Saturday, May 12, 2012

Making Delicious Hummus From Scratch

homemade hummus

At $4 for an 8 oz tub of organic hummus, keeping my 4 year old in hummus could get expensive. He loves the stuff. I've been wanting to make my own for a long time, but I had some trouble acquiring bulk organic chickpeas, and I wasn't willing to settle for canned beans. You can definitely use canned beans for this recipe though; it will save you some time but add a bit to the cost. I finally got a 25 lb bag of organic chickpeas for $32, so now I'll be making hummus from scratch for quite a while!

I like to give beans a good soaking before I cook them, and for this hummus I actually let them sprout for a day or two first. Sprouting increases digestability and decreases cooking time. It's also easy, though it's not essential if you don't have the time. Some people actually make a raw hummus from sprouted chickpeas, but they are still a bit crunchy after sprouting, which makes a grainy final product, and I wanted to mimic the creamy, smooth storebought hummus as much as possible.

If you'd like to try sprouting them, soak for 10-12 hours, in dechlorinated water if possible (make it easily!) Drain the soaking water and rinse the chickpeas, then continue to rinse every 12 hours for a day or two, until the tails are about half as long as the chickpea. If you're not sprouting, just soak dry chickpeas overnight before cooking them in the morning.


sprouted chickpeas garbanzo beans

After soaking and sprouting the chickpeas, I cook them in a slow cooker on low for about 5 hours, until the beans are tender. It may take longer, depending on the cooker; my slow cooker seems to cook pretty hot. If you haven't sprouted them, they will likely take longer to soften. 

Or, you can speed up cooking by doing it on the stovetop. I prefer to cook in the slow cooker because I can just toss in the ingredients, turn it on, and go on with my life without thinking about cooking for a while. Stovetop cooking requires constant attention and is easier to screw up, in my experience.


cooking chickpeas garbanzo beans

After cooking, let the beans cool and drain the liquid. I simply put my crock pot outside in the night air to cool off, and continue the hummus recipe in the morning. If you have hot nights, it's probably not such a good idea to leave your pot out overnight or you might end up with fermented chickpeas. When I drain the beans I add the cooking liquid to my chickens' food instead of pouring it down the drain. You may want to use some of the liquid in blending up the hummus as well.

Place about 4 cups of cooled, drained chickpeas (if you are starting from canned, this is where you jump in) in a food processor along with:

1/2 c olive oil
2 t salt
2 cloves garlic
1/2 c sunflower seed butter or sesame tahini
Juice of 1/2 lemon (optional)

I use sunflower butter because that's what I generally have on hand, and it tastes delicious in the hummus, but if you want a more traditional flavor use sesame tahini insead.


how to make hummus
Chickpeas, Olive Oil, Sunflower Butter, Garlic & Salt is all it takes!

Blend everything together until it's creamy smooth. At that point, it's ready, and it's delicious, and it costs pennies rather than dollars, and it didn't come in any wasteful packaging.

This hummus freezes well, so I always make a double batch and stick some in the freezer for later. If you have some extra chickpeas after making this recipe, try roasting them for a delicious, simple and healthy snack; follow the link for instructions.


homemade hummus with veggies
Enjoy with veggies, crackers, or whatever!


We purchase organic garbanzo beans in bulk from Azure Standard, a natural foods distributor. Below are Amazon Affiliate Ads. Any purchase made through them helps support our family. Thanks in advance!

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50 comments

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May 12, 2012 at 8:40 AM

I just scored a bunch of bags of organic frozen chick peas at our local discount store so I will try your recipe!

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May 12, 2012 at 12:50 PM

Perfect! This will be super quick to make from defrosted chickpeas.

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May 16, 2012 at 7:36 PM

My husband is Lebanese and prides himself on his hummus. I never thought of making the chick peas in the slow cooker, though! Great idea!

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May 17, 2012 at 9:02 AM

Thank you so much for the explanation about how to prepare the chick peas. I think the sprouting sounds healthier. And always , I love anything that can be made in my slow cooker.

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May 17, 2012 at 3:07 PM

Yes, slow cookers make it so easy! We pretty much always have hummus around these days; it's so yummy.

