This Roasted Cauliflower Hummus is every bit as smooth, creamy, and flavorful as the real deal. It’s also keto-friendly and a fantastic way to sneak more veggies into your day. Jump to recipe.

Cauliflower has taken many false forms over the years as we attempt to “low-carb” everything to death. Most folks are just tired of hearing yet another way they can manipulate the vegetable into being something it’s not. One of the reasons cauliflower is beloved by many is how versatile it really is but let’s be honest — cauliflower is a lousy substitute for mashed potatoes and an even lousier substitute for pizza crust [don’t even get me started].

While I may not get the cauliflower craze, here’s what I do get — navigating food intolerances. Which, for me, include legumes and garlic. Yep, I said it. Let us all grieve together…

My conundrum? I love hummus — my college roommate got me hooked on it many years ago after she returned from a trip to Israel. We’d pop over to her place for a snack in between classes and she’d spread hummus on bread and top it with cheese and place it in the toaster oven until the cheese was just melted. I have no idea what she called it, but it was damn delicious.

When I figured out my food intolerances many years ago, I realized hummus and I would have to part ways and to say their was a mourning process would be an understatement. Enter cauliflower.

This Roasted Cauliflower Hummus is a cauliflower cameo I can get into.

It’s not weird to dip your vegetables in vegetables right? I hope not, because this dip is every bit as smooth, creamy, and flavorful as the real deal.

You’ll notice the ingredients list in this roasted cauliflower hummus are very similar to traditional hummus — including lemon juice, tahini, olive oil, and salt. It’s as simple as replacing the chickpeas with the roasted cauliflower and adding a little extra punch with one of my favorite seasonings - za’atar.

If you aren’t familiar, za’atar is a Middle Eastern Spice mixture made up of thyme, oregano, sesame seeds, sumac, and sea salt. It’s fragrant, herbal, and tangy — and you’re going to want to put it on everything. I picked up this za’atar blend from Amazon since it’s not available at my local grocery store but you can also make a batch yourself by combining:

2 tablespoons ground thyme [if using regular dried thyme, double the amount]
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
2 teaspoons sumac
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Store in an airtight container.

My tips for smooth & creamy hummus:

Use a high power blender! If you’ve never owned a high power blending like a Vitamix — you truly don’t know what you’re missing. I have the Explorian E320 from Costco — it’s a great, budget-friendly option for those of us who don’t want to spend $700+ on our first high-speed blender and it comes with a 7-year warranty.
For easier blending, start with liquid then add everything else.

roasted cauliflower hummus

SERVES: 4 | PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES | COOK TIME: 25 MINUTES | TOTAL TIME: 35 MINUTES

This Roasted Cauliflower Hummus is every bit as smooth, creamy, and flavorful as the real deal. It’s also keto-friendly and a fantastic way to sneak more veggies into your day.

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium head cauliflower, broken into small pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon za'atar
2 teaspoons coarse sea salt, divided
2 green onions
1/3 cup tahini
juice of 1 lemon
1/2-1 cup water
parsley, olive oil, and za'atar for garnish
crackers or flat bread and fresh veggies for serving

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place cauliflower on sheet pan, drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil, top with za'atar, and 1 teaspoon sea salt and toss to combine. [I know this seems like a lot of oil but trust me - the oil will soak up all of the roasted cauliflower bits and seasonings.]
Roast for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through. Remove from oven and cool.
Pour 1/2 cup water into a high speed blender or food processor. Then add roasted cauliflower [make sure to pour in all that glorious olive oil], green onions, tahini, lemon juice, remiaining salt. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. Add water as needed for a thinner consistency or if it's not blending easily.
Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with olive oil, za'atar, and chopped parsley. Serve with crackers or flatbread and fresh veggies.

NOTES:

Start with 1/2 cup water and increase as needed to reach your desired consistency.

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This Velvety Celery Root Puree is a gorgeous alternative to mashed potatoes and just happens to be bit lower in carbs. It’s silky smooth and full of nuanced flavor. I love serving it with my Instant Pot Balsamic Roast Beef! Jump to recipe.

CELERY ROOT. The unsung vegetable. When we had our first CSA share a few years ago, I was honestly a little stumped at this ugly duckling tucked away in my basket.

What I did know about celery root was that it stored well at cool temperatures. So I proceeded to stash it away in my fridge and forgot about it for a solid 5 weeks before it was time to cook everything in the fridge because I couldn’t be bothered to go to the store.

Celery root [ also called celeriac] has a surprisingly refreshing flavor. It’s like parsley, celery, and potatoes came together and had a delicious but very ugly little baby. For celery root newbies, celery root is a variety of celery grown specifically for its root. It does taste like celery but it’s flavor is considerably mild in comparison.

The real real: sometimes my best recipes come from being forced to get acquainted with a new ingredient — this recipe for Velvety Celery Root Puree is no exception.

Listen — I know most everyone loves mashed potatoes, but this Velvetly Celery Root Puree is a worthy competitor in my book. It’s silky & flavorful and presents a great lower-carb option to traditional mashed potatoes.

velvety celery root puree

SERVES: 4-6 | PREP TIME: 5 MINUTES | COOK TIME: 20 MINUTES | TOTAL TIME: 25 MINUTES

This Velvety Celery Root Puree is a gorgeous alternative to mashed potatoes and just happens to be bit lower in carbs. It’s silky smooth and full of nuanced flavor.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small shallot, peeled & diced
6 cups celery root, peeled and diced into ½ inch cubes
1 ¾ cups full-fat coconut milk
1 sprig thyme
½-¾ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat the olive oil in a 4-quart pot on medium heat and sweat the shallots for 2-3 minutes, until translucent. Add the chopped celery root, coconut milk, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until celery root is fork tender.
Remove pot from the heat and discard thyme step. Use an immersion blender to puree the celery root mixture until silky smooth [or carefully pour the ingredients into a high-powered blender to puree].
Season with remaining ¼ teaspoon sea salt to taste. Cover the pot to keep warm until ready to serve.

NOTES: