Rinse the beans and pick out any undesirables (stones, etc.) Add the beans to the Instant Pot. Add all the ingredients listed under "Instant Pot Chickpeas": chickpeas, olive oil, garlic cloves, bay leaves, salt, and water.
Lock the lid on and set the Instant Pot to Manual, High Pressure for 35 minutes. The valve on top should be set to Sealed.
Once the beans are done cooking, let the pressure release naturally for 30 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure (use a hot pad holder or towel) and opening the lid.
Remove the aromatics (bay leaves and garlic). Use a sieve to separate 1 1/2 cups of beans from the water. You'll use the separated beans to make hummus. Drain the rest of the beans from the liquid, if desired. If you're storing some of the beans in the fridge, I recommend storing in some of the cooking liquid.
Roast the Beet:
While the beans cook in the Instant Pot, roast the beet in the oven. To do this, preheat the oven to 400F.
Trim any leaves/stems from the beets and rinse the beets under water to remove any dirt. Wrap each beet (cook as many as desired, but you'll only need 1 beet for this recipe) in parchment paper and place on a sheet pan. You can see how I do this in the photos above.
Cook the beets in the oven until tender, about 45 minutes, depending on the size of your beets. This time will greatly vary depending on the size of your beets. Once your beets feel soft to touch, they're ready.
Allow the beets to rest for about 10 minutes to cool and then remove from the parchment wrapping and remove the beet peel with your hands. The peel should slip right off the beet now. As mentioned, you'll only need 1 beet to make the hummus. I usually roast 3-4 beets at a time. Store any extra beets in an air-tight container in the fridge. I love to add beets to salads or morning smoothies.
Make the Beet Hummus:
To a food processor bowl, fitted with the S blade, add the tahini, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, and salt. Pulse until creamy, stopping to scrape the sides of the food processor (removing the lid), if needed. This will take about 30-60 seconds.
Add the cooked chickpeas (1 1/2 cups) and 2 tablespoons of cold water. Pulse until blended, adding more water through the chute of the food processor as needed to reach the desired consistency. I usually add about 4 tablespoons total.
Finally, add 1 cooked beet. You'll want to cut the beet into chunks before adding to the food processor. (I recommend 1 beet, but if you love beets then 2 might serve you better.) Pulse the hummus with the beet chunks until it turns bright pink and the beet is fully blended with the hummus. Serve the hummus immediately, or store in the fridge in air-tight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
Ideas for Enjoying Beet Hummus:
Spread on sourdough toast and then top the beet hummus with 1/2 a smashed avocado mixed with a splash of lemon juice and salt. Top this with a few slices of radish and pea shoots or microgreens. AMAZING!!!! We had this exact toast in Germany over Christmas and I've been recreating it at home.
Serve the beet hummus with crackers (Jovial einkorn crackers or Simple Mills are my favorites), slices of pita, or veggies. This is a great lunchbox idea, too.
Spread the hummus over bread or a tortilla to make a wrap. Fill the wrap or sandwich with your favorites: meat, veggies...
*Personally, I use more than 1 teaspoon of salt. I use 1/2 tablespoon; however, I know everyone has a different taste preference when it comes to salt. The cook time is based on 30 minutes of pressure cooking and 30 minutes of natural release. Keep in mind, it will take the Instant Pot an additional 20-30 minutes to actually come to pressure and cook the beans. Learn more about how to use your Instant Pot, here. How to use extra cooked chickpeas: Freeze the extras in a bag or container to make hummus again in the future (you’ll want to defrost the beans before making hummus), or turn on your oven and roast the extra beans to make crispy chickpeas--at 400F with olive oil on a sheet pan until crispy-- an amazing salad topping or snack.