Spiced pumpkin hummus is a delicious vegan filling in these fall quesadillas! Load them with guacamole, greens & if not vegan, cheese! Weeknight-friendly.
Here’s my question for all of you pumpkin lovers out there – what do you do with your leftover pumpkin puree?
So many recipes (including my own) call for 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree. Whether I open a can or roast a whole pumpkin, I’m always left with leftover mash. It calls at me from the fridge saying “how about pumpkin cookies?” or “let’s make muffins.” But after consuming too many pancakes for the making of last week’s post, I wasn’t in the mood for anything sweet.
So I got this idea for pumpkin hummus… and I thought it would be great smushed in between tortillas with a little melty cheese. The nice part about these is that the hummus replaces the need for tons of cheese but still makes the quesadillas stick together.
I usually make quesadillas by piling more cheese on Jack’s and less on mine… which means I usually end up with wimpy flat tortilla wedges. But not this time! These are filling and creamy in the middle, and they’re especially tasty with a little slather of avocado on top.
Apologies in advance for another recipe with 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree – might I suggest pancakes with your leftovers if you haven’t made them already?
Pumpkin Hummus Quesadillas
- ½ cup pumpkin puree*
- 1½ cups chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder (or part of a small garlic clove)
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Juice of ½ a lemon
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 large tortillas
- Handful of spinach or arugula
- ½ cup chickpeas
- A few handfuls of grated jack cheese
- ½ avocado
- Big squeeze of lemon
- Pinch of chile flakes
- Salt & pepper
- Make the hummus by pulsing the pumpkin puree, chickpeas, garlic, spices, salt and pepper in a food processor. Add the lemon and olive oil and puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Assemble 2 tortillas with a big scoop of hummus, a few chickpeas, a few greens and sprinkle of grated cheese. Place 2 remaining tortillas on top.
- Heat a medium skillet to medium heat. Brush the pan with a little bit of oil and cook each quesadilla for few minutes per side or until the tortillas are golden brown and the cheese is melted.
- Meanwhile, use the back of a fork to mash together the avocado, lemon, chile flakes, salt and pepper.
- Slice quesadillas into 4 wedges each and serve with simple guacamole.
- Store extra hummus in the fridge for a few days and slather on sandwiches or eat with chips or toasted pita.
Make these gluten-free by using gluten-free corn tortillas.
Make these vegan by subbing vegan cheese or omitting the cheese altogether.
I made pumpkin soup with coconut milk and yes, I had pumpkin puree left over – thanks for this. I love new ideas for hummus – this one’s great. Guess what I’m having for lunch tomorrow?
Great idea! I just threw away some leftover pumpkin 🙁 Looks delish!
This looks fantastic and I bet they are delicious!
I love the idea of pumpkin hummus! I usually make a batch of hummus each week and I’m always looking for new, fun flavors to shake things up! Quesadillas are also one of my favorite things, so I am really loving this idea 🙂
ohh, such a good idea! i just made a batch of puree for cheesecake, and had now idea yet what to do with the rest. definitely giving this a try 🙂 thanks for sharing!
xo, cheyenne
I love pumpkins and I love hummus – this looks like a perfect quesadilla to me!
What a great way to use the leftover pumpkin! I am always throwing it into smoothies but do get tired of sweet applciations. I have some leftover butternut squash and will definitely be giving that a try too!
What a perfect quesadilla. Pumpkin hummus sounds delish, especially with cheese and chickpeas! Love it!
Love this idea! So unique and creative 🙂
http://www.skinnybelle.com/
Now this is a great idea for leftover pumpkin. In the midst of so many baked goods this time of the year, I appreciate the savory spin using pumpkin.
Wow, what a fun way to incorporate leftover pumpkin into a very un-pumpkiny dish. I will definitely give this a try!
Thanks!
http://www.playingforeats.com | Carly
wow, what a creative way to use leftover pumpkin! It’s true all pumpkin recipes are usually sweet, so it’s nice to see something savory! Last night we actually put some pumpkin puree in our crescent rolls and then baked them, it was delicious!
Hummus is one of my absolutely favorite things to eat and I try and make everything into some sort of hummus, so pumpkin hummus is now my next to try. Yum.
I keep ladling pumpkin puree into lattes… And I actually freeze a bunch! But that being said, just this week I was left with a cup of pumpkin puree from recipe development, and I devised a taco recipe that would incorporate the puree in much the same way as you used here, which I’ll be posting this Friday. At the end of the day, this is a great and creative way to use up pumpkin!
i usually throw leftover pumpkin into my smoothies but this is a great savory recipe.
I usually bake with it, but this is a much better idea! Definitely a fun use of pumpkin.
I love pairing pumpkin with Mexican spices of cumin and coriander! It’s so inviting and I agree sometimes you just need a break from pumpkin muffins and cookies (but not for long 🙂 ) Thanks for sharing!
Totally. I think quesadillas are a great way to use up leftover puree. Those colors are so pretty! I run into the same problem myself, using the extras in soups and risotto. If I’m feeling really organized (questionable…) I will freeze the rest in ice cube trays.
OMG those look amazing! I’ve made pumpkin hummus before and it is fabulous, of course it would be delicious in a quesadilla! 😀
I used some leftover pumpkin puree as the “sauce” for a pizza the other day, then topped with gouda cheese; it was a great combo and a slightly different, exciting way to use pumpkin.