Hummus goes with what veggie?

January 5, 2009 11:44 AM

I want to find veggies I can dip in hummus instead of chips. Suggestions?

I like to snack on hummus and crackers, but I am trying to get healthier this year. I'd like to replace the crackers with some sort of veggie. I tried carrots and did not enjoy the combo.

Can you suggest another veggie (or fruit) that might be a good sub for crackers and allow me to keep up my hummus habit?

posted by reenum to food & drink (40 comments total)

Celery and slices of bell peppers are my usual choices. You can dip anything crunchy though. Try Jicama.
posted by CunningLinguist at 11:50 AM on January 5

tried celery, red bell pepper, radishes or cucumber?
posted by gnutron at 11:50 AM on January 5

Jicama is fantastic with dips.
posted by kdern at 11:51 AM on January 5

Celery, broccoli, mushrooms, tomatos (messy but awesome), sprouts (better as a sandwich), zucchini (and other hard squashes), eggplant.

You might want to try some rice crackers too as they have all the convenience of crackers, without the lion's share of the calories. I like these.
posted by shownomercy at 11:52 AM on January 5

Big ups to jicama. I'm also a big fan of cauliflower.
posted by pazazygeek at 11:52 AM on January 5

Red bell peppers are my go-to veggie. Carrots cut cross-wise for greater surface area are good, too.
posted by orrnyereg at 11:56 AM on January 5

Endive! It is perfectly shaped to hold a scoop of hummus.
posted by hooray at 11:59 AM on January 5

Cauliflower is awesome with hummus. I like carrots myself, but bell peppers and jicama are good too.

My favorite with hummus - sugar snap pea pods (not snow peas, the sturdier, sweeter, crunchier, juicier sugar snap). The sweetness and grassiness are good opposite the creamy/earthy hummus flavors. Young raw green beans will do in a pinch, though.
posted by peachfuzz at 12:01 PM on January 5

I like sliced carrots and orange bell peppers in my hummus.
posted by valadil at 12:03 PM on January 5

Did everyone miss the part where the poster said they tried carrots and did not like the carrot/hummus combo?

Cucumbers are good, I think - they're fairly neutral in flavor (unless you don't like cukes, in which case they're not!) and are crunchy. Slices of zucchini or yellow squash might work for you, too.
posted by rtha at 12:08 PM on January 5

Cucumbers are my favorite faux chip. Great in salsa as well as hummus.
posted by padraigin at 12:13 PM on January 5

I second red peppers -- these are the best for hummus, in my experience. Slice them thick enough so that the curved part "scoops" up the hummus.

Terra Chips is a brand that at least gives the impression that their vegetable-based chips are a healthy alternative to conventional potato chips or crackers.

Consider multigrain bread as a healthier alternative to crackers, though that obviously doesn't respond to your request for a vegetable.
posted by Jaltcoh at 12:17 PM on January 5

Kale chips! Cut the leaves in chip sizes, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and sesame seeds if you like, and bake in the oven at 400 for a couple minutes until their crispy. Layer the kale if you want the chips to be thick and strong rather than light and crispy so they'll withstand the hummus dips without breaking.
posted by zoomorphic at 12:20 PM on January 5 [6 favorites has favorites]

Celery is nice: crunchy and juicy but not flavorful.

If you like hummus, you might also enjoy snacking on roasted chickpeas.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 12:32 PM on January 5

Just keep trying out new combinations. My daughter loves HoneyCrisp apples dipped in hummus, I think it's gross.

I love bell peppers and cucumbers with hummus, as well as cauliflower and broccoli. Oh, and seconding sugar snap peas. YUM. I also like pita bread that's been drizzled in olive oil, sprinkled with kosher salt and baked in a 350F oven for a few minutes to dip in hummus. But that doesn't really help with the no cracker thing. I'm just hungry.
posted by cooker girl at 12:33 PM on January 5

carrots. nom.
onion, too.
posted by rmd1023 at 12:34 PM on January 5

Why give up the crackers? Like shownomercy said, if you went healthier with the crackers, then you can feel better about it. I've tried to do the same forever, but veggies never taste as good with hummus than a cracker. May I recommend Pretzel Slims? I found them at Trader Joe's one time and have loved them ever since. It looks like a flattened pretzel in cracker form, and (most importantly) without the cottonmouth I usually get from regular pretzels. They come in regular and "everything" flavors. MMmmm. Serving size is 23 pretzels with 110 calories and 0 fat?? Awesome.
posted by namewithhe1d at 12:41 PM on January 5

I like cauliflower florets with hummus. Zucchini might be worth a try. I think it's gross in cut in spears, though- too seedy. I prefer it in slices.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 12:43 PM on January 5

