This easy red lentil dip makes a great weeknight meal, with something like pumpkin salad or tabbouleh. Also great as a snack-y lunch! Pack the dip with some sourdough or crackers, some pickled red onions, veggies, and you’re good to go.
My favourite way to eat it is making a cracker sandwich with the lentil dip, a peppery orange slice, pickled onions, and parsley. Very good.
And the sweet potato dip, so good. The garlic is roasted ahead of time with the sweet potato (a good thing to add to your batch cooking list). You don’t roast a whole head of garlic, don’t worry! Garlic roasts up perfectly well as individual cloves as long as you leave the skin on.
For some more great red lentil recipes, try my hearty mushroom lentil chili, quick and easy carrot, red lentil, and spinach soup (a weeknight lifesaver, truly), red lentil falafel made with soaked lentils, or an easy lentil bolognese, all of which freeze very well.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Red lentils: these can be split or whole red lentils, it won’t matter as long as they’re cooked through. Split ones will cook a bit faster, of course, and I find that they blend up a bit more smoothly.
- Tahini: any colour of tahini will be fine. You could sub something like almond butter if preferred.
Recipe Notes
The mezze ingredients are easy to alter to your tastes, but really, this is an excellent combination and I encourage you to try it as is. If you do change a few things make sure you keep that creamy/crunchy/sweet/spicy/salty balance intact – like subbing another fruit for the orange, but not leaving it out entirely, or switching figs for dates.
In the ingredients list, I’m giving you the amounts that I used to serve two hungry people. Multiply that by however many people you’re planning on feeding. The hummus will serve about six. I chose to serve the lentil dip alongside my standard hummus for a little variety, because there’s no such thing as too much hummus.
If you want to go all homemade, try sourdough crackers in place of store bought.
Make Ahead and Storage
Make Ahead: everything can be prepped a day or two ahead of time, with the exception of, perhaps, the carrots, which have a tendency to dry out.
To Store: keep leftover dip in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. The fruit and vegetable additions can also be refrigerated for a couple of days, but keep them separate.
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Expert Tips
- Don’t use a sieve: once the red lentils are cooked, don’t drain them into a sieve. They’re so soft, they stick to the sides too much – just drain any excess water through a very slightly cracked lid on the pot instead.
- Do some advance prep: it’s a good idea to roast the vegetables, make the pickled onions, and cook the lentils the day before you plan on making the dip. Otherwise you’re waiting for things to cool before blending and maybe you’re already hungry.
More Sweet Potato Recipes
Sweet Potato Flatbread
Roasted Broccoli and Sweet Potato Lentil Bowl
Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Sweet Potato Latkes
If you make this Red Lentil Dip or any other vegetarian dips on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.
Sweet Potato Red Lentil Dip and Vegan Mezze
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Lentil Hummus
- 1 small sweet potato
- 3 cloves garlic skin on
- 1 ½ cups cooked red lentils
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Juice of a lemon
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
Vegan Mezze
- 1 batch Sweet Potato Lentil Hummus
- 1 batch Lebanese Hummus
- 6 crispbread crackers
- Several sesame cracker sticks
- Pickled red onions
- 1 dozen green olives
- 1 large navel orange peeled, sliced, and topped with pepper
- ½ of a pomegranate
- 6 medium carrots sliced
- A handful of dates
- A handful of parsley
Instructions
Sweet Potato Red Lentil Dip
- Roast the sweet potato and garlic at 200°C (400°F) until soft, about 40 minutes for the sweet potato. Cut the sweet potato in half and place it cut-side down on the baking sheet to cook it faster. The garlic will take about 15 minutes – make sure to take it out when it's finished as it will take less time than the sweet potato. Set both aside to cool for at least 10 minutes before blending.1 small sweet potato, 3 cloves garlic
- Remove the skin from the roasted vegetables and place them into a food processor along with the lentils, tahini, oil, lemon juice, and seasoning. Blend until completely smooth, about 5 minutes. Add a small splash of water if it’s too thick. Taste for seasoning and add more lemon or salt if needed.1 1/2 cups cooked red lentils, 1 tablespoon tahini, 1 tablespoon olive oil, Juice of a lemon, Sea salt and pepper to taste
- To serve, top the hummus with olive oil, za’atar (optional), pomegranate seeds, and parsley.
Vegan Mezze
- Serve the hummus in small bowls and arrange with the other elements on a board so that people can serve themselves.1 batch Sweet Potato Lentil Hummus, 1 batch Lebanese Hummus, 6 crispbread crackers, Several sesame cracker sticks, Pickled red onions, 1 dozen green olives, 1 large navel orange, 1/2 of a pomegranate, 6 medium carrots, A handful of dates, A handful of parsley
Notes
• Overcook the lentils, to make them as soft as possible, so that the hummus is very smooth.
* If you’re making this for a party alongside other dishes, the two hummus dishes should do it for up to 10 people, but you’ll need to add more crackers, veggies, and everything else.
Cindy Winter says
Fantastic!
Alene says
Beautiful!
Terri says
By your description, I’m totally sold on this hummus! I love hummus so I can also see myself devouring the entire thing.