Spicy Pumpkin-Chipotle Hummus

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For all your fall parties and holiday celebrations, this spicy pumpkin-chipotle hummus is your ultimate appetizer. Featuring an ultra creamy, velvety texture with a kick of warming spice for those chilly months, this fall-inspired hummus is full of irresistible seasonal flavors to make everyone's new favorite party snack. Best of all, making this homemade pumpkin hummus couldn't be easier, and it's great for preparing in advance.

A bowl of spicy pumpkin hummus on a fall napkin with spices around it and a miniature pumpkin in the background.

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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Ingredients
Step-by-Step Instructions
Recipe FAQs
Variations and Substitutions
Expert Tips
Perfect Pairing
Get More Savory Pumpkin Recipes
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Why You'll Love This Recipe

Every fall, I find an excuse to make this pumpkin-chipotle hummus. After one scoopful, I have no doubt this will also become a favorite fall tradition of yours.

Full of festive fun flavors to take you from Halloween to Thanksgiving and even Christmas.
Shows off an almost mousse-like texture for the creamiest hummus.
Makes for a great vegetarian and vegan Thanksgiving recipe.
Calls for make-ahead preparation to simplify your holiday entertaining.

Related: For more hummus recipes, you'll also love my green chile hummus and everything bagel hummus.

Ingredients

Pumpkin purée: You can use canned pumpkin purée or make your own purée from a roasted pumpkin.

Chipotle peppers: Look for the type of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. You can typically find them in the global aisle of the grocery store.

Chickpeas: These are the same as garbanzo beans, so either one works.

Tahini: This is a sesame seed spread that adds to the silky texture. You can find it near the peanut butter.

Baking soda: This might seem like an odd ingredient, but when we boil the chickpeas with baking soda, it helps break them down to make the creamiest hummus.

Spices: We use a blend of cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and ginger.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: To make this savory pumpkin dip, we boil a can of drained chickpeas in water with baking soda. Sure, we could use chickpeas straight from the can, but boiling plumps up the chickpeas for an extra fluffy and creamy hummus.

Step 2: Once our chickpeas are ready, we start blending the hummus. Rather than dumping all the ingredients into a food processor and blending, we first purée the tahini, olive oil and lemon juice. This gives us a smooth paste and makes for better texture.

Step 3: Now we add the pumpkin purée, chipotle, adobo sauce and spices and blend.

Step 4: From here, we toss in the chickpeas and process until it takes on a whipped texture. I like to keep blending even after it all comes together because I find that extra blending time helps fluff it up. Once it reaches that nice consistency, we add salt to taste with a little reserved chickpea liquid and blend once more.

While we could serve it immediately, I always recommend storing homemade hummus in the refrigerator for a few hours to chill and allow the flavors to meld. After chilling, we spoon our hummus into a bowl and serve with some pita chips. How's that for one delicious fall appetizer?

Looking down on a bowl of spicy pumpkin hummus on a white and wooden serving tray with spices scattered around it.

Recipe FAQs

How do you store leftover hummus?

To store the hummus, keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.

I don’t recommend freezing this hummus. The pumpkin can release too much liquid and separate.

How spicy is this hummus?

While this hummus has a kick, most people can handle the heat just fine. You’ll taste the heat, but it won’t set your tongue on fire.

What should you serve with pumpkin hummus?

Pita chips are my go-to dipper, but we have so many options. Some homemade garlic naan is always tasty, and it’s a good idea to have so fresh-cut vegetables on hand, such as baby carrots, celery sticks, cucumber slices, cauliflower and broccoli florets, and cherry tomatoes. It's also perfect for adding to a fall charcuterie board.

Variations and Substitutions

Substitute butternut squash for the pumpkin purée for a different fall twist.
Use creamy white beans, such as cannellini beans, instead of chickpeas, and you don’t have to bother with boiling since they’re softer.
Make it a regular pumpkin hummus by skipping the chipotle peppers.
Add a fun garnish, such as pumpkin seeds or pomegranate seeds for a pop of color.

Expert Tips

Make sure you use pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling: Pumpkin pie filling is filled with extra sugar and spices. It will throw off the recipe.

Save the leftover chickpea juice: Hummus can thicken as it sits, so this allows you to thin it out if necessary.

Stir the tahini well: Tahini tends to separate, so we want to make sure it’s a cohesive mixture before adding to the other ingredients.

Use freshly squeezed lemon juice: Bottled lemon juice has nothing on the brightness and flavor of fresh lemon juice.

Rinse the chickpeas well after boiling: Baking soda is great for making a super creamy hummus, but it will leave a metallic flavor if we don't rinse off any residue.

Perfect Pairing

I love an amber ale with this pumpkin-chipotle hummus. The caramel-like malt works well with the spice, and I always appreciate cleansing bubbles when any type of chile is involved.

If you’re in the mood for wine, grab a pinot gris with this hummus. Pinot gris has enough body to hold up to the creamy texture of the hummus along with a spice profile that mimics the flavors in this dip.

Of course, you might also enjoy a pumpkin cocktail for sipping. You can use my pumpkin spice syrup to make this pumpkin margarita for some serious fall vibes.

I hope you try this pumpkin-chipotle hummus the next time you crave a fun seasonal dip. I’m sure you’ll love this recipe as much as we do.

Cheers!

A bowl of the spicy pumpkin-chipotle hummus with a pita chip in the center with fall spices spread around it.

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