Creamy Vegan Sweet Potato Hummus
3.80 from 5 votes

This vegan sweet potato hummus is a non-traditional spin on chickpea hummus. It has the most wonderful creamy texture and slight sweetness, thanks to cooked sweet potato. You can roast, steam, or microwave your sweet potato—it’s all good! Perfect for dipping, snacks, sandwiches, and more.

A swirled, vegan dip, which is made with sweet potatoes, is in a white bowl that rests on a white surface.

This sweet potato hummus may be my favorite homemade hummus. Period.

That’s saying a lot, because I love hummus. And I’ve made many hummus recipes for this blog and my own snacking happiness!

I routinely make green pea hummus, sun-dried tomato hummus, ginger lime edamame hummus, beet hummus, and roasted carrot hummus.

All fun, creative variations on a theme. But really and truly, sweet potato hummus wins.

This hummus has it all. It’s tasty, satisfying, and it has both sweet and salty notes. Even better, the cooked sweet potato makes the texture of this hummus both thick and creamy.

A vegan sweet potato hummus has been topped with a bit of paprika. It's resting in a small, white bowl.

Why sweet potato is a great addition to hummus

I mean, why not?

It’s no big secret that I love sweet potatoes, just about any which way.

I love to put sweet potatoes into saladsburgerstacossoup, and even in dessert.

I mash them, roast them, steam them, and bake them.

Sweet potatoes are rich in so many nutrients, including fiber, beta carotene (the precursor to Vitamin A), vitamin C, and vitamin B6. They’re complex carbohydrates can provide even, long-lasting energy to fuel busy lives.

In sweet potato hummus, they contribute not only all of this good nutrition, but also the best texture!

Somehow, the sweet potato hummus is thick without being heavy or overly stodgy. And it is especially, wonderfully creamy.

How to cook sweet potatoes for hummus

I’ve made this recipe many times over, and I’ve experimented with different ways of cooking the potato.

I’ve roasted it, steamed it, and microwaved it.

I can tell you that roasting probably enhances the natural sweetness of the potato most noticeably. So the roasted sweet potato version has the most intensity of flavor.

But this is only true by a small margin, really. A sweet potato is a sweet potato, and all of the above methods work. Here’s how to approach each one of them.

You’ll need one medium sized sweet potato to make the sweet potato hummus.

A ceramic baking dish holds two, recently baked sweet potato halves.

Roasting

Preheat your oven to 400F. Prick your sweet potato a few times with a fork. Place it on a baking sheet and roast for 40-60 minutes, or until it can easily be pierced with a fork or knife.

Microwave

Prick your sweet potato a few times with a fork. Place it on a microwave safe dish. Microwave on high for 5-10 minutes (this will depend on your microwave and the size of the potato), or until it can easily be pierced with a fork or a knife.

Steaming

Peel your sweet potato, then cut it into large cubes. Bring a pot of water to a boil and fit it with a steamer attachment.

Steam the potato cubes for 10-15 minutes, or until they can easily be pierced with a fork.

How to make sweet potato hummus

Once your sweet potato is cooked, making the sweet potato hummus is pretty easy!

First, you’ll add cooked chickpeas (I use canned) to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the S blade.

Add tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and salt.

Then, add your sweet potato. If you peeled and steamed it, then you can just add the steamed cubes. If you roasted or microwaved it, you can scoop the flesh out of the skin with a spoon and add it to the processor.

Begin processing the hummus, then drizzle in 1/3 cup water. Continue processing until the texture of the sweet potato hummus is quite creamy. Stop once or twice to scrape the sides of the food processor bowl down as you go.

At that point, the hummus is ready to store or enjoy.

An overhead image of a small bowl of creamy vegan sweet potato hummus.

Storage and freezing

Sweet potato hummus is a very smart dip to add to your weekly vegan meal prep—or simply to make ahead of time so that lunches and snacks can be easier.

The hummus will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. It can also be frozen for up to eight weeks.

How to serve vegan sweet potato hummus

You can serve this vibrant and delicious hummus however you like, honestly.

It’s a good spread for sandwiches, for one thing. Try it with tempeh bacon, lettuce and tomato for a more nutritive alternative to traditional mayo.

The hummus is an excellent snack, of course. I like to eat it with veggies (cucumber rounds, carrots, pepper strips) and whole grain pita.

Sweet potato hummus can also be paired with a veggie burger, in place of the more traditional ketchup or mustard. I really like it with my unfussy sweet potato black bean burgers.

