Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Brand Test

Pass the pita chips, please, it’s hummus tasting time! Hummus. It’s a creamy combination of chickpeas, tahini, and seasonings (in this case, roasted red peppers).  This Middle Eastern and Mediterranean protein-packed dip is a great choice for healthy snacking. Around here, the red pepper flavored hummus is one of our favorite condiments, so this week we put three brands to the test.

MEET THE CONTENDERS

• Athenos Roasted Red Pepper. Owned by Kraft Foods, the Athenos brand of Greek foods has become increasingly popular in the past year across the U.S.
• Sabra Roasted Red Pepper Hummus. Sabra, an American company out of New York specializes in dips and spreads from around the globe.
• Holy Land Hummus with Roasted Red Pepper. Based out of Minneapolis, Holy Land has been selling traditional Middle Eastern cuisine for over 20 years.

THE VERDICT

Most of us agreed that Athenos hummus had the most appealing color and texture. The Athenos hummus was smooth, but not too smooth—you could still see the texture of the chickpeas. Holy Land had a nice texture as well, but their coloring seemed the least natural. Overall, we were not fans of the “peanut buttery” color and texture of Sabra’s hummus, but the red pepper garnish still set it apart.

As far as taste goes, most of us felt that the natural and balanced flavors of Sabra beat out the strong cumin-y taste of Athenos and the overpowering red pepper flavor of Holy Land. Per ounce, they were all within a few cents of each other so cost wasn’t really a factor.

Bottom line, Sabra tasted the best—but we’d rather look at Athenos. What are some of your favorite hummus brands and flavors?