Healthy Snack of the Week: Homemade Hummus

Hummus and chips certainly ranks among the easiest of healthy snacks to keep on hand and to serve.

Just don’t spoil it by telling your kids that grocery store hummus is usually made from mashed chickpeas (neither chick nor pea), also known as garbanzo beans.

garbanzo beans — via cookforyourlife.org

Beans, in general, are good for them—low in fat while full of protein, fiber, and vitamins such as potassium and iron.

While there are plenty of high-quality and quite-delicious hummus varieties available at your local market, making your own hummus enables you to control the flavor and the content. Utilizing a canned product from your pantry shelf provides the option of creating your hummus any time you want.

Hummus Ingredients — via handychemist.net

For the most basic hummus, take one drained 15-ounce can of garbanzo beans, one-third cup of tahini (sesame paste), one-quarter cup of lemon juice (about two lemons if freshly squeezed), two cloves of garlic (cut in half), and a teaspoon of salt. Combine on low-speed in a blender or food processor.

If you prefer to go tahini-free, replace with two teaspoons of ground cumin and a tablespoon of olive oil and slightly reduce the amount of lemon juice. A trick to achieve the right consistency is to slowly add the juice from the drained can of beans as your blender does its work. To flavor your hummus, consider adding a bit of ground pepper, soy sauce, or paprika. Although wonderful atop your favorite pita chips, a healthier alternative is to serve your family hummus on cucumber slices, celery or carrot sticks.

hummus and cucumber — via abeautifulmess.com

For an interesting twist, try making sweet potato hummus. Add a large, cooked sweet potato (which has cooled) to a mixture of cooked chickpeas (two cups); two tablespoons of olive oil; four tablespoons of tahini; lemon juice; two garlic cloves; a tablespoon of cumin; and dashes of cinnamon, salt, and black pepper. To spice up this version, consider a teaspoon of sriracha sauce.

Another chickpea idea—chickpea poppers—comes recommended by Brenda Kline, a registered dietitian and nutritionist from Northern Virginia.

“I made them with my grandchildren last week,” she says. “They love chickpeas and love to help out. Food should be fun in addition to being healthy. With this recipe, I let them do the measuring and it still only took about three minutes (to prepare).”

The recipe Brenda used is available on eatright.org. The same site also offers a recipe for pizza hummus.

What’s your favorite hummus recipe? Share your experience with our K12 readers.

Featured Image – Veganbaking.net / CC by 2.0