A swirled, vegan dip, which is made with sweet potatoes, is in a white bowl that rests on a white surface.
3.80 from 5 votes

Creamy Vegan Sweet Potato Hummus

Author – Gena Hamshaw
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Yields: 2 cups

Ingredients

  • 1 medium-sized sweet potato
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (1  1/2 cups/240g cooked chickpeas, or one 15-ounce/425g can, drained and rinsed)
  • ¼ cup tahini (60g)
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon Sweet or smoked ground paprika
  • 1/3 cup water (80ml)

Instructions

  • Cook the sweet potato according to post instructions. After steaming or scooping the flesh out of the skin (if roasting or microwaving), you should have about 200g cooked sweet potato.
  • Place all ingredients except for the water in a food processor fitted with the S blade. Pulse a few times to break the chickpeas down.
  • Run the motor of the food processor and drizzle the water in in a thin stream. Continue processing for 2-3 minutes, or until the hummus is very creamy. Stop once or twice to scrape down the sides of the food processor bowl. If the hummus is too thick for your liking, add a tablespoon or two of water and continue processing. Enjoy!
A small bowl of a dip is resting on a white surface.

Hummus lovers, this one has your names on it. I hope that you will dip, spread, and snack your way through many batches!

xo

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Categories: Recipes, Vegan Basics, Hummus, Snacks
Ingredients: Chickpeas, Sweet Potato
Dietary Preferences: Gluten Free, Vegan

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Recipe Rating




    122 Comments
  1. 4 stars
    Instead of adding water to the hummus wouldn’t the bean juice from the can of chick peas work just as well? I use it in my normal chick pea hummus. Works tastefully for me along with a dash of cumin

    • You can, though I find that hummus in the Vitamix is a little tough (you have to add a fair bit of liquid to keep it moving and use the tamp attachment quite a bit to keep things churning). It’s totally possible, though!

  2. Hi! I wanted to say how much I love your site–I live in Cambodia, and have never had much of an interest in cooking until moving abroad a year and a half ago. Because I only have a burner and a blender, and some items are simply unavailable or WAY out of my price range, I have to make a lot of modifications to your recipes (much to my dismay) and they still manage to taste great! I just made this hummus and love it–may have accidentally eaten several spoonfuls by themselves…
    Thank you for being such a great blogger and recipe creator!

  3. Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a
    few of the images aren’t loading correctly. I’m not sure why
    but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different internet browsers and both show the same outcome.

  4. My brother recommended I may like this blog. He used to be totally
    right. This post truly made my day. You can not imagine just how a lot time I had spent for
    this information! Thanks!

  5. Gina, I love hummus too. This one is healthy as well as tasty. Sweet potato is a rich source of anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber.

  6. Hello,
    I wanted to ask the procedure if I use dried garbanzo beans… I understand that you soak them overnight… but do I need to cook them first before making hummus? By the way I LOVE all of recipes! Making the dehydrated crackers today too! Thank you for sharing all of these delicious recipes 🙂

  7. This hummus was so delicious. I ate it with orange bell pepper slices and devoured every one of them. The rest of the hummus won’t last long! Thanks for the recipe.

  8. I made this tonight. So far I’ve tried your hemp hummus, and sundried tomato hummus. This one is really creamy and rich. I’m not sure how best to use it though as it doesn’t seem like it will go well as a veggie dip. I was thinking of trying it with flat bread… But with what else? Anyone have suggestions?

  9. ooh this sounds luvvly! will be making this today…was led here by someone who had added the link to your website in the Thermomix Forum (Australian) so impressed with the recipes etc

    thnx for sharing : )
    Kerry

  10. Just made this tonight and both my husband and I really enjoyed it. A very different slightly sweet twist. The curry went great with the sweet potato. I had a nice sized serving on top of a salad for dinner tonight. Can’t wait to have the leftovers in a wrap tomorrow. Thanks!!

  11. I made this for my office and it got rave reviews!! I have a brother who’s Paleo, so doesn’t eat beans. I’ve made a zucchini based hummus in the past – do you think that might work for this recipe? Or do you have any suggestions for what to replace the chickpeas with? Thanks!

  12. Wow! This is insanely delicious! Just made it and it’s amazing so I’m excited to see how it’ll be in a couple hours when the flavors meld a bit more. Thanks for an awesome recipe!

  13. Finally got a chance to try this! Delicious! I’m allergic to sesame so I sub-ed the tahini and sesame oil for olive oil and then used rosemary, lemon thyme, and basil since I thought that would work better with the olive oil flavour. Wonderful! Who woulda thought – sweet potatoes in hummus! Thanks

  14. I just made this and had it for lunch in a collard green wrap with cucumber, red cabbage, and shredded carrot. It was SUPER delicious. I am not the biggest fan of hummus – but this is something I could eat all the time. Really easy and really good. It will be a lunchtime lifesaver! Thank you!

