Turkish hot layered hummus is a fantastic Appetizer recipe that I discovered in Istanbul. Creamy hummus, served warm from the oven, topped with buttery toasted pine nuts and a chopped salad of cucumber, radishes and sun-dried tomatoes. I love serving this as a party starter. It’s festive and super delicious!
The creamy texture and the garlicky lemony rich flavors of this hummus are unique and wonderful. Turkish hummus has chickpeas and tahini like traditional hummus but is extra light, tangy and creamy because of the addition of Greek Yogurt. The hummus is topped with toasted pine nuts and spiced butter, and baked until the butter sinks in and the hummus puffs up. It's served warm from the oven, with a delicious crunchy chopped salad on top.
There are so many layers of creamy, crunchy, spicy, tangy deliciousness in this dish. It's always a big crowd-pleaser!
How To Make Turkish Hot Layered Hummus
There are three elements to Turkish Hot Layered Hummus: the hummus; the toasted pine nuts; and the chopped salad.
The homemade Turkish hummus is made with chickpeas and tahini, whole milk Greek yogurt, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, cumin seeds and salt. Puree the ingredients in a food processor and transfer the hummus to a small casserole or ceramic pie pan. Choose a pan that can also be your serving dish.
Next, toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet until golden brown. Add butter and Aleppo pepper and stir until the butter is melted. Pour the buttery pine nuts over the hummus, and bake it for 25 minutes at 400ºF. The butter will sink in and the hummus will be hot, puffed up, and golden brown on top.
While the hummus is in the oven, make the chopped salad. Finely chop the radishes, cucumber and sun dried tomatoes. Toss the vegetables with olive oil, pomegranate molasses (or balsamic vinegar), salt and pepper.
When you remove the hummus from the oven, let it cool for 5 minutes or so and then spoon the chopped salad evenly over the top. Serve the warm hummus with any combination of crudités, toasted pita, crackers or thinly sliced baguettes.
The hot layered hummus I fell for in Istanbul was served to me at a restaurant called Kantin, which has since closed. It was served warm, topped with a chopped salad of cooked slivered beets, radishes, cucumber, tomatoes, pine nuts, and a Turkish spicy cured meat called Basturma. It was incredible, one of the most surprising and memorable dishes of my trip. I
I recreated the dish with some tweaks, using inspiration from several sources including the notes I took at Kantin and a recipe in The Middle Eastern Kitchen cookbook by Ghillie Basan.
More Delicious Turkish Recipes to try!
• Turkish Sigara Börek: Crispy Feta Rolls
• Turkish Manti: Tiny Lamb-stuffed Dumplings with three sauces
• Spicy Turkish Tapenade
• Grilled Turkish Kofta Kebabs
Here's the Turkish Hot Layered Hummus Recipe. If you try this recipe, I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!
PrintRecipe

Turkish Hot Layered Hummus
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 12-15 1x
Description
This creamy flavorful hummus is baked, topped with toasted pine nuts; chopped radishes, cucumber and sun-dried tomatoes; and served warm, with bread, crackers and/or crudités for dipping. It's a fantastic appetizer for a party or potluck.
Ingredients
For The Hummus
- 3 15 ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups Greek yogurt (whole milk)
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 5 tablespoons lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
- 3 medium garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
For The Pine Nut Topping
- 3 tablespoons pine nuts
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (or ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes plus ½ teaspoon sweet paprika)
For The Salad Topping
- ⅓ of an english cucumber, washed and finely diced
- 5 radishes, washed, trimmed, thinly sliced, then stack slices and cut them into ¼ inch slivers.
- 6 tablespoons minced, drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses (or substitute balsamic vinegar)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Several grinds of black pepper
Optional Garnish
- 1 teaspoon toasted pine nuts
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Put all of the hummus ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and puree. Transfer hummus to an oven-proof dish or casserole. Set aside. *Note: you can prepare the hummus ahead to this point, and keep it in the fridge, covered, for up to 24 hours. Allow it to come to room temperature before continuing. Put the hummus in the preheated oven a half hour before you want to serve it.
- Toast the pine nuts in a small, heavy, dry skillet over medium high heat, tossing constantly, until they begin to brown, 3-4 minutes. Add butter and stir. As soon as the butter is melted, turn off the heat and stir in the Aleppo pepper. Pour the whole mixture over the hummus. Place the hummus in the oven and cook for 25 minutes, until it's hot and has risen a bit.
