Look out, there’s a new dip in town and it’s packing a PUNCH of flavor. This quick, easy, and healthy homemade Roasted Red Pepper Walnut Dip also known as Muhammara will be your new favorite dip for veggies, crackers, pita, and makes for a fantastic wrap or sandwich spread. Deliciously sweet roasted red peppers, rich walnuts, tart pomegranate molasses, and flavorful spices will absolutely delight your taste buds, making it this week’s awesome Whip It Up Wednesday recipe.
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi, Ameera here!
This week’s Whip It Up Wednesday is our amazing Roasted Red Pepper Walnut Dip. A thick and creamy Middle Eastern appetizer and known as Muhammara; it is full of rich satisfying flavor and perfect for dipping veggies, pita, crackers and bread. We paired it with our Quinoa Flatbread and we were in heaven!
Smooth or Chunky
This tasty dish can be made into smooth or chunky texture, and both ways are very common. Some like to have more chunky pieces of walnut, while others like it blended until smooth. Also, please note there is still a slight texture to the smooth variation. We prefer the smooth texture, but it’s totally personal preference. Either way works well 🙂
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
Whip it up Wednesday
As you already know, every Wednesday, we feature a quick and easy recipe that can be “whipped up” in 20 minutes or less. This recipe can be made in about 5 minutes which really helps speed things up in the kitchen.
Our Roasted Red Pepper Walnut Dip is perfect for those days when you are looking for something quick and different to make besides hummus. It is so tasty and delicious that you will wonder why you never tried it sooner!
Muhammara
My husband loves Muhammara. He loves to dip veggies and pita in it. Middle Eastern Muhammara is typically made with a good amount of olive oil. Since we are WFPB, we use no oil so we used our traditional muhammara recipe and replaced the oil with miso to balance out the flavors, and we are so glad we did.
Michael didn’t even notice the difference, now how cool is that? So tasty and delicious, I could eat the whole bowl by myself, accompanied by our Quinoa Flatbread.
We hope you give this deliciousness a try. It is so tasty!
We hope you enjoy our new Whip It Up Wednesday quick and easy ideas! If you try it, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do!
Products Used:
- High-speed blender
Roasted Red Pepper Walnut Dip (Muhammara)
- Prep Time: 4 mins
- Total Time: 4 minutes
- Yield: makes about 1.5 Cups 1x
- Category: Appetizer, Sauce
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Description
Look out, there’s a new dip in town and it’s packing a PUNCH of flavor. This quick, easy, and healthy homemade Roasted Red Pepper Walnut Dip also known as Muhammara will be your new favorite dip for veggies, crackers, pita, and makes for a fantastic wrap or sandwich spread. Deliciously sweet roasted red peppers, rich walnuts, tart pomegranate molasses, and flavorful spices will absolutely delight your taste buds, making it this week’s awesome Whip It Up Wednesday recipe.
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Ingredients
Ingredient:
- 1 – 12 oz. jar roasted sweet peppers, drained *(see notes)
- 2/3 cup walnuts
- 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs *(see notes)
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Pomegranate Syrup (molasses) *(see notes)
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon organic maple syrup
- 2 teaspoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons miso *(see notes)
Seasonings/Spices:
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flake
- 1/8 teaspoon coriander
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper (+/-)
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients into a food processor and process for 30 seconds (or longer). Scrape down the sides and process for another 30 seconds until smooth. There will be some texture.
- Serve with your favorite flatbread, Quinoa Flatbread, or veggies.
Notes
*Roasted Sweet Peppers: You can roast your own peppers. Place the oven rack near the top and set the oven to high broil. Place two large red bell peppers on a baking sheet and broil on high, turning occasionally until the peppers are soft and the skins are dark (black). This takes about 10-15 minutes (or longer depending on the size of the peppers). Immediately place the peppers in a glass container and cover with plastic wrap or a tight-fitting lid to sweat the peppers. This helps with removing the skins and seeds. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool. Take the cooled peppers and pull the stem off and discard; then tear open one side of the the peppers and scoop out the seeds (discard), then lay the peppers out flat, charred skin side up, then pull and scrape off the charred skins and discard.
We used Mancini Roasted Sweet Peppers. They are beautifully sweet and have excellent flavor.
*Pomegranate Molasses: We used Al Wadi Al Akhdar 100% natural pomegranate molasses, a product of Lebanon. It is 100% natural.
*Panko Bread Crumbs: If you are looking for a 100% WFPB compliant gluten free bread crumbs, you will need to make them the day before you make this dish. Food for Life Gluten Free Brown Rice English Muffins work perfectly for those who are Whole Food Plant Based and gluten free, as they are refined sugar free and oil free. If your diet does not restrict gluten, you can use any WFPB compliant Panko crumbs.
