I’ve been really into adzuki beans (also known as azuki or aduki) lately because they are a great source of protein and a good base ingredient for vegan pizza doughs. What I didn’t know was that in most East Asian cuisine, adzuki beans are sweetened (or boiled with sugar) and used for pastries, soups, ice creams and more - very common use is for red bean paste. 
Since there aren’t many savory recipes out there for Adzuki beans, I’ve decided to try and come up with a few of my own. The first experiment was an almost hummus, or rather adzuki bean dip/spread. It turned out pretty tasty although I think I could’ve balanced out the flavor and texture a bit more had I used Tahini or almond butter. Its a bit think but worked wonderfully as dip for carrots.
Here’s the recipe I tried:
- 1.5 cups cooked adzuki beans
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until desired consistency. Enjoy!
I’d love to hear about some other creative ways to use adzuki beans - especially since I have a huge container full of them in my fridge right now.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Sounds great! I just had a black bean hummus the other day, it was the first time I’d had anything other than chickpeas in hummus. And I have some adzuki beans to use up, so this is perfect.
Mmm Adzuki beans- isn’t that what they put inside those delish Japanese sweets called Daifuku? They are sweet and stuffed inside sweet rice flour balls. Yum.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment by the way!
Deb