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Roast Carrot and Harissa Hummus
Roast carrot and harissa hummus is one of my favourite twists on the classic dip. I roast carrots until sweet and tender, then blend them with chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and a good spoonful of harissa for heat and depth. The result is smoky, creamy, and packed with flavour – perfect for spreading on toast, serving with flatbread, or dolloping onto grain bowls. It’s simple, nourishing, and makes snacking feel a little more exciting.
Ingredients
- 700g carrots, sliced lengthwise
- 1/4 cup olive oil + 1 tbsp olive oil, additional
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp harissa paste
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp sumac
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup water
- Sea salt flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C.
- Toss the carrots through 1 tbsp olive oil, and a pinch of sea salt flakes.
- Spread the carrots in a single layer on a baking tray, and then roast for 55-60 minutes, or until they're easily pierced with a fork and have started to brown.
- Remove the carrots from the oven, and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
- Whilst the carrots cool, heat the cumin seeds in a small pan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Once cool, transfer the carrots, 1/4 cup olive oil, tahini, garlic, harissa paste, toasted cumin seeds, sumac, lemon juice, and a large pinch of salt to the bowl of a food processor.
- Blitz until well combined and the carrots are completely mashed.
- Add 1/4 cup of water to the mix, and pulse until well combined. Add more water as needed to get the desired hummus-like consistency.
- Serve with crusty bread, of toasted flatbreads.
What I Cook With
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Amount Per Serving: Calories: 161Total Fat: 13.6gSaturated Fat: 2.1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 57mgCarbohydrates: 9.1gFiber: 2.3gSugar: 3.5gProtein: 2.3g
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Roast Carrot and Harissa Hummus Recipe
The Joy of Entertaining Again
Who else is excited and relieved that lockdown is easing? I feel like I can finally exhale. The world is creeping back into focus and with it comes one of my favourite things – feeding other people. For the first time in what feels like forever, I’m not just cooking for myself and it feels good. This roast carrot and harissa hummus is exactly the kind of recipe I reach for when I’m entertaining. It’s colourful, it’s flavour-packed, and it looks a lot fancier than it actually is. One of those recipes that makes you look like you’ve made an effort even when you haven’t.
The last time I made this was for a small family get-together to celebrate a birthday. Nothing dramatic, just a few of us around a table, but it felt special after everything. I served the hummus with warm toasted flatbreads and a cob loaf fresh from the oven (ok, so I just heated a gluten-free cob loaf, I didn’t make it myself!). If you’ve never torn off a chunk of warm, fluffy cob and dunked it into a spicy, sweet dip, you’re missing out. It’s the kind of moment that makes you pause mid-conversation just to close your eyes and savour it.
What I love most about this dish is that it feels familiar but also a little bit different. There are the classic hummus elements – tahini, lemon, chickpeas – but the sweet roasted carrots and fiery harissa take it to another level. It’s got that balance of earthy and bright, creamy and punchy. Perfect for sharing, or honestly, just hoarding for yourself in the kitchen with a spoon.
That Sweet Heat Combo
Let me tell you, I am a sucker for anything with harissa. I love how it gives heat without overwhelming everything else, and when it gets friendly with sweet roasted carrots, magic happens. The carrots roast up soft and caramelised, the kind of soft where you can pierce them with a fork without any resistance. You really want that deep colour too, that Maillard goodness that means big flavour. I know I go on about caramelisation a lot, but it’s for good reason – it changes everything, like alchemy for veg.
Once those carrots are ready, everything gets blitzed into creamy, dreamy hummus. The harissa brings this floral heat that hits the back of your throat, not in an aggressive way, but in that moreish, can’t-stop-dipping way. I keep the lemon juice generous and the tahini strong because those bold flavours are what carry it. I mean, why hold back now?
If you’re into my baba ghanoush or classic hummus, you’ll see where I’m going with this. Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavours just make sense to me – they feel grounding and celebratory at the same time. Add a drizzle of olive oil, maybe a few roasted seeds on top for crunch, and you’ve got something that looks like it came out of a fancy mezze platter at your favourite restaurant. But it’s yours. In your kitchen. Probably in your pyjamas. And that’s the best bit.
A Dip That Works Hard
I love a recipe that pulls double duty. This roast carrot and harissa hummus is perfect as party food, but it also holds its own in a packed lunch, dolloped on a salad, or smeared in a wrap. It’s one of those things you find yourself reaching for more than you expected, and it stores well too. A batch in the fridge and I feel like I’m halfway to having my life together. Halfway.
I usually serve it with flatbreads, but don’t sleep on the cob loaf. There is something deeply satisfying about the mix of warm, slightly chewy bread with a zingy, creamy dip. If you want to go rogue, try it with roast potatoes. I’m not kidding. Or roast cauliflower. Basically, roast anything and pair it with this and you’re onto something good.
I think part of the reason I love this so much is that it marks a return to shared meals. It reminds me that food is about more than just sustenance – it’s about connection. Even if it’s just two or three people around a table, laughing with their mouths full, it matters. And in those moments, with a bowl of something delicious in the middle, the world feels right again.
Ingredients Breakdown
This recipe starts with carrots, roasted until sweet and caramelised. The key here is slicing them lengthwise and roasting them until they’re fork-tender and deeply coloured – that browning brings out the best flavour. I toss them with olive oil, cumin seeds, and a good sprinkle of sea salt flakes before roasting to coax out as much richness as possible.
Once they’re roasted, everything gets blitzed with tahini, harissa paste, garlic, and lemon juice. The harissa is the star here – it gives that smoky floral heat that balances the sweetness of the carrots. The tahini brings in that gorgeous nuttiness, and the lemon cuts through it all with a sharp, bright edge. I also add a little sumac for extra zing and complexity.
Olive oil helps blend it all together, and a splash of water gets it to that perfect dip consistency – creamy but not gloopy. You can adjust the water depending on how thick or spreadable you want it. I finish with a generous sprinkle of sea salt flakes to tie it all together. No chickpeas needed here – the carrots do all the heavy lifting, and honestly, they deserve the spotlight.
