Have you ever tried making homemade hummus? I promise it’s honestly very easy to make yourself, not to mention much cheaper and usually much tastier than store-bought! Just like with these oatmeal raisin cookies, the first time I tried making homemade hummus was in college. I probably looked up some recipes online and tried to make it at home using what I had on hand.
What is hummus, anyways?
Hummus is a Middle Eastern recipe made from using chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans). Recipes often also call for tahini, olive oil, and spices.
Ingredients in Hummus
Chickpeas
Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are a legume packed with protein and fiber. I love using chickpeas in both this recipe and this! Canned chickpeas make this recipe quick and easy, although you could of course cook your own dried beans. A tip I have from lots of hummus-making over the years is to peel all of the skins off the chickpeas (yes a little tedious, but worth it) for a silky, creamy smooth texture.
Sweet Potato
Not necessarily a common ingredient in hummus recipes, but after seeing this recipe and since I had sweet potatoes on hand…I was excited to try it! This was the first time I’ve ever had a hummus made with sweet potatoes, and I must say it’s definitely something I will make again!
Tahini
Most classic hummus recipes call for tahini, which is ground sesame seed paste/butter (think of a nut butter, just made with sesame seeds instead). I specifically remember I first tried making homemade hummus in college without using tahini, and to be honest it was definitely missing something and lacking in flavor/texture compared with store-bought hummus. So all that to say, I don’t recommend skipping it! Tahini is easy to find in grocery stores now usually in the nut butter aisle near the peanut butter.
Aquafaba
Have you ever heard of aquafaba? It’s pretty much just a fancy word for the leftover liquid in a can of chickpeas. This was the first time I’ve tried adding it to a hummus recipe, and along with the tahini, the aquafaba makes the hummus creamy and smooth! I found that when using the aquafaba I actually didn’t end up adding olive oil to this recipe, which is unlike most recipes. I found my favorite batches to be the ones using all tahini and aquafaba. Aquafaba is also often used as a substitute for eggs in vegan baking.
Spices
Garlic is definitely a staple ingredient in most hummus recipes. Ground cumin and coriander were the perfect combination to balance the sweetness from sweet potato. A pinch of salt to round out the flavors (really not much in needed with all the other flavors!), and a bit of pure lemon juice to add brightness and round out all the other flavors.
This hummus is absolutely delicious with pretzels, crackers, pita bread, as a spread on sandwiches, as a dip with raw veggies…so many options! Hope you love it! ?
- 1 can chickpeas, skins removed
- 1 cup baked sweet potato, mashed
- ¼ cup tahini
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons coriander
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼-1/3 cup reserved chickpea liquid, depending on desired creaminess and strength of blender
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
- Simply add all ingredients to a high speed blender (such as a Vitamix) or a food processor and blend until combined!
- Store in the refrigerator up to one week.
- Delicious with fresh veggies, crackers, pretzels, tortilla chips, as a spread on sandwiches...so many options!
How lovely. Our girls like hummus AND sweet potatoes, will give this a try!
Yay! I know you’ll love this recipe then 🙂