Copycat California Pizza Kitchen Tuscan Hummus Recipe

California Pizza Kitchen’s Tuscan Hummus has been my favorite restaurant hummus ever since I had it there the first time. This copycat CPK Tuscan Hummus recipe has been in the works since 2014.

California Pizza Kitchen’s Tuscan Hummus is unlike any hummus recipe you’ve seen before. Instead of the usual chickpeas, CPK’s Tuscan Hummus is made with cannellini beans.

With extra garlic, a bit of soy sauce and a host of other goodies, CPK’s Tuscan Hummus is a unique and delicious twist on classic hummus that is well worth making at home.

Why Cannellini Beans Change the Whole Dip

• I love CPK’s Tuscan Hummus. It’s a bit different from traditional hummus in both ingredients and preparation. CPK uses cannellini beans instead of chickpeas, a lot of garlic, a surprising amount of soy sauce and other goodies. The end result is a hummus that tastes nothing like hummus, in a good way. Cannellini beans have a mellow flavor that’s nothing like chickpeas, and lend themselves to being whipped into a much smoother texture. This allows the other flavors in the hummus (the garlic and the tahini especially) to come through better than they would in chickpea hummus, where their more assertive flavor would compete with garlic and sesame.

A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Start

• If you’re a California Pizza Kitchen regular like I am, you’ll recognize CPK’s Tuscan hummus right away. If you’re not, it’s a hummus made with cannellini beans rather than chickpeas, though white kidney beans are pretty much identical, as are Great Northern beans (I’m not sure which bean CPK actually uses).
• This hummus will keep getting better as it sits, so make it ahead if possible.
• Use the best-quality tahini you can find (tahinis range wildly in quality). Some are smooth and mild; others are bitter.
• This recipe calls for a food processor (a blender does not do as good a job, and doesn’t allow as much control over texture). If you don’t own a food processor, consider investing in one; they’re extremely versatile and a must-have appliance.
• You’ll be shocked at the texture of the hummus after step 1 (it’s coarse and crumbly, and will remind you more of browned and crumbled ground beef than hummus). Keep going. After step 2 the hummus will come together, but it’s still pretty coarse. Only after adding all of the remaining ingredients does the hummus get creamy and smooth.
• You can use jarred garlic here if you like (unlike other applications, I think it does just fine in hummus, especially this recipe where it’s going to get whipped around anyway).
• Soy sauce might sound odd here, but it adds a lot of umami to the hummus, like the anchovy paste in Caesar dressing (it doesn’t taste fishy, but adds a lot of savory depth). It balances the acidity of the lemon. Trust me here.
• Fresh lemon juice is preferable, but bottled lemon juice is OK if that’s what you’ve got.
• It’s important to make sure you’ve seasoned this hummus to your liking before serving (once it’s chilled, you won’t be able to taste the salt and spice as well, so err on the side of going a little heavy with them).

Tuscan Hummus Ingredients

• 2 14.5-oz. cans of cannellini beans, drained well and rinsed*
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 Tbls. soy sauce, plus an additional 1/2 tsp.*
• 1 1/2 tsp. kosher or other fine-grained salt, divided
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• Pinch ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

For Serving

• Olive oil
• 6 pita breads, cut into wedges, warmed*
• Handful of fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
• 1 tomato, diced
• Minced garlic, to serve

How to Make Copycat CPK Tuscan Hummus

• Add the beans and garlic to a large food processor, and process for 30 seconds, scraping down the sides, until the beans are mashed and crumbly. It will resemble browned ground beef at this point. Add the tahini and process for 30-45 seconds until thick, coarse hummus forms. With the processor running, stream in the lemon juice, olive oil, soy sauce, 1 tsp. salt, cumin, coriander and cayenne pepper. Process until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the processor and adjusting seasoning with remaining 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. soy sauce.
• Transfer to a shallow serving dish and drizzle with 1/2 Tbls. olive oil. Garnish with basil and tomato, serve with warmed pita wedges and additional minced garlic if desired.

Add lemon juice and continue processing until combined. Add olive oil and soy sauce, processing until creamy.

Taste hummus and adjust seasoning, adding more lemon juice and salt as desired. Chill hummus for 2-4 hours, or up to overnight.

Hummus will thicken as it chills. Serve hummus chilled or at room temperature with pita wedges, crudités, crackers, etc., drizzled with top-notch olive oil.

Garnish, as desired, with fresh basil, diced tomatoes, additional soy sauce, smoked paprika, whole cannellini beans, etc.

The Details That Actually Make a Difference

Scrape down the sides of the food processor and under the blades 2-3 times during processing. I know it’s tedious, and you’re eager to get on with tasting and serving.

But this step really does make a huge difference in the texture of the hummus. Trust me.

White bean hummus is MUCH better after a couple of hours or so in the fridge. Chilling the hummus rounds out and melds the flavors and mellows out the garlic.

Resting hummus at room temp will NOT achieve this result.

Flavors will be muted when hummus is served chilled. Season hummus on the strong side before chilling/serving.