For the Food for Life Gluten Free Brown Rice English Muffin conversion to bread crumbs – Pulse one room temperature Gluten Free Brown Rice English Muffin and tear it into small pieces, then place them in the food processor and pulse until it is completely broken down like coarse breadcrumbs. This make take several minutes. Place the crumbs onto a cookie sheet, spread them out and let them dry out overnight, then process them in the food process again, then measure 1/3 cup for this recipe.
We used Ian’s Gluten Free Panko crumbs for this recipe. Gluten Free Panko crumbs take an extra minute of processing in the food processer as they are typically more dense and harder than normal panko bread crumbs. When you initially taste the sauce, you may note a tiny bit of grittiness (from the GF panko bread crumbs), this will go away within 5 minutes as the panko bread crumbs will take on the moisture of the sauce and dissolve.
*Miso: We used Miso Master Organic Mellow White, Premium Lite Miso, Certified Gluten Free. Miso really lends itself to balancing flavors when you don’t use oil. If you are going to live the Whole Food Plant Based lifestyle, then you will quickly find that miso is your friend. Miso is simply a paste made from fermented soybeans, barley or rice malt. We use a gluten-free mellow white miso. It is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, and most grocery or health food stores carry it these days. You can find it in the refrigerator section. A lot of Vegans and Whole Food Plant Basers call it “the secret weapon” because it really brings that rich umami flavor forward in a lot of dishes. Since we discovered it, we use it a lot. Simply because it really adds something special to our dishes that you just can’t get with other ingredients. It has a long refrigerator shelf life because it is fermented. So, if you can’t find it locally, we suggest that when you are taking any trips out of town, find a store that carries it, take a small ice chest and stock up.
*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
*Storage: Refrigerate, use within 7 days.
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
This was absolutely delicious! My 6 year daughter loved it as well. Thank you for this recipe!
Hi there Allison 🙂
Woo Hoo! We are so thrilled that you and your daughter loved this recipe! Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback and taking the time to write <3
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Just wondering what to use as a substitute to the sumac? I don’t have it, not sure where to purchase it? Thank you! Can’t wait to try!
Hi there Cindy 🙂
Thank you so much for reaching out to us. You can try to make it without the sumac, taste it, and if you want a little extra “zing” you could try adding in a little sprinkle of lemon zest. Sumac has a lemony, tangy flavor. Hope this helps, and we hope you enjoy this dip as much as we do!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
This muhammara recipe is addicting and delicious! I first made it with jarred roasted peppers from Whole Foods brand and I thought that it was too salty and tart (I couldn’t find the Mancini brand at the store and didn’t want to wait for the online order!) . Then I roasted my own red peppers and it was much better! The miso adds a great depth to the flavor. I also made your quinoa flat bread and it was perfect! Thank you very much!
Hi there Milka 🙂
Yaaayy!!! So thrilled to hear that you are enjoying our Muhammara. The brand of jarred peppers do make a difference. We are so sorry to hear the Whole Foods brand was salty, but happy to hear you were able to make your own. And we are so glad to hear that you enjoyed our quinoa flatbread as well, we love them with the muhammara too! 😀 Thank you so much for the wonderful review and taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Hi there, can u use normal molasses??
Hi there Lisa 🙂
Thank you so much for reaching out to us. Unfortunately, we don’t think that regular molasses will work as a replacement for pomegranate molasses. Pomegranate molasses is very tart with a hint of pomegranate sweetness. We have heard balsamic vinegar syrup works well, although we have not tried that alternative. If you can’t get either, we suggest leaving it out and adjust the seasoning to fit your taste.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
I only have red miso and really don’t wanna buy another tub just for one recipe – will it work instead of the yellow?
Hi there Brooke 🙂
Thank you so much for reaching out to us. White miso has a very mild flavor. You could try using the red miso, but keep in mind that the flavors could change.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
I love your recipes, but please add substitutions in your notes for things like pomegranate molasses that most of us don’t have on hand. Thanks!
Hi there 🙂
Thank you so much for reaching out to us. We are so glad that you are enjoying our recipes. In our notes, we try to provide as many substitutions as possible when appropriate. Unfortunately, pomegranate molasses is truly one of a kind, in our humble opinion. You can omit the pomegranate molasses all together and ramp up the other seasonings to fit your personal preference. Perhaps, a balsamic reduction would make a close second. We have not tried this as a substitute, and it would change the flavor of the dish.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Absolutely LOVE the dip! Can this be frozen?
Hi there Patricia 🙂
Yaaaay!!! We are so thrilled to hear that you enjoyed this recipe. We have not tried to freeze it and not sure how well it would hold up frozen then thawed.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
What’s a substitute for sumac?
Hi there LouAnn,
Thank you for your question. There really isn’t a great substitution for sumac. We googled looking for substitutions and wasn’t impressed with the list of substitutions. So sorry.
-Ameera and Robin