Healthy Homemade Hummus Recipe

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Homemade Hummus Garnished with Dried Parsley

Homemade Hummus is the absolute best. You can make your own for a fraction of the cost of the store bought hummus. Best of all, when you make your own, there are no hidden chemicals, sugars or preservatives. I prefer organic natural ingredients whenever possible. 


This recipe only takes 2 days to make, but believe me it's a lot less trouble than elephant dip, which takes a whole month just to chop up the elephant.


The secret is to start with dried garbanzo beans (chickpeas). You can use the canned beans, but there is a huge difference in taste. If you do decide to use canned beans, be sure to drain and rinse before adding to the recipe.  


Basically this  Hummus recipe is only 5 minutes of work and 48 hours of thumb twiddling.  


It's much speedier than elephant dip which takes all week, just to cook. 


RECIPE FOR HOMEMADE HUMMUS by Dear Miss Mermaid
Yields about 3 Cups


1 cup dried garbanzo beans
2 bay leafs
4 cups water


3 teaspoons cumin
5 garlic cloves, peeled
3 tablespoons lemon juice (1 big juicy lemon squeezed)
3 tablespoons Tahini (A thick paste made from ground sesame seeds)
3 tablespoons Bragg Liquid Aminos (Natural Soy Sauce Alternative)


Wash and rinse dried beans thoroughly in cool water. In a crockpot, combine beans, water and bay leaves. Cook on low for about 24 hours, until the beans are super soft. Let cool or rinse in cold water in  a colander to speed up cooling. Drain beans, discard bay leaves.


In a food processor or food chopper, combine beans with the remaining ingredients. Process until the beans are pureed to the consistency of soft mashed potatoes or peanut butter.


For the best flavor, store in a covered container refrigerated for at least 24 hours before serving. This allows the flavors to commingle and fully marry. 


Hummus keeps about 2 weeks refrigerated.


On the other hand, elephant dip takes 5 days to puree. 

Crockpots are also called Slow Cookers

I use a 1.5 Quart Crockpot. It's the perfect size for cooking 1 cup of dried beans. Most beans will cook on low in 8-12 hours, but garbanzo's are especially hard and take longer. When cooking dried beans in a crockpot, there is no need to presoak the beans.  If your crockpot is larger, you can always do 2 cups of dried beans, then use half in the Hummus Recipe and half for something else.  


Garbanzo beans make a tasty ingredient in salads.  To use in salads, after cooking, drain the beans, rinse lightly with cold water, then store in a covered container in the refrigerator.  Toss on salads as desired. Sometimes I toss my salad beans with lemon juice before storing. 


I prefer to use organic beans and spices, if you can't find them at your grocery store, Amazon delivers numerous organic items, often with free shipping. 

I use this small two-speed 3 cup Black and Decker  food chopper to make my Hummus. For my mini-motorhome, this chopper is just perfect. It only takes up 5 inches in diameter. If you have a tiny kitchen, you know how counter space is a premium.   The nonskid bottom pops off and snaps tightly on the top as a lid. This makes it very easy to store in two sections in a cabinet or drawer.


While you can toss it in the dishwasher to clean, I prefer to add a cup of water with a squirt of dish soap, then whir the processor for a few seconds. This gets the blades and bowl super clean, just rinse in hot water and dry.


My Black and Decker  food chopper was a treasured gift from an angel. I use it for numerous recipes plus chopping or mincing vegetables and herbs. 


It can also process a cup of liquid, making it ideal for homemade dressings or smoothies.  


Because the chopper is small, I divide my Hummus ingredients in  half, then make it in 2 batches. If your chopper is smaller you may need to make it in 3-4 batches. If you have a full-sized food processor, you can puree it all at once. 


You can not fill a food chopper to the top, basically you fill it half full, then process. So a 3 cup chopper will only process about 1.5 cups of food, at a time. 


Hummus makes a great hearty dip or spread. I prefer to serve mine with a decorative pate knife for spreading rather than dipping. 


Traditionally Hummus is served with toasted pita points and kalamata olives. 


Hummus makes a great spread on crackers but for a healthier treat, use slices of raw vegetables such as cucumber, zucchini and summer squash in place of crackers. 


For a hearty salad you can eat like a sandwich, spread hummus on a tortilla or wrap. Top with finely chopped salad ingredients, roll up and devour.


Garbanzo beans are high in fiber. One cup of garbanzo beans provide 25-50% of your daily protein and iron requirements. They are a remarkable food in terms of their antioxidant composition. While containing small but valuable amounts of conventional antioxidant nutrients like vitamin C,  E, and beta-carotene, garbanzo beans also contain more concentrated supplies of antioxidant phytonutrients. 


Garbanzo beans are a health bonanza for diabetics. Studies in which participants consumed as little as 1/2 cup of garbanzo beans per day, still witnessed better blood sugar control in as little as one week.

The World's Healthiest Foods, 

Essential Guide for the Healthiest Way of Eating

This book compliments the material on the whfoods.org website with innovative new ways to maximize the nutritional value of the world's healthiest foods.  


References:
Nutrient Analysis of Garbanzo Beans
What's New and Beneficial about Garbanzo Beans


Bon Apetite!

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