throw all the ingredients in a food processor!

I haven’t tried making hummus in a blender. It might work if you have a good quality blender. I often need to scrape down the sides of the food processor bowl to keep mixing the ingredients, so keep that in mind if you use a blender.

Gather spicy serrano hummus ingredients

Gather your ingredients together for our serrano hummus recipe. This is the hardest part of the recipe! Hummus is that easy to make.

Organic garbanzo bean can

I use canned organic garbanzo beans that I always keep stocked in my pantry. Drain the garbanzo beans but reserve some of the liquid to add to the hummus later. Some people who have more patience than I do will remove the skins from the garbanzo beans. Removing or not removing the skins will not impact the taste, but leaving the skin on will not give you a super smooth hummus texture. Personally, this doesn’t bother me. If you really want a smooth texture, take off the skin from the garbanzo beans.

Tahini

Tahini is another staple for hummus that adds another depth of flavor. I don’t use tahini for a ton of things, but it’s something I keep on hand when I want to make this hummus or a quick salad dressing. I’ve even seen recipes for tahini chocolate chip cookies or for other desserts. It’s an interesting ingredient to keep around.

Cilantro, lemon juice, garlic, and salt

I love cilantro, but if you happen to sadly hate it, you could try leaving it out. Fresh lemon juice is traditionally used, but I’ve also substituted lime juice when in a pinch and it works just fine. I also love garlic and use 4 cloves in this recipe. If I have more time, I’d love to roast the garlic to add a roasted flavor to this. A pinch of salt always helps for hummus.

Serrano peppers

For this serrano hummus, we will use serrano peppers for spiciness! People have varying levels of spice tolerance and the peppers themselves can vary in their heat levels, so start on the lower end of adding peppers. I usually do not deseed my peppers but you can if you prefer. Personally, I have a higher heat tolerance and love things to be spicy!

Taste your hummus after it’s blended and decide if you want to add more peppers. I’ve used jalapeños and chile de arbol peppers for substitutions before. Check the recipe card for other suggested substitutes.

Olive oil

A high quality olive oil will also make a difference in taste for your hummus. My recipe uses only about 4 tablespoons of olive oil in the hummus. Other hummus recipes may include more olive oil, but I think this is a good amount to reduce my oil intake. To make the hummus smoother, you can add some of the reserved garbanzo bean liquid until it’s to your liking.

Blend your spicy serrano hummus ingredients

With all of your hummus ingredients gathered, throw all your ingredients except for the olive oil and garbanzo bean liquid into the food processor.

Blend the ingredients so they start to come together. Scrape down the sides as needed. When the ingredients start to meld, slowly drizzle in the olive oil as it is blending. You’ll see the clumpy ingredients start to get smoother as you add more olive oil. When I’ve used up the olive oil, I’ll start to add in the garbanzo bean liquid to get it to the smoothness I prefer. This is my preference to lighten the calorie count for hummus and reduce my oil intake. Blending may take up to 5 minutes.

Taste your spicy serrano hummus!

It’s so important to taste your hummus and add what you think it needs. It’s part of the beauty of making hummus at home.

• Does it taste bland? Add more salt.
• Do you want it to taste spicier? Add another pepper or two.
• Do you want more lemon flavor? Add more lemon juice.
• Do you want the texture to be smoother? Add more olive oil or garbanzo bean liquid.

What I love about cooking is how personal it can be. Our flavor profiles can vary widely and adding what you think it needs can really change a recipe from good to great!

I hope you try this spicy serrano hummus, let me know how you use it!