Hummus is a classic appetizer and snack. Take it up a notch by adding some robust, roasted garlic and make this Roasted Garlic Hummus recipe.

When it comes to meal planning I am usually on top of it. I love sitting down with my trusty recipe idea notebook, my always growing collection of cookbooks and the saturated world wide web (hey Pinterest) and meticulously write out one to two weeks worth of meals. I even find it a tad bit exhilarating to go to the grocery store, list in hand and make it a bit of a game to see if I can come under budget yet get everything I need (which, if I am being honest, is quite the feat considering we have a tiny food budget and I am a food blogger).

I am so good at planning dinners, that I often forget all the other meals of the day. Breakfast is really no big deal because I always keep a ginormous amount of eggs stocked in the fridge, and I usually eat oatmeal or fruit and yogurt parfaits anyways (things I always grab at the store). And as I mentioned the other day, for lunch we usually eat leftovers or something simple like sandwiches or salads, so again no real planning. But then there are those in between times that I never think of. Yup I never think to grab snack foods, and if I do either I try to be good and get fruit and veggies then get tired of said fruit and veggies OR am ravishingly hungry and can’t wait to chop up all the celery and bell peppers I bought so I eat chips…. or… bread.

However, I really have been working on this. I mean, yeah, sure I am trying to eat healthier and all; but mostly because I am sick of wasting food. So even though all that meal planning, budget watching, and grocery cart pushing is exhausting- I am trying to prep healthy snack foods as soon as I get home from the store before I put it all away; that way there is no excuse!

Since raw veggies CAN get boring, one way I am changing it up is by making hummus. We have always loved hummus and sometimes I buy it already made from the store; but since I usually already have the ingredients in my pantry; I try to make it from scratch when I can. This Roasted Garlic Hummus is a great twist on my favorite basic hummus recipe. Roasting the garlic is easy, yet does require some time. However, in the end it is well worth it, since it adds a nice robust pop of flavor!

What easy snacks do you keep on hand? Please share in the comments below!

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Roasted Garlic Hummus

Creamy bean dip with robust, roasted garlic; perfect for a party appetizer or afternoon snack.

Course: Appetizer, Snack

Servings: 4

Author: Heather H. of Kitchen Concoctions: www.kitchen-concoctions.com

Ingredients

1 bulb/head of garlic
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon each kosher salt and black pepper, or to taste
1 (14.5-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons tahini
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
½ large lemon, juiced and zested
2 tablespoons cold water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Using a knife, cut off the top quarter off each bulb of garlic, exposing the garlic cloves. Leaving the bulb of garlic intact, peel away any excess outer paper layers. Place one garlic bulb in the center of one piece of foil. Make sure foil is large enough to pull up and wrap around the entire bulb of garlic. Drizzle each bulb of garlic with 2-3 teaspoons olive oil and sprinkle each blub with 1/8 teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Tightly wrap foil around prepared bulb of garlic. Carefully place wrapped garlic directly on wire racks in oven. Roast garlic at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until garlic becomes fragrant and soft. Carefully remove roasted garlic from oven. Allow garlic to cool slightly, then unwrap foil from around bulb of garlic. On a plate or cutting board, squeeze garlic bulb until all the roasted garlic comes out.
Place roasted and peeled garlic cloves in a food processor or high power blender. Add garbanzo beans, tahini, cumin, lemon juice and zest. Blend on high, mixing just until mixture becomes somewhat smooth and combined, but do not over mix. Add water, as necessary, to ease blending process. At the end, add remaining olive oil, salt and black pepper; pulsing just to incorporate.
Pour mixture into a bowl and stir to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate for 3-4 days in the fridge.
Optional: For serving, add a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes or diced chives.