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May 17, 2012 at 6:11 PM

Hummus is so delicious! This looks yummy, thanks for sharing! We loved having you link up to our "Strut Your Stuff Saturday." Hope to see you back soon! -The Sisters

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May 18, 2012 at 9:15 AM

I want to do this right now! My kids LOVE hummus & it's such an easy, healthful way to get protein & fiber, too. Thanks so much for sharing! Stopping by via Feed Me Friday & started subscribing all around. Can't wait to poke through & read more! :)

Julie
www.theprogressiveparent.org

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May 19, 2012 at 3:59 AM

Yum!
Thanks for linking up on Successful Saturdays!

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May 19, 2012 at 8:45 AM

I've made homemade hummus, but not from sprouted chickpeas before. Great idea!

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Anonymous
May 21, 2012 at 12:20 PM

LOVED it! I love hummus but never have tahini on hand due to the fact I am not the biggest fan of it! BUT I did have sunflower butter on hand .... made it ... LOVE it! Thanks!!!!!!!
Angie

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May 21, 2012 at 2:51 PM

I'm so glad! Yeah, I was really surprised by how much I like sunflower butter in this recipe, considering tahini is the standard. I think any nut or seed butter would be fine.

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May 21, 2012 at 6:47 PM

what about lemon juice? is it better without it?

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May 21, 2012 at 6:55 PM

Well, it's probably great with lemon, and might have a more traditional flavor that way. I've just been making it without any lemon and it turns out great. I think my 4 year old might like this less-tangy version better. But I like lemon, maybe I'll try it with one squeezed lemon next time!

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May 22, 2012 at 10:43 PM

Found you from a blog hop. As soon as I saw you posted a recipe on sprouted chickpeas, I knew I'd love your site. Thanks for posting. I'm just getting into soaking my rice and sprouting nuts and grains myself.

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June 1, 2012 at 1:59 PM

I love hummus, too. Did you know you can make it from lima beans, and it's so good that even people who don't like lima beans will like it? Northern beans work, too.

Found you via Homemakers Challenge. Staying because you've got a great blog. :)

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June 1, 2012 at 6:41 PM

Thank you Katie! I'll definitely have to try hummus with other types of beans sometime.

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June 21, 2012 at 6:48 PM

Hello! We go through hummus at our house like crazy too! Stopping by to say hello from the Allergy Free Wednesday linky! :) Happy to connect with you :) Cindy

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June 26, 2012 at 9:28 AM

This looks awesome. I've never tried hummus before but now I'm going to have to.

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June 26, 2012 at 9:41 AM

I think you'll like it. It's great as a dip for chips or veggies, and as a sandwich spread. So good for you and tasty!

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June 28, 2012 at 4:14 PM

It's really worth it. Now that we know how, we can't stop making hummus!

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July 17, 2012 at 9:26 AM

I love hummus! Would you consider sharing this on my very first blog hop?
http://offthegridat-30.blogspot.ca/2012/07/frugal-i-made-it-tuesday-1.html

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August 7, 2012 at 1:38 AM

We make hummus quite often and never use cans. The taste is totally different :)
wonderful recipe you have here!

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August 7, 2012 at 1:59 PM

Great Post! I have been making my own hummus for a while and love it, but always from organic canned chickpeas, which can be expensive. I wasn't really sure how to cook the chickpeas but your post really helped. My recipe calls for the juice from the chick pea can but I see yours uses olive oil. Olive oil is sooo good for you and has so many healing properties, so I think I will go ahead and give your recipe a try!! Thanks

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August 7, 2012 at 4:22 PM

It's great to cook them yourself, and apparently the flavor is much better. So easy in the crock pot, too! I do like to use some of the cooking liquid along with the olive oil, it makes them blend up smoother. How much you use just depends on how thick you want your hummus.

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August 19, 2012 at 4:08 AM

Thank you for sharing this delicious, wholesome, homemade hummus with us at The Hearth and Soul hop. I enjoyed reading about how you use sprouted chickpeas.

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Liz
August 25, 2012 at 5:15 PM

Did you know you can ferment the hummus as well? It's even more nutritious that way! :)

I have made hummus with a similar recipe several times. Sometimes I will add black or green olives toward the end in the food processor. Highly addicting!

I love your blog...I'm about to make my first ginger bug. Thank you so much for all of your great information.

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August 25, 2012 at 9:18 PM

Yum, olives in the hummus sound perfect! I will try a fermented hummus next time, thanks for the suggestion!

