I’ve been having quite a lot of fun playing around with different Instant Pot recipes over the past few months, but one recipe has emerged as a breakout. It’s the one that keeps my Instant Pot on my counter instead of under it. You ready? It’s the hummus from Melissa Clark’s Dinner in an Instant. I find myself making it once or twice a week (no joke!). Because, who doesn’t need nearly effortless containers of hummus in their refrigerator all week?

The recipe yields a silky, smooth hummus, and once you nail the method, the variations you can do are endless. I love to take it in different directions, and the version you see photographed here is fortified with a couple generous handfuls of spinach. I’ll also including notes related to a few other favorite variations down below as well. Because, as much as I love classic, straight-forward hummus, I also like to make an herb version, a spinach hummus, there’s a beet version, and (pictured here) berbere spiced hummus – maybe my favorite version yet?!. It goes on and on.

Melissa uses some interesting techniques here, and it results in a beautifully smooth, billowy hummus – without having to peel each individual chickpea! I think the biggest positive impact on the texture comes from making an ice watery paste with tahini, garlic, and lemon juice, and then working in the chickpeas from there.

Hummus Variations:

Berbere Hummus (pictured above): The version pictured here is flared out with berbere, a spice blend typical to Ethiopia and Eritrea. I like the berbere recipe in Josef Centeno’s Baco cookbook. But if you don’t have it, google around for another version online. To make the berbere-accented hummus, add 1 tablespoon (or more to taste!) of berbere spice to the blender with the other ingredients. Also, sprinkle on top of the hummus, after drizzling with olive oil.

Beet Hummus: throw a small, peeled (yellow, orange, or red) beet or two into the pot long with the chickpeas, and proceed with recipe. Alternately, you can add the beet raw to the blender.

Herby Miso Hummus: Add a dollop of this wintery miso paste to the blender,

Turmeric-soaked Chickpeas with Yuzu and Black Pepper Hummus: I’ll post my technique for these chickpeas soon (working on it!), I season that hummus with a generous splash of yuzu juice, you can find alongside Japanese ingredients on occasion in well-stocked grocery stores. Also, lots of freshly ground black pepper.

If you don’t have an instant pot, you can still use these ideas, just start with cooked (canned will work) chickpeas. Also, for reference, this is the Instant Pot I used for this recipe: Instant Pot DUO Plus 6 Qt 9-in-1

Continue reading Melissa Clark’s Instant Pot Hummus (with Variations) on 101 Cookbooks