- While the hummus is heating, toss all the salad ingredients with the dressing in a small bowl. Set aside.
- When the hummus comes out of the oven, let it cool for 5 minutes or so, then spoon the salad evenly over the top. Garnish with pine nuts and sesame seeds, if you like. Serve with any combination of crudités, toasted pita triangles, thinly sliced baguette or crackers.
Notes
Nutrition Information: The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and is not a substitute for a the advice of a professional nutritionist.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Turkish
Originally published Jan 27, 2015. Updated Aug 24, 2021 with new photos and clarifying details and step-by-step instructions added to the written post. The same delicious recipe!
Ann
I only have access to a microwave to serve at a venue. Suggestions about heating or reheating?
Lisa
I'm not an expert on cooking things in a microwave. If you can cook it at home and bring it wrapped in foil to keep it warm, that would work well. Or you can reheat it at the venue in the microwave and then add the salad to the top. It's delicious even when it cools down to room temperature. I hope that helps!
Ann
Thank you
Statement
Don't think the Turks used "Greek yogurt" they invented the stuff, strained yogurt! It's Pastırma as the cured meat...And so many forms of mashed chick peas in Turkish cuisine...next time try adding the same nuts, cooked ground beef, lamb cubes , spicy Turkish sucuk sausage or chicken with beans or cooked fesh veggies into the warm hot yogurt and mashed chick peas for hearty meal like approach!!
melanie sakowski
Damn, woman, this looks so yum, great pairings of flavours ????????
Sydney C.
Just decided what I'm making for dinner tonight.... so so excited!!!!!
Rebekah
Made this for my coworkers and we all loved it. So unique and delicious! I didn't have a lot of time, so I used already prepared garlic hummus (2 containers) mixed with 1 1/2 cups of greek yogurt for the base. I used the red pepper flakes/paprika and the balsamic vinegar options. It was great! Thank you!
joel
Do you think this would work using coconut yogurt?
Lisa
Hi Joel, yes, I think coconut yogurt would work, or soy yogurt. I'd love to know what you think if you try it.
Clare Toolis
I made this tonight and everyone loved it, my boyfriend is a chef so I am always nervous cooking for him, but this was a complete success. I added beetroot and apple to the salad, which was delicious, can't wait to try one of your other recipes.
Lisa
Hi Clare, Thanks so much for letting me know how your hummus turned out - I'm so glad it was a success. Great to have you on board and I hope you find some more great recipes so you can keep wowing your chef/boyfriend! 🙂
Kathy
We will be making this appetizer again. It was scrumptious. I had never had hummus warm. The warm, smooth hummus with a little bit of spice was delicious with the topping and pita bread. I made only one mistake, which was making it in more of a soufflé-type dish instead of a lower, wide dish as pictured. I think the lower, wider dish would be better for a crowd to share in the hummus and the topping can be included with every bite. Yum!
Lisa
I'm so glad you like the hot hummus Kathy!
Kristina
gorgeous presentation - I love the look of this! the flavors sound amazing, and I love that it is warm!
Christie
We have a new Turkish restaurant by us that is fabulous. Their hummus is out of this world. Ours reminds me of something I would get there. I know it is going to be delicious.
judee @gluten free A-Z Blog
What a fabulous recipe; I love the ingredients and the presentation, It's my first time on your blog and I can't wait to explore. Following your for sure!
Lisa Goldfinger
Thanks so much Judee!
Susan
This is sooooooooo delicious!
Carol at Wild Goose Tea
Gosh that looks fabulous. Flat out fabulous. I love the bowl you chose to present it in. I am sooooo hungry right now. I would like to 'print' that hummus and start dipping chips.
judith
Absolutely love your website. Have shared it with all of my foodie friends. Thank you for working so hard to provide this service.
Lisa Goldfinger
Judith, comments like yours make all the hard work worthwhile! I'm so happy to hear that you're loving my site and I so appreciate that you're spreading the word among your foodie friends. Thank you :)!!
Rachel (Rachel's Kitchen NZ)
Oh, delicious - Lisa - I haven't heard of this before but will definitely be giving a try - thanks for sharing.
Nancy
This sounds amazing! I will definitely have to make this soon.