Celebrate the traditions of Day of the Dead with the vibrant colors of fresh avocados, red and orange bell peppers, and carrots in this delicious homemade avocado hummus.
This recipe is fashioned like a traditional sugar skull and features heart-healthy avocados for a nutritious addition to your party mix. The colorful centerpiece celebrates Mexican culture and can be a delicious highlight of your table whether you celebrate Day of the Dead on Nov. 1st, or Halloween on the 31st.
How to Make Avocado Hummus
As with most hummus recipes you’ll combine chickpeas, lemon juice, oil, tahini, garlic, salt and pepper. But the “treat” here is the addition of heart-healthy fresh avocados. Simply blend it all together in a food processor.
Benefits of Avocados
One serving of avocado is equivalent to 1/3 of a medium avocado. Avocados are a heart-healthy fruit and virtually the only fresh fruit with good fats, containing 5 grams of monounsaturated, and 1 gram of polyunsaturated fat per serving. Incorporating these healthy fats in your food choices can help reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol.
Fat is necessary to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. One serving of avocado provides 10% of your daily value of vitamin K, which plays an important role in bone health (keep that avocado hummus skull strong!).
Sugar Skull Meaning
One of the purposes and meanings of the sugar skull is to honor the dead and the impact they had on people’s lives. Original sugar skulls are made from a paste called alfeñique, a mixture of sugar, water, and lemon, making it easy to mold the paste into a skull.
How to Decorate Your Sugar Skull
The creative part about this avocado hummus recipe is decorating it with colorful veggies and chips. It’s a recipe that’s so fun to make with kids or adults. My daughter loves to help decorate the sugar skull, but you could also make it an entertaining activity with some close friends or party guests.
Ingredients
FOR THE HUMMUS
- 2 ripe fresh avocados, halved, pitted, peeled and diced
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 garlic clove, smashed
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
FOR THE PRESENTATION
- 1 mini red sweet pepper, bottom cut off for round shape, halved, seeded one half cut widthwise into rounded strips, the other half cut into teardrop shape
- 1 mini orange sweet pepper, halved, seeded, cut into tear drop shapes
- 3 black olives, halved, 2 of the halves sliced widthwise into half-moon shape
- 1 carrot, peeled, halved cut into half-moon slices
- 2 cucumber slices
- 6 chickpeas, reserved from hummus recipe, cut in half
- 5 snow pea pods, remove and reserve the peas from 3 of the pea pods, keeping 2 whole
- 1 green onion, white removed, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced lengthwise
- 1 cup ice water
- 1 bag blue corn tortilla chips
- 1 bag regular corn tortilla chips
Directions
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Make the hummus: In a food processor, puree avocado, chickpeas, lemon juice, oil, tahini, garlic, salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl.
For presentation: Fill hummus into a rectangular serving dish. Arrange chips around the outer edge of bowl to make a frame of a skull.
Make the eyes: Place the two slices of cucumbers for the eyes. Encircle the cucumber slices with the small carrot half-moons, to make a “flower” shape. Place 5 of the half-mooned black olives on top of each of the cucumber slices in an overlapping circular shape, then place a half olive on each for the pupil.
Make the nose: Use the remaining two halves of black olives to make the nose.
Make the teeth and mouth: Arrange the halved chick peas in two rows of 6 for the teeth. Alternate peas and the red sweet pepper strips along both sides of the teeth to form the mouth.
Add the forehead adornment: Use the round red sweet pepper shape at the very top of the skull and alternate the 3 orange sweet pepper tear drops and the 2 whole pea pods around the round red sweet pepper.
Add the eye adornment: Place the red sweet pepper tear drop shape just above and between the eyes and 3 peas just above each eye.
Add the chin adornment: Place 3 carrot half-moons for the chin with the remaining red pepper strips above them.
Add the face adornment: Take the thin green onion slices and place in the cup of ice cold water until the slices begin to curl. Use the curls as accents around the face as preferred.
Recipe and image courtesy of Fresh Avocados - Love One Today®.
Nutrition
Other Avocado Recipes
While you’re in the avocado mindset, explore some of these other creative ways to enjoy the nutritious fruit.