  15. I don’t know if you’re still reading these comments Gena but this hummus is like divine intervention. It is so good. I made it without sesame oil (because I didn’t have any) and added a bit more salt than indicated (because I used dried beans instead of canned) and it is by far the best hummus I’ve ever had. Thank you for sharing.

  16. FUNNY STORY…Back in January, I started a Wellness Challenge which is based on a Plant Based Diet. I was looking for great ideas to bring to a Super Bowl Party and came across your recipe through Wendy at Healthy Girls Kitchen. Not familiar with some of the ingredients, I took off to our local store and bought “Tahini” but really I bought “Tamari” [yes, big difference]. I did not even notice the mistake when I made the recipe with Tamari instead of Tahini. BUT IT WAS A HUGE HIT….

    Weeks later, I gave your recipe to my sister who went off to the store and got the RIGHT stuff! She called to ask me how I mixed up the Tahini before I used it without making a huge mess…to say I was confused was an understatement. I went to the refrigerator and finally realized my mistake……but I also realized I REALLY liked my version….

    In the meantime, I did get some Tahini for another recipe. So last week I did a taste test with my friends. I made a batch of each. I did reduce the amount of “Tamari” to 3 tablespoons in my version. It was the big winner. Although, I must say I am wondering if I got a bad batch of Tahini. It was a bit overpowering and bitter. I will definately try with a new jar at some point.

    Moral of the story [besides the fact that I need to slow down and really read sometimes] is that sometimes the best things come when we make mistakes….

  17. You were right–this is amazing! I’ve never been able to make hummus this light and creamy. The potatoes really help out.

    I brought it to an Oscars party last night, and people loved it. Thanks!

  18. Gena, I just made this and I have to tell you, it’s amazing! I didn’t have any curry powder so I subbed some garam masala, very tasty. It’s a huge batch but I don’t think I will have a problem getting through it, how long would you say it will last in the fridge??

  19. Sounds terrific, and I will definitely make. Also appreciate the tip on heating up the chickpeas. One puzzle: if you don’t like microwave cooking (and I totally agree with you), why on earth do you have a microwave? I don’t like microwave cooking, so—duh—I have no microwave oven. Why own something I do not want to use? So I’m intrigued to learn why, disliking microwave cooking, you bought a microwave oven.

  20. Gena,

    THANK YOU for sharing. I happened to have some sweet potatos I needed to use, so I made this spread after happening on your blog today. It was absolutely DELICIOUS! Yum, yum yum. Thanks again.

  21. Hi Gena, I’ve never posted on your blog before although I’ve been reading it for over a year now and have enjoyed many of your recipes! I just HAD to comment on this hummus- it is incredible!!! I think I could eat it all day in various ways. For lunch I put some in a collard wrap with thinly sliced green apple and sprouts. Wow! Thanks as always for your creativity!

  22. Oooh! This is so good!

    I mistakenly used jewel yams (sweet potatoes) which worked well. I don’t know how different the taste is from the way you made it since these were so good I continued using the jewel variety.

    Yes, I have made this every week since coming across this recipe!

    I peel the potatoes,dice them,toss with some olive oil,smoked paprika and sea salt. I roast for about 15 or 20 minutes @ 500 degrees. I like the caramelized depth flavor the roasting provides.

    I do use one garlic clove ’cause garlic is good!

    I do heat the chickpeas I figured that trick out after getting my pressure cooker and using beans right from the cooker. Pressure cooker beans produce the best bean liquid!

  23. SO GOOD. i made this tonight. i added a little bit of cumin and some lemon juice, too. i’ll definitely make this again! i added it to my recipe box.

    i’m curious if you watched Oprah’s vegan episode last week? i’d kind of kept my eyes open to see if you made a post about it, but i didn’t see it mentioned anywhere

  24. Can I just say thank you sooooooo much for this recipe. I don’t think you know how much I appreciate this recipe. Recently recovering from pancreatitis, sweet potatoes have quickly become my best friend. This is a lovely way to eat them and include some protein in a much easier digested form. I have been loving it slathered on a wrap with spinach, cilantro and hot sauce — such a great portable snack/lunch. Thanks so much for sharing!