Nthing celery, jicama, bell peppers (in that order). Also, (cooked) zucchini.
posted by arimathea at 12:44 PM on January 5

Broccoli. They balance each other in terms of taste and texture.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:45 PM on January 5

More on the healthier crackers... you can also cut pita into little triangles and toast it. My wife taught me to enjoy the petit pita/hummus/tomato/feta sammich.
posted by rocketpup at 12:47 PM on January 5

The WASA brand of crackers are great, and have, well almost nothing nutritionally, good or bad to offer, 'cept maybe some salt, fiber and a few carbs. And while not what you asked for, if you want a nifty variant on hummus, try roasted red bell peppers and jalapeno instead of the tahini. Nice southwestern bent on the dish and its yummy!
posted by elendil71 at 12:49 PM on January 5 [1 favorite has favorites]

I'm a big fan of Vidalia onions + hummus. If you peel each layer off into chip-like pieces and scoop, for some reason the hummus cancels out the bitter of the onion and it tastes fantastic.
posted by frankdrebin at 12:56 PM on January 5

Strips of red onion are surprisingly good.
posted by faunafrailty at 12:56 PM on January 5

[a few comments removed - perhaps you'll notice the OP already said carrots?]
posted by jessamyn at 1:35 PM on January 5

Sugar snap peas. Super crunchy, the sweetness counteracts the savory hummus nicely.

On preview, I see others suggested them so I'll just n-th the suggestions.
posted by misskaz at 1:37 PM on January 5

Sweet gherkins. So good, though one is advised not to sit down with a plate of hummus and a jar of gherkins, for regret will eventually follow. Just a few. Cucumber slices are OK and healthier, but might be improved upon with a dash of vinegar. Snow peas are basically a flavorless, edible hummus spoon.

I will eat hummus with less-dippable vegetables with the aid of a fork. Tomato slices work that way, as does grilled/roasted/panfried eggplant, and mushrooms, raw or cooked.
posted by Lyn Never at 1:40 PM on January 5 [1 favorite has favorites]

Hummus is so thick that there's a short list of veggies you can successfuly dip in it. So I agree with namewithhe1d: pretzels, although I buy the big, clear bag of Bachman mini pretzels. There are a few foods that make me panic when I run out; hummus and pretzels are high on the list. Maybe a little more nutritionally-dense than veggies, but not much.
posted by uncleozzy at 1:41 PM on January 5

Wee baby asparagus, edamame, any kind of pepper, including the milder chilies like anaheim peppers, also seconding radishes and endive.
posted by desuetude at 2:40 PM on January 5

Give the carrots a second chance with either a red pepper or cracked chili pepper hummus. Those are my personal favorites for just about any vegetable.
posted by paxton at 2:57 PM on January 5

Fresh asparagus goes wonderfully in hummus. Broccoli isn't bad either.
posted by dilettante at 3:03 PM on January 5

A spoon. Hummus is good as a standalone snack.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 3:18 PM on January 5

Don't forget that that you can make the hummus itself healthier, try replacing some of the chickpeas with either tofu or edamame.
posted by cestmoi15 at 3:34 PM on January 5

Yes yes, sugar snap peas!
posted by KateHasQuestions at 4:32 PM on January 5

Fennel. Yum!
posted by pokeedog at 5:05 PM on January 5 [1 favorite has favorites]

Cukes have been my favorite for a while. If you like tomatoes, try the little grape tomatoes. They're far less messy than slices and better out of season to boot.
posted by mollweide at 5:09 PM on January 5

Something you might try that would give you a little of the salt and crunch of crackers is roasted broccoli (or roasted other things) -- cut the broccoli into regular broccoli eating sizes -- turn the oven to 425 (or whatever the equivalent is where you live), toss the broccoli with not a ton of olive oil (like a tablespoon, if you toss well, it coats a lot).

Salt and black pepper, turn once after fifteen minutes and then cook for another fifteen. Don't overload the pan, you want the broccoli to turn brownish around the edges, caramelizing, not steaming. I like to let it brown quite a bit, so tend to cook it even longer.

Radishes might be a good bet, too...if you didn't like carrots, it might be that what you need are stronger, more savory flavors to support the hummus -- carrots are kind of sweet.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 5:36 PM on January 5

Nthing cucumber spears as a veggie. Triangles of toasted whole wheat pita bread are not a bad alternative to crackers, if you want to go a bit healthier. Baked corn chips also work.
posted by gudrun at 8:30 PM on January 5

hummus goes with EVERY veggie IMO
posted by Jacqueline at 11:02 PM on January 5

I likes me some slices of apple with mine. Good tasty apple like a Cox or something.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 2:43 AM on January 6