What can I substitute in roasted butternut squash hummus with sage and toasted pumpkin seeds?

Use 2 cups of peeled, cubed kabocha, delicata or sugar pumpkin instead of butternut — kabocha gives a drier, chestnut-like dip; sugar pumpkin is wetter, so use less added water.. Swap fried sage for fried rosemary or a spoonful of za'atar — rosemary reads more piney and savory; za'atar adds tangy sumac and sesame without the skillet step.. Replace the tahini with sunflower seed butter — keeps it sesame-free and slightly sweeter — start with a bit less lemon, as it is more mellow.. Stir 1/2 teaspoon harissa or a pinch of cayenne into the blender — cuts the squash sweetness with heat and makes it a better partner for warm flatbread..

Roasted Butternut Squash Hummus with Sage and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Butternut squash hummus made with caramelized squash, roasted garlic and tahini, finished with crisp fried sage and toasted pumpkin seeds.

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 30 min
Rest: 10 min
Serves: 8

Roasted Butternut Squash Hummus with Sage and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds — Butternut squash hummus made with caramelized squash, roasted garlic and tahini, finished with crisp fried sag — Illustration generated by AI · SDXL

Roasted Butternut Squash Hummus with Sage and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds is a vegan snack recipe made with butternut squash, olive oil, garlic cloves. It takes 45 minutes of hands-on time, plus 10 minutes resting, serves 8, and each serving has 242 calories, 7 g of protein and 5 g of fiber.

Roasting the squash hard at 425°F instead of steaming it drives off water and concentrates the sugars, so the dip tastes sweet and nutty rather than watery. Roasted garlic cloves go into the blender alongside it, which keeps the raw-garlic bite from overpowering the squash, while a full third of a cup of tahini and plenty of lemon keep it firmly in hummus territory. Frying the sage in olive oil gives you two toppings at once: crisp leaves and a sage-infused oil to pour over the top.

Ingredients

8 servings

Hummus

4 cupsbutternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 tbspolive oil, for roasting
4 clovesgarlic cloves, unpeeled
1 cancanned chickpeas, drained and rinsed (liquid reserved)
⅓ cupwell-stirred tahini
3 tbspfresh lemon juice
1 tspground cumin
½ tspsmoked paprika
1 tspfine sea salt, plus more to taste
¼ tspfreshly ground black pepper
4 tbspice water or reserved chickpea liquid, as needed

To finish

3 tbspolive oil, for frying the sage
16 fresh sage leaves
¼ cupraw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 pinchred pepper flakes (optional)
½ tsplemon zest, finely grated (optional)

Kit: food processor or high-speed blender, rimmed baking sheet, small skillet

Tips

The two-minute processing time is not optional — that is what turns a grainy purée into a smooth, aerated hummus. Ice water helps it whip up paler and lighter.
If your squash releases a lot of liquid on the pan, blot the cubes before blending or the dip will loosen as it sits.
Dry the sage leaves thoroughly before they hit the oil; any surface water will make it spit.
Slipping the chickpea skins off while the squash roasts gives a noticeably silkier result if you have the patience.

Swap ideas

Use 2 cups of peeled, cubed kabocha, delicata or sugar pumpkin instead of butternut: Kabocha gives a drier, chestnut-like dip; sugar pumpkin is wetter, so use less added water.
Swap fried sage for fried rosemary or a spoonful of za'atar: Rosemary reads more piney and savory; za'atar adds tangy sumac and sesame without the skillet step.
Replace the tahini with sunflower seed butter: Keeps it sesame-free and slightly sweeter — start with a bit less lemon, as it is more mellow.
Stir 1/2 teaspoon harissa or a pinch of cayenne into the blender: Cuts the squash sweetness with heat and makes it a better partner for warm flatbread.

The numbers

242kcal per serving

Protein6.5 g

13% DV

Fiber5.1 g

18% DV

Carbs20.2 g

7% DV

Fat16.7 g

21% DV

Everything else · 8 servings per recipe

Saturated fat: 2.4 g 12%
Sugars: 3.3 g
Sodium: 309 mg 13%
Potassium: 433 mg 9%
Calcium: 101 mg 8%
Iron: 2.9 mg 16%
Vitamin C: 18 mg 20%
Vitamin B12: 0 µg 0%

% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.