  25. This was absolutely delicious Gena! Thank you. I really appreciate that you are non judgmental and open this forum to all types of eaters. Karen

  26. Two of my FAVORITE savory foodz in one!! Freakin’ genius. *figuring out when I can get to the store for some more tahini!*

  27. I just made this and am eating it. Was a little skeptical, but good gosh darn, it’s tasty. Good thing, too, because I have ~5 gallons of it.

  28. I’ve made butternut squash hummus and it’s a winner. I recommend. Can’t wait to try this one.

  29. I made this tonight, more like traditional hummus, but I also added a little coconut milk to thin it out. Yum!
    I’m eating it on my spinach salad, thinned out with acv.
    Thanks for the recipe!

  30. Loved the idea for recipe & bookmarked it right away when it came up in my google reader (congrats on being in the google reader recommended items!)

    I noticed something about this recipe, though. Now you may have been going for a nontraditional hummus recipe but in my opinion as an avid humus eater this missing lemon juice. Honestly for me without lemon it tasted like peanut butter mashed up with chickpeas and sweet potato. I searched for other recipes to cross reference. I found an almost identical recipe at Whole Living but that includes lemon juice: http://www.wholeliving.com/recipe/sweet-potato-hummus

    Once I added the juice of one lemon it was fabulous. Even better the next day.

    I add this comment just as a side note to anyone who might prefer the more traditional lemon-tahini flavor in hummus because I do love the inspiration for your recipe and highly recommend it (for me once you add lemon juice)

    • Lindsey:

      Given how much hummus I eat, believe me when I say that I know lemon is standard! And I’ve actually been accused of making my hummus too lemony. But I actually see this recipe as quite different than the traditional stuff, and I did indeed want it closer to PB flavors than regular hummus.

      G

    • Just made it then saw this comment! I also added lemon juice – about 1/4 lemon – and it gave it that extra tanginess that Iike. But it was really good without it too. Awesome idea to add the curry powder!

  31. Thank you for the tip in warming the chickpeas! Could definitely tell a difference in the texture!

  32. So for those of us who don’t shop where you do …

    What size can of chickpeas are we talking here?

    My local Turkish grocer has 2 or 3 sizes of cans and the contents are listed as net weight and drained weight (in grams), not in can size or ounces.

    Can you give us a ballpark figure for the chickpeas in cups, weight, handfuls, anything better than “1 can”?

    Thanks!

  33. Awesome recipe! I made it tonight but only used 1 T of tahini (the hummus still tasted overwhelmingly like tahini, though. maybe I’m doing something wrong?) I’m still getting the hang of making hummus in the food processor and I found that adding the liquid when the mix was mostly chunky helped move it along to a smoother consistency. Thanks again for the great recipe!

  34. Love the hummus Gena, I just made a batch. I did rinse the chickpeas and chose not to use the canned water as you suggested, because I read that it contains high levels of ‘saponin’, appartently the suds like water is used as a natural detergent in some countries. Maybe those girls into ‘cellular cleansing’ might like that soapy clean feel (hehe), but I think our cells know how to do their own job when it comes to cleaning up!

    jane

  35. This hummus rocks, I made it for dinner tonight to have in wraps and the whole family loved it. I thought I had made enough to have for the next couple of days for my lunch….but the bowl was scraped clean.

  36. Looks great!

    QUESTION: Is the Tahini that you use the paste straight from a jar, or is it aready thinned out with water into a sauce?

    Thanks!!

  37. I love this hummus! It’s such a smooth and exotic combination of flavors. Thanks for the ‘heating’ trick, it truly made the chickpeas velvety smooth.

    I added juice of half a lemon and doubled the salt.

    Cheers!

  38. WOWZA this looks good! Three of my most favorite ingredients. And three days, that’s admirable. Hummus doesn’t stay around too long in our fridge.

  39. I just made this, and it is everything you said and more! Can’t wait to wrap it up in a collard leaf!

  40. I’m pretty excited about this recipe – another way to maximize sweet potato consumption!
    Thanks, a day or two late, for your health screening post. I’m anxious to see more communities establish free or volunteer clinics – Berkeley, CA, Asheville, NC and Ithaca, NY have great free health resources that I wish were echoed everywhere! The idea of people with viable skills coming together to create a corporate insurance-free, people-centric and equitable entity is very inspiring.

  41. I just made a very similar sweet potato dip this weekend and brought it to a potluck, it was a huge hit!

    I look forward to your email regarding the health clinic project!

  42. This looks good! Does it only last 3 days because you love it or because that is how long it keeps fresh in the fridge?