Pitas baked at a lower temp take a bit longer, but will toast more evenly than pita rounds blasted under a screaming-hot broiler. If you have the energy to hover over your oven, try broiling on low for the final two minutes for extra-crispy pita rounds.

Day three or four hummus will be great if stored tightly covered, but pita rounds will soften. Keep in an open paper or plastic bag in a draft-free area of the counter.

If necessary, give rounds a quick zap in the toaster or back in the oven at 300°F for ~5 minutes to recrisp.

How Long It Keeps and Why Day Two Is Better

White Bean Hummus keeps tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and tastes best after the first day, or tightly covered in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost hummus overnight in the fridge (allow ~12 hrs.).

Frozen hummus may look a little grainy upon thawing, stir vigorously to smooth or blitz in a food processor.

Four Ways We’ve Made This Even Better

Substitute roasted garlic for raw (see below). Roasted garlic makes hummus super-delicious, with a mellower garlic bite and deeper, sweeter flavor.

Add more cayenne if your guests can handle the heat. I like 1/2 tsp., but some prefer less of a kick.

Start with 1/4 tsp. or a generous pinch.

Soy sauce seems like an unusual ingredient in hummus, but it lends a subtle depth and richness to hummus, similar to the effect of anchovy paste in Caesar Dressing. Nobody will be able to pinpoint why hummus tastes so delicious.

Trust us, soy sauce is good hummus fuel.

Whip up a batch of pesto and stir into hummus right before serving. We like to serve the green-and-white swirls unadorned to show off the gorgeous colors.

Tips for Roasting Garlic

Heat the oven to 400°F. Cut off the stem and papery top of a whole head of garlic.

Set garlic on a square of foil and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap up garlic snugly and roast for ~40 minutes, until very soft when squeezed.

Allow garlic to cool enough to handle and squeeze out cloves. Use in place of raw garlic.

How to Cut Pitas into Wedges

Heat the oven to 250°F. Cut each pita into 8 wedges.

Arrange wedges on a rimless baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until nicely toasted. For extra-crispy pitas, broil on LOW for the final two minutes of cooking.

Remove wedges from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a bowl and tossing with olive oil and lemon juice. Serve hummus immediately.

Have you ever had California Pizza Kitchen’s Tuscan Hummus? It’s one of our favorite CPK appetizers and is super easy to make at home.

Serve it with pita wedges and veggie sticks for an easy and delicious appetizer that disappears fast.

Tuscan Hummus FAQ

Can I add more lemon?

Yes, if you’d like a more lemony hummus, you can add an additional tablespoon of lemon juice. Keep in mind though, adding another tablespoon will thin the hummus out a bit.

You can add a bit of lemon zest instead of lemon juice if you don’t want to thin the hummus out with added liquid.

Can I make it smoky?

Absolutely. To give your hummus a smokier flavor, use smoked cumin in place of cumin or add about 1/2 teaspoon (slightly under) of smoked paprika in addition to the cumin.

For garnish, sprinkle with a little smoked paprika.

Can I serve it with veggies rather than pita?

You can dip veggies in hummus, of course, but I’d stick with raw veggies like cucumber sticks, bell pepper strips, celery, carrot sticks, etc. Cooked veggies have stronger flavors that will likely overwhelm the hummus.

Can I serve it warm?

Hummus is typically served at room temperature but it’s also delicious served warm. Add it to a small skillet and stir over low heat until warmed through.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil.

My hummus tastes bland. What’s going on?

Hummus, like pretty much everything else, tastes much better at room temperature. Chill time is necessary to blend the flavors, mellow out the garlic and firm up the hummus, especially helpful if you’re dipping chunks of pita into it, but the flavors are muted while it’s chilled.

Taste and adjust the seasoning before chilling. Also, make sure you’re adding enough salt and lemon.

What if I want to leave out tahini?

Then what you’ll have is basically a seasoned white bean dip. It’ll be delicious, but not hummus.

For a different, but still nutty flavor you can use sunflower seed butter. You could also use cashew butter.

Either of these will add needed fat/creaminess to the hummus but it will taste quite different than hummus with tahini.

My hummus is really thick. What should I add to thin it?

Hummus should be creamy and thick but also smooth and spreadable. If yours is too thick, add additional liquid, 1 Tbsp at a time, as needed.

Add water, or even better, ice water, slowly, with the food processor running. Taste often and make sure it’s not lacking olive oil if your hummus is on the dry side.

Can I use chickpeas instead of cannellini beans?

Yes, but keep in mind, chickpea hummus will have a different, earthier flavor than cannellini hummus and will be a little grainier. Cannellini beans make a lighter colored hummus that is smoother and lighter tasting.

If you’re looking for an exact copycat recipe, I’d stick with cannellini, but if all you have on hand is chickpeas, they’ll make a perfectly delicious hummus too.

Other Dips and Appetizers That Disappear Fast

Chili’s Skillet Queso – this queso recipe tastes just like Chili’s copycat queso recipe

Bruschetta – nothing beats juicy, ripe tomatoes and basil on crispy, toasted bread

Spinach and artichoke dip – spinach and artichoke dip is a get-together crowd pleaser

To serve

6 pita breads