Square white dish with homemade houmous drizzled with olive oil, with a side of sliced pitta bread.

Back to Basics: Houmous!

Back to Basics: Houmous

You know, houmous is one of those things which automatically gets added to the weekly shop without too much thought but it’s really so simple to make your own and takes about as long to make as it does to wrestle the box out of the cardboard sleeve and remove the plastic! 😀 Houmous (or hummus / humus) is traditionally a Middle Eastern food used as a dip made from crushed chickpeas (garbanzo / besan peas). Yumyum… we love Chickpeas at Life Diet Health!

chickpeas WM
Can you have too many chickpeas?


Why eat Chickpeas?

Chickpeas are a great source of protein, carbohydrate, iron, zinc, B vitamins as well as containing phosphorus, folate, magnesium and even Vitamin C! 🙂 We use them for all sorts of things such as roasting, adding to casseroles, salads, grains and use the flour to make batters (think onion bhaji), pancakes and breads. We also use the liquid from tinned chickpeas (you can also use the liquid from freshly cooked dried ones) as aquafaba which we use in meringues, mousses and bread! Bet you can’t tell that chickpeas are one of our favourite foods! Don’t tell anyone but I have been known to eat them straight out of the can! 😛

close up of chickpea topped houmous
Smooth delicious creamy nutritious houmous.

The Houmous recipe

Anyway, houmous is one of those things which is so quick and easy to make… if you know how but I realised that we don’t have a recipe for it on the blog – so here it is! 🙂 I’ve added houmous to the back to basics series along with crumble and porridge as it’s something so simple but often overlooked! As with all recipes, you can switch out ingredients to make it better suited to your taste or pantry (lime for lemon, chili for black pepper etc.) or add some in to fancy it up a bit! 🙂 Try adding sundried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, black olives, pesto or fresh basil, or a drizzle of olive oil into the mix. Whatever you do, make sure you enjoy it! Dip it, spread it, spoon it! Serve it with delicious pitta strips or these delicious green banana nut cutlets! 🙂

Back to Basics: Houmous

Fresh, tasty, wholesome houmous! A blend of chickpeas, garlic and a few extras.

Course: dip, sides, Snack, spread, starter
Cuisine: middle eastern
Keyword: chickpeas, dips, houmous, hummus
Created by:: Laurena @LifeDietHealth
Gather
  • 1 x 400 g tin chickpeas (drained but keep the liquid)
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 heaped teaspoon tahini (or use 2 teaspoons sesame seeds blended)
  • 1 small garlic clove (or 1/4 teaspoon garlic granules)
  • Black pepper
  • Salt to taste (I use pink Himalayan)
Prepare
  1. Tip the chickpeas into the food processor and add 2 tablespoons of the reserved chickpea liquid.
  2. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, tahini, garlic, black pepper and salt.
  3. Blend until smooth (or leave chunky if you like) adding more of the reserved liquid if needed. Taste test. Adjust seasoning by adding more lemon or salt.
  4. Enjoy!
Tips & Storage
  • Drizzle with your favourite olive oil to serve (I used a Spanish tomato olive oil)
  • Add some fresh chopped herbs – basil or coriander work well.
  • Serve cold with crudités (sticks of carrots, cucumber, peppers, celery etc)
  • Serve warm with fresh bread
  • Spread on toast, fill a sandwich, pack a pitta
  • Top a jacket potato
  • Dollop it over your salad for added protein
  • Store refrigerated and covered for up to 5 days
bowl of houmous drizzled with oil
Houmous garnished with chickpeas, olive oil, black pepper and coriander.

 

14 Comments

  • Antonia 10th June 2016 at 03:52

    I love hummus! Delicious!

    Reply
    • Life Diet Health 10th June 2016 at 21:07

      Thank you! 🙂 me too! especially with falafel yumyum.

      Reply
  • Semra Polat 10th June 2016 at 17:50

    Ramadan Mubarak dear ♥

    Reply
    • Life Diet Health 10th June 2016 at 21:10

      you too 🙂 inshaAllah your Ramadan has started well. x

      Reply
  • lapetitepaniere 13th June 2016 at 09:48

    I’m totally with you about homemade Houmous. Sometimes I made it with zaatar. Yours looks really smooth and creamy!
    Wishing you a blessed Ramadan to you and your family. Thank you for bringing this recipe to the Fiesta! 🙂

    Reply
    • Life Diet Health 13th June 2016 at 14:08

      Thank you. It must be delicious with za’atar 🙂 Hope you’re having fun co-hosting and that all the lovely recipes aren’t making you hungry in Ramadan!

      Reply
      • lapetitepaniere 14th June 2016 at 10:15

        I’m having fun and all the amazing posts are very inspiring during this Ramadan! 🙂 And I confess, a little hungry 😀

        Reply
        • Life Diet Health 14th June 2016 at 11:21

          I’m sure I couldn’t host in Ramadan so well done you! I even ended up making (& eating) things as I read the posts! InahaAllah lots of inspiration for iftar though! 🙂

          Reply