  43. I have been contemplating this trio of awesomeness (chick peas, sweet taters and tahini) for awhile and was waiting til I could cook a tater! I’m very excited about this recipe!!!

  44. Hummus with sweet potato?! Hummus that can be eaten for breakfast with garlic free breath!? I’m in!

  45. Totally agree with the warm chickpeas making hummus sooo much better.

    I have all of the ingredients to make this!

    We’re supposed to get up to another foot by Wednesday. This is getting crazy. I know it’s NH, but give us a break!!

  46. I’d love to try this. Unfortunately, it’s near impossible to find locally grown sweet potatoes in France. They’re an “exotic” vegetable, usually flown in from Israel, and I can’t bring myself to cook with those.

  47. Um….YES! This sounds fantastic.
    I feel best when I avoid beans but I image a raw hummus mixed with baked sweet potato would be sensational too. I might just have to try that!
    For any of your other readers with issues with digestion of beans, it may help them to soak the beans overnight, rinse 2-3 times and then cook them rather than using canned beans or non soaked beans.

  48. Sweet potatoes, chickpeas and tahini? Three of my favorite yummy foods, that I eat quite regularly! I will definitely be making this in the near future….

  49. I’m all over this! I bet it is especially delicious if you roast the sweet potatoes and they get kind of caramelized. YUM! Have a great week, Gena!

  50. Ummm, yes! This makes just perfect sense.

    I love sweet potatoes and black beans together (I usually use the sweet potatoes as the basis of my work lunches and top with black beans and vegetables and tons of hot sauce) so why not a hummus. I wonder how it would work with a black bean hummus? With hot sauce. Of course.

  51. I just so happen to have some chickpeas soaking JUST for hummus. Might have to make some of this.

    I’ve been wondering why people use the water from the can sometimes. I thought it contained stuff that makes more gas. I don’t need any more of that so I always rinse really well.

  52. Hmm… I just bought a few cans of chickpeas with the intent to make salt and vinegar roasted chickpeas… but this might come out of my kitchen instead. Ah well! 😛

  53. I just posted a coconut curry hummus recipe that uses half the garbs as normal for the GI issues. I like that it is still creamy and hummus-y, but the *ahem* problems associated with full-garb hummus are far less.

    AND I posted that same heat the garbs tip! That’s been my secret to ultra creamy hummus when you dont’ have a high powered blender to use!

  54. Thank you so much for this; can’t wait to try it! One question about your tip to warm up the beans: Is this supposed to make your hummus just taste better when you’re serving and eating it right away, or does it make it taste better even after it’s been refrigerated? Thanks!

    • It’s just a texture thing. I think it makes it creamier in general (meaning, it’ll still be creamier after you refrigerate it) but I could be nuts.

  55. That looks so good, Gena!

    And I love this part “OK, for the record, I don’t much like microwave cooking, but I don’t think it’s going to murder any of us if we do it once upon a hummus”
    I just posted a microwave granola bar recipe that takes 3 mins. Not gonna use a stovetop for a single/small-serve recipe just to melt something. Aint happening for me..and so yes, the microwave works, it’s a tool. Not a murder weapon 🙂

    Everything about this hummus looks fabulous! Including the fact it uses half sweet taters b/c they are easier on my tummy than just straight up garbanzos.

    Have a great week and don’t study too hard!
    🙂

    • GOOD GIRL! Love vegan sporting events — I’ll be doing a vegan superbowl menu myself, so stay tuned for some recipes I intend to make.

      I think this is more of a healthy eater’s droolfest than a mainstream eater’s droolfest, honestly. But if you up the sesame oil and salt, it’ll be a little more crowd pleasing (hey, oil and salt win love).

  56. This is amazing Gena. I’m definitely trying this recipe this week!
    All your recipes are just delicious!! I love the creativity yet simplicity of all the meals!! They are fun, nutritious and delicious but very easy to make!! Perfect!!!

    Have a great week!!
    Deby.

  57. Seriously, who is NOT a hummus lover?!? This would definitely convert them! Even the color is beautiful itself.

  58. Oh.My.Hummus. This looks awesome. I make a basic sweet potato hummus (2 cups of chickpeas, 1/2 sweet potato, 2 T tahini, some lemon juice) but this looks far far far better. I am so making this soon 🙂

  59. YUM! I made sweet potato hummus a few months ago after talking the chef at a vegan restaurant into telling me his secret 😉

    Yours looks absolutely amazing though! I did not know the trick of heating the chick peas. I am definitely trying that next time! I also like how you use sesame oil. I love using sesame oil in recipes.

    Great looking recipe as always 🙂