Sources: Squash, winter, butternut, raw, Oil, olive, salad or cooking, Garlic, raw, Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt, Seeds, sesame butter, tahini, from roasted and toasted kernels (most common type), Lemon juice, raw, Spices, cumin seed, Spices, paprika, Salt, table, Spices, pepper, black, Beverages, water, tap, drinking, Sauge, fraîche (values from the Anses Ciqual 2017 table, as reproduced by laurentberta.com). No fresh sage entry exists in USDA FoodData Central., Seeds, pumpkin and squash seed kernels, dried

Method

Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Toss the squash cubes with 2 tablespoons olive oil, spreading them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet with space between the pieces — crowded squash steams instead of browning. Tuck the unpeeled garlic cloves in among them.
Roast for 25–30 minutes, turning the cubes once at the halfway mark, until the squash is fork-tender and deeply browned at the edges. Pull the garlic out earlier if it feels soft and smells sweet, around the 20-minute mark. Let everything cool for about 10 minutes.
While the squash roasts, toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, shaking often, until they smell nutty and begin to pop and puff, 3–5 minutes. Tip them onto a plate so they stop cooking.
In the same skillet, warm 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the sage leaves in a single layer and fry until they stop sizzling audibly and turn translucent and crisp, 30–60 seconds. Lift them onto a paper towel, sprinkle with a little salt, and reserve the oil.
Squeeze the roasted garlic out of its skins into a food processor. Add the tahini and lemon juice and process for 30 seconds — the mixture will seize and pale, which is what you want. Scrape down the sides.
Add the roasted squash, chickpeas, cumin, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Process for a full 2–3 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl, and stream in ice water or reserved chickpea liquid a tablespoon at a time until the hummus is billowy and holds a soft ripple.
Taste and adjust: more lemon if it tastes flat, more salt if the squash sweetness dominates. Chill for 30 minutes if you have time, or serve right away at room temperature.
Spread the hummus in a shallow bowl, swiping a spoon through the center to make a well. Drizzle with the reserved sage oil, then scatter over the crisp sage, toasted pumpkin seeds, and the red pepper flakes and lemon zest if using.

Storage: Refrigerate the hummus in an airtight container for up to 5 days; the flavor deepens by day two. Store the fried sage and pumpkin seeds separately at room temperature so they stay crisp, and add them just before serving. The base freezes well for up to 3 months — thaw overnight in the fridge and whip with a splash of water to bring the texture back.

Questions

How much protein is in roasted butternut squash hummus with sage and toasted pumpkin seeds?: Each of the 8 servings has 7 g of protein, 5 g of fiber and 242 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
Is roasted butternut squash hummus with sage and toasted pumpkin seeds vegan?: Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
How long does roasted butternut squash hummus with sage and toasted pumpkin seeds take to make?: 15 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking, so 45 minutes of hands-on time, plus 10 minutes of unattended resting.
Can you make roasted butternut squash hummus with sage and toasted pumpkin seeds ahead?: Refrigerate the hummus in an airtight container for up to 5 days; the flavor deepens by day two. Store the fried sage and pumpkin seeds separately at room temperature so they stay crisp, and add them just before serving. The base freezes well for up to 3 months — thaw overnight in the fridge and whip with a splash of water to bring the texture back.
What can I substitute in roasted butternut squash hummus with sage and toasted pumpkin seeds?: Use 2 cups of peeled, cubed kabocha, delicata or sugar pumpkin instead of butternut — kabocha gives a drier, chestnut-like dip; sugar pumpkin is wetter, so use less added water.. Swap fried sage for fried rosemary or a spoonful of za'atar — rosemary reads more piney and savory; za'atar adds tangy sumac and sesame without the skillet step.. Replace the tahini with sunflower seed butter — keeps it sesame-free and slightly sweeter — start with a bit less lemon, as it is more mellow.. Stir 1/2 teaspoon harissa or a pinch of cayenne into the blender — cuts the squash sweetness with heat and makes it a better partner for warm flatbread..
Does roasted butternut squash hummus with sage and toasted pumpkin seeds contain gluten or nuts?: None of the ingredients are a source of gluten, tree nuts or peanuts. That is a statement about the ingredient list, not a guarantee about the brands you buy — always read the labels if you're cooking for an allergy.

Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.

Published September 21, 2026 ·Middle Eastern