Back a few years ago when avocado toast hit the foodie scene it changed the simple breakfast toast forever. Now enter hummus garden toast, the newest culinary showstopper to take over toast.

For me the name garden toast has a double meaning. It can refer to picking fresh herbs and veggies from your garden to use as ingredients. It can also mean using those fresh veggie ingredients to depict an artistic garden scene on your toast. Either way, garden toast is filled with fresh and nutritious whole foods that will fuel your soul and nourish your body.

This hummus toast recipe is simple to put together yet also so versatile. It can make for a healthy breakfast or even a quick lunch. You can always take it up a notch and make it fancier for a brunch or meal to share with friends or your significant other.

At its core all you need for garden hummus toast is a slice of bread, hummus and veggie toppings. These are things most vegans already have in their refrigerator on any given week.

Garden toast is also a great way to use up remaining vegetable leftovers from other recipes before they spoil in your fridge. Healthy and reduces food waste - win win!

How to Make Your Hummus Garden Toast Gluten-Free

To make your hummus toast gluten-free, there’s usually just one easy swap required. The slice of vegan bread can be swapped for gluten-free bread. Most hummus brands are already gluten-free but I would double check the label just to be sure. And of course all fresh vegetables are gluten-free!

Using Locally Sourced & Seasonal Veggies for Your Garden Toast

The best way to get the freshest vegetables for your hummus toast is to buy locally sourced and seasonal produce. This is the closest way to get that farm-to-table foodie experience in your own home.

For example in the summer months like July, you’ll find a bounty of fresh from the vine tomatoes and zucchinis. Sauté these bad boys in olive oil and throw it on top of your hummus toast. Voilà!

If you make a habit of grocery shopping at your local farmers’ market or community and health focused grocery stores, you’ll be able to find some seasonal gems to really spice up your plate.

Also, I have a quick cheat sheet to California seasonal produce in this blog post.

Varieties of Vegan Hummus Flavors

Hummus is one the main ingredients of this recipe and is used as the “adhesive” to hold all the toppings onto the toast. But don’t let the simplicity of hummus fool you, it comes in all kinds of varieties and flavors.

Hummus is kind of a miracle food for vegans because it has that much needed protein from the chickpeas. It’s also filled with healthy fats, fiber and vital vitamins and nutrients including magnesium, iron and potassium. Hummus can help fill the nutritional gaps from a meat and dairy-free diet.

Most of the pre-made hummus you’ll find at the store is naturally vegan-approved because it’s made of garbanzo beans, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice and spices. You can opt to make your own hummus from scratch or you can purchase a pre-made container from your local grocery store.

Some of my favorite hummus flavors include:

Mediterranean Hummus - For those unfamiliar, mediterranean hummus is the original and most authentic hummus with simple ingredients and lots of tahini which makes it smoother and creamier.
Garlic Hummus
Edamame Hummus
Cauliflower Hummus
Spinach and Basil Hummus
Beet Hummus
Carrot Veggie Hummus
Hummus with Kalamata Olives
Spicy Red Pepper Hummus

Veggies & Herbs Grocery Shopping List for Hummus Garden Toast

The veggie portion of this recipe is where you can really get to have fun and be creative. There’s so many options when it comes to vegan-friendly toppings for hummus toast. The sky is the limit!

I will give you a long list of vegetables and herbs that pair well with hummus and work logistically to sit on top of a slice of bread. Browse the list and find foodie inspiration for your next grocery shopping trip.

30 Veggie & Herb Toppings for Hummus Toast

Cilantro
Parsley
Chives
Fresh Dill
Basil Leaves
Green Onions
Avocados
Shredded Carrots
Baby Spinach
Baby Kale
Arugula
Spring Mix Greens
Radishes
Mushrooms
Sliced Olives
Sliced Cucumber
Sliced Tomatoes
Sliced Cherry Tomatoes
Sliced Bell Peppers
Sliced Sweet Red, Orange and Yellow Peppers
Canned Corn
Sprouts
Onions
Pickled Beets
Pickles
Shredded Red Cabbage (or pickled red cabbage)

Vegan Garden Toast with Hummus and Fresh Veggies - Prep your table with a wide variety of cut and sliced fresh veggies and legumes to build your garden toast. — Prep your table with a wide variety of cut and sliced fresh veggies and legumes to build your garden toast.