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September 17, 2012 at 6:09 PM

There is nothing better than fresh hummus! Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! Its awesome bloggers like you that make our party wonderful! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! :) See you next Friday! Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com

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October 14, 2012 at 7:04 AM

This looks delicious. I have not made hummus from scratch before. My mom makes it all of the time, but with canned chickpeas. I think I am going to try your version. Thank you so much for sharing with Wednesdays Adorned From Above Link Party last week. This weeks Link Party is opened at
http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2012/10/almond-sugar-body-scrub-and-wednesdays.html
from Wednesday until Sunday.
Hope to see you there.
Debi Bolocofsky
Adorned From Above
www.adornedfromabove.com

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November 8, 2012 at 2:26 PM

This is the best hummus recipe I've tried. I actually did a sort of touchdown dance when I first tasted it. Thank you!

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November 8, 2012 at 2:54 PM

Aah, that's great to hear! Thanks for letting me know, Anna. It's been my favorite too!

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December 8, 2012 at 10:55 AM

Where did you get your chickpeas? I have yet to find garbanzos that sprout, though I've even purchased them from several Sprout websites. Your sprouted chickpeas look great! Great recipe too!

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December 8, 2012 at 4:36 PM

I had a hard time finding them too, at least organic, but Azure Standard finally started carrying them. Good luck!

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March 17, 2013 at 10:34 PM

I love hummus and so does my toddler. I've been wanting to make homemade hummus for quite some time. You've given me an excuse!

I’d love for you to share this at my blog hop on Tuesday. http://www.healthyrootshappysoul.com/2013/03/tuned-in-tuesday-blog-hop.html

Hope to see you there,
Loriel

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March 18, 2013 at 11:43 AM

Thank you Loriel, I'll check it out.

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April 19, 2013 at 10:10 AM

Thanks for sharing your recipe! I just love hummus, but you're right, it can get very expensive!
Pinned!
Selene @ Restoration Beauty

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May 1, 2013 at 8:45 AM

Sounds like a great idea. I make up chickpeas from dried already but I like the idea of sprouted chickpeas. Thanks for the recipe!

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May 7, 2013 at 11:53 AM

Looks yummy! Thanks for sharing on Wildcrafting Wednesday! Hope to see you again tomorrow!
http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/05/wildcrafting-wednesday-19.html

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Anonymous
June 12, 2013 at 7:29 PM

can i suggest...it takes a couple extra minutes but if your looking for the consistency of store bought just pop them out of their skins and you will have the silkiest hummus ever

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June 13, 2013 at 6:22 AM

Sounds yummy! Thanks for sharing this with us at Eco-Kids Tuesday! Hope to see you again next week! http://likemamalikedaughter.blogspot.com/search/label/Eco-Kids%20Tuesday

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June 22, 2013 at 1:42 PM

Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday. Hope you are having a great weekend and come back soon!
Miz Helen

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August 1, 2013 at 9:42 AM

Thank you so much for posting this! I'm just getting into sprouting. I want to make sprouted hummus, but all I could find were recipes for raw... blech, too grainy!
I noticed that a lot of them noted that it tasted VERY different than regular hummus. Is that because those recipes were raw, or because they used sprouted beans? Did you notice a different taste with cooked sprouted beans?
I volunteered to bring hummus and veggies to a party, but I want to make sure (before I spend four days sprouting the beans) that it's not going to taste funny.

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August 1, 2013 at 9:41 PM

I've also tried the raw, sprouted chickpea hummus recipes, and really didn't like it. They give raw foods a bad name! At least, how mine turned out. But, sprouting and then cooking the chickpeas doesn't give them a weird flavor, and the hummus will turn out just as creamy as a normal cooked hummus. It just increases digestibility.

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August 12, 2013 at 5:28 PM

Where do you get the loose organic chickpeas in bulk? Thanks for sharing this info on Tuesday Greens!

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August 13, 2013 at 4:59 PM

They took me a while to find! Years even. Azure Standard carries them, but you could ask at your local health food store to see if they will order them for you.

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January 26, 2016 at 1:28 AM

I know hummus and it's also made of chick peas.
Hummus Paleo

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February 9, 2016 at 6:18 PM

Chickpeas and Garbanzo Beans are actually the same thing! I think what you call them just depends on where you're from :)

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