Bean Dip Recipes

Cooking chickpeas from scratch is the best way to make your own hummus, but it can take hours to soak and cook them yourself. Enter the pressure cooker. Even without an overnight soak, your beans can be done in less than an hour, making this the ultimate last-minute appetizer option.

Adding baking soda to the soaking liquid for chickpeas tenderizes their skins, yielding extra-creamy hummus. Recipe by Chef/Farmer Stacey Givens of The Side Yard Farm & Kitchen, Portland, OR.

Take your veggies and dip to the next level with this colorful crudité wreath. This vegetable appetizer is a stunner with white cauliflower, red tomatoes and green broccoli, green beans, snap peas, kale and Brussels sprouts. It's also a delicious way to start your celebration with veggies (which there are rarely enough of at parties and holidays). The homemade ranch dip, which uses nonfat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream, takes just a few minutes to make, or you can use a healthy store-bought dip.

Spoon this quick and easy salsa with black beans, corn kernels, jicama, and jalapeno pepper on baked tortilla chips or homemade pita chips.

Carrots, rich in beta carotene, combine with fiber-filled garbanzo beans to make this a great dip recipe for snacks or a spread for sandwiches.

Canned chickpeas and pumpkin are blended together with spice-infused oil for this variation on traditional hummus. Serve with vegetable strips.

Tlacoyos are oval-shaped patties made fresh on the sidewalks of Mexico City, often on charcoal-fired grills. In this healthy recipe, fresh tortilla masa works best, but if you can't find it, masa harina is a good substitute. Look for fresh tortilla masa and cactus paddles at Mexican grocery stores.

This vibrant hummus recipe couldn't be easier--just toss a few ingredients in the food processor and whir away! Roasted beets make this healthy dip extra flavorful. Serve with veggie chips, pita chips or crudités.

This vibrant orange hummus recipe couldn't be easier--just toss a few ingredients in the food processor and whir away! Roasted red peppers make this healthy dip extra flavorful. Serve with veggie chips, pita chips or crudités.

This vibrant green hummus recipe couldn't be easier--just toss a few ingredients in the food processor and whir away! Aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas) and avocado make this healthy dip extra smooth and creamy. Serve with veggie chips, pita chips or crudités.

This classic hummus recipe couldn't be easier--just toss a few ingredients in the food processor and whir away! Aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas) makes this healthy dip extra smooth and creamy. Serve with veggie chips, pita chips or crudités.

A quick fresh-made blender enchilada sauce makes all the difference in this slow-cooker recipe for Mexican cheese dip. Serve it straight from the crock pot, with tortilla chips, to keep it warm and gooey.

Plenty of black beans, salsa and chopped fresh vegetables mean a healthy amount of dietary fiber in this Tex-Mex layered dip. We use reduced-fat sour cream along with full-fat (and full-flavored) cheese to make the dip lighter without compromising great taste. Be sure to have lots of baked tortilla chips on hand when you serve it.

It's easy to make hummus at home with just a few pantry items. Serve drizzled with your best-quality extra-virgin olive oil and chopped parsley. Mop it up with warm whole-wheat pita bread or cut-up vegetables.

These bean burgers will even please carnivores. The cornmeal coating gives a pleasant crunch and smoked paprika, cumin, cilantro and guacamole add Southwestern flavor.

This flatbread and yellow split pea spread are full of big, bold rosemary and black pepper flavor.

This garlicky hummus is the perfect dip for pita crisps. To make the crisps, simply bake triangles of pita bread in a hot oven until they are golden, about 8 minutes.

You'll look like an expert with this easy hummus recipe that produces the lightest, silkiest hummus you've ever had. Chilling the cooked chickpeas ensures that when they're blended with the oil and cold tahini the hummus will come out creamy rather than oily. In a pinch, you can use the quick-soak technique (see Step 1), reduce the chilling time and still get great hummus.

In this black-eyed pea dip recipe, black-eyed peas are pureed with extra-virgin olive oil, red-wine vinegar, garlic and thyme--a nice alternative to hummus. Try this protein-rich black-eyed pea dip with your favorite fresh vegetables or baked pita chips.

Think of this dip as an Asian version of hummus, made with edamame, ginger and soy. Serve with rice crackers and/or carrot sticks.