Homemade Hummus Recipe

As I mentioned earlier this week, I pack 20 lunches in a typical week, five of which are for my husband. I try to give him an assortment of items so that he can pick and choose and eat whatever he is in the mood for. I also attempt to give him more healthy, satisfying options. One thing we have grown to love over the past couple of years is hummus! I love that it is full of protein and good fat, is filling, and tastes great with cut up veggies. If I have hummus on hand, it is a quick lunch for me at home. But Gil also enjoys it in his lunch, and it is one way I can get him to eat some vegetables during the day.

But hummus is kind of expensive, and a little container is gone pretty quickly. Since I only get it when I have coupons and/or hit a sale, it isn't something that is around the house all the time... that is until I started making my own!!! I had a dear friend mention on facebook that she made hummus, so I got her recipe. I tweaked it a little, and I change it up with some variations. Now we can have hummus on hand all the time!

To make hummus, you will need:

2 cups cooked garbanzo beans, drained (or one can, rinsed and drained)
1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste, found near the peanut butter or in the international section)
1/4 cup lemon juice, fresh squeezed
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic
1 tb olive oil
1/2 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp pepper
water or cooking liquid from beans as needed



I have actually been cooking my own garbanzo beans in the crockpot. It is so easy, and they end up so soft and smooth! I check and rinse a cup of dry beans {I get organic from my health food store's bulk section}, then cover with 2" or so of water. Do not salt them! Just let them cook on low for about 6 hours or until soft and creamy. You can add a teaspoon of salt toward the end, once they are soft. Save the cooking water in case you need to use it to thin your hummus.

Back to the recipe! Add all ingredients, except the water or cooking liquid, to a food processor. Blend until smooth. Add additional liquid as needed, a little at a time, until hummus is desired consistency. That's it! Store in the refrigerator and serve with pita chips or cut up veggies. You can drizzle a little olive oil on top to make it pretty.

Now, just plain hummus is delicious! But we also like to change it up a bit for variety. One of my favorites is lemon hummus --- just add the zest of one lemon to the batch.

Fresh Basil is another yummy addition. It gives it a different, unexpected taste.

I also like to roast a head of garlic and add several cloves to a batch of hummus.

Here I made three batches of hummus, flavoring each differently. Since I have a small food processor, I did each batch individually, in succession. But it was easy and there was no need to clean the bowl in between batches. If you are serving it at a gathering, you would want to garnish it so that people know what flavor they are getting.

Hummus will keep well in the fridge for about two weeks. Between Gil and I, one batch of hummus can be gone in less than a week! Enjoy!

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