Posted by If you’re a hummus lover like me, you’ll definitely enjoy a batch of homemade! Did you know hummus is super easy to make? Not only that, but homemade hummus tastes better, has no artificial additives and is more cost-effective than store-bought.
Most commercial humus is made using soybean or canola oil, instead of heart-healthy olive oil. Many brands also contain potassium sorbate, cultured dextrose, acid blend, malic acid and/or citric acid. What in the heck? All those additives can’t be good for us and sure enough, a quick Google search confirmed my suspicion…they’re all used as preservatives. And, some brands have a high sodium content as well.
Basic hummus includes chick peas (aka garbanzo beans), lemon juice, fresh garlic, olive oil, tahini, salt and paprika. Tahini is ground, hulled sesame seeds pureed into a creamy nut butter and is available at your local grocery store. Tahini tastes pretty bad on its own but adds a nutty flavor and smooth texture when combined with garbanzo beans. I’ve included some flavor variations in the Root Notes below. Serve with pita chips, veggies, my Greek Pitas or Greek Feast. If you keep the ingredients on hand, you can enjoy the natural, low sodium, preservative-free and flavorful taste of homemade hummus any day of the week!
Garlic Hummus
- 1 (15oz) can garbanzo beans
- 3-5 T garbanzo bean liquid
- 3 T lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 T tahini
- 2 T olive oil
- ¾ tsp sea salt
- paprika, olive oil for finishing
Drain and rinse garbanzo beans, saving a small amount of the liquid. Add all ingredients to a food processor or high speed blender. Blend for 3-5 minutes until smooth. Add additional garbanzo bean liquid (or water) to reach desired consistency. Sprinkle with paprika and drizzle with olive oil.
Root Notes
- Adjust this recipe to your taste by adding more lemon juice, garlic or salt. Or you can add ½ teaspoon of cumin for a more savory kick.
- Some recipes suggest removing the skins from the garbanzo beans. Based on my testing, that process takes way too long and is not necessary. So my advice: skip it. I used a food processor and by adding just a little bit more liquid, it was perfectly smooth and creamy.
- My grocery store carries a few brands of tahini. I found some organic tahini at Trader Joes (see photo below) that was inexpensive and good quality. In order to get the oil combined, I dumped it all in a bowl and mixed really well. Then I put it in the refrigerator and it has stayed combined.
- Hummus can be made with many flavor variations like roasted garlic, red pepper or eggplant, jalapeño or sun-dried tomato. Some recipes call for cumin or chili oil. Have fun with your own variations. I’ve included a couple of my favorites below.
~~~ Roasted Garlic – Substitute roasted garlic for fresh. To roast garlic, cut off the top of a head of garlic (opposite side of stem ) so all cloves are slightly exposed. Drizzle with olive oil. Wrap in aluminum foil. Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes or until cloves are a golden color and soft. To remove garlic, once cooled, just squeeze the cloves out of the head. Since roasted garlic is much milder than fresh, let taste be your guide. Personally, I would probably add the entire head!
~~~ Roasted Red Pepper – Add 1-2 roasted red peppers to the recipe above. To roast red peppers, wash, cut in quarters, remove stem and membranes and place on a prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in a 450 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until soft and charred in spots. Use in recipe or place in a jar, cover with olive oil and refrigerate for 2-3 weeks. Cumin is good in this variation.
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