Beans, Legumes & Seed Toppings for Hummus Garden Toast

Add more protein, fiber and healthy fats by using additional beans and seeds as hummus toast toppings. These legumes will also add more flavors and heartiness for a full belly and satiated appetite.

Pumpkin Seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Pine Nuts
Canned Kidney Beans
Cooked Lentils
Garbanzo Beans / Chickpeas

Marinated & Sauteed Vegetables

Another way to go with your hummus garden toast is to use marinated and sautéed vegetables as toppings. This is especially perfect if you’re looking for a heated and warm vegan meal during the cold fall and winter months. Your toast is already warmed up so it makes sense to add a warm layer of lightly cooked veggies.

The process of marinating and sautéing vegetables not only changes the texture but also brings out the flavor in many vegetables. In some cases a vegetable can be inedible unless it’s been at least slightly cooked.

Below I’ve listed some top veggies that can be quickly cooked in a frying pan with olive oil, salt and pepper. Once they’re slightly translucent and cooked through you can use them as hummus toast toppings.

Eggplant
Grilled Onions
Mushrooms
Fire Roasted Tomatoes
Asparagus
Squash
Zucchini
Kale
Spinach
Thinly Sliced Purple Sweet Potato (or yams / regular sweet potato)

Additional Vegan Spreads for Garden Toast

If you’re feeling burned out on hummus and you’d like to make garden toast with a different vegan spread option, here are a few suggestions:

Vegan Cream Cheese
Vegan Mayonaise
Vegan Cottage Cheese
Vegan Pesto
Nut Butters (use fruit toppings instead of veggies)

Adding Color and Shapes to Your Garden Toast

When you’re using fresh produce to create an artsy garden scene using your hummus toast as a canvas, you want to try and incorporate vibrant colors and flower blossom shapes to successfully paint the picture. Radishes, bell peppers, yellow grape tomatoes, red cherry tomatoes, purple and rainbow carrots are all veggies that have a rainbow of colors to make flowers.

Another trick to add color to your garden toast is to mix your spread with beetroot juice to create a bright purple color. This works best with the white spreads such as plain hummus, vegan cream cheese, vegan mayo or vegan cottage cheese.

To create the flower blossoms you can either cut the veggies with a knife or use a Stainless Steel Fruit and Vegetable Cutter. These sturdy shape cutters can cut through hard veggies such as carrots and radishes.

You can also get super fancy and use edible flowers on your hummus garden toast. If you’ve never eaten an edible flower before, most of them tend to taste like radishes. Etsy has the best assortment of fresh edible flowers that arrive in full bloom at your doorstep. You can also buy edible flower seeds from Etsy if you want to plant your own at home.

Step-by-Step Guide to Recreating My Daisy Garden Hummus Toast

If you’re a fan of my cute and cheerful daisy garden toast and you’d like to try it for yourself, I have a detailed guide below with photo examples for each step. It may look tricky but it’s really easy when you break it down into simple steps.

Step 1: Build Your Garden Toast Base

The first step is to toast your slice of bread. Secondly evenly spread a thick layer of hummus over the entire surface of one side of the bread.

Step 2: Sliced Mushrooms for the Ground

I used 5 thinly sliced mushrooms to create the illusion of ground for my daisy flower bed.

Step 3: Green Onions for Grass

I filled all the holes around the mushrooms with tiny slices of green onion stems. I curled them up and placed them into the all crooks and crannies, giving the illusion of either moss or grass growing in between rocks.

Step 4: Cilantro Leaves on the Stem

I looked through my bunch of fresh cilantro and picked out 3 extra pretty stems in various sizes. I carefully placed them equal distance apart to create the effect of leafy shrubbery.

Step 5: Cut Fresh Radishes into Daisy Flowers

Next it’s time to make the pink daisy flowers with fresh radishes. First slice the radishes into thin slices. Then take a sharp small knife and cut out triangles all around, leaving you with a star-shaped flower design. Make 3 of these and place them on your cilantro stems.

Step 6: Add Corn Kernels

I wanted to add a pop of the color yellow so I used canned corn to layer on top of the mushrooms. In my head these would kinda be like little yellow flowers growing in the grass. They are subtle but effective in building that whimsical nature scene.

Step 7: Add the Final Touches

Only two small additions and you’re finished! I cut tiny pieces of red bell pepper to stick between the radish petals to add extra color and fill out the flower design. And then I cut the white part of the green onion to complete the center of the daisy flowers. Now you’re ready to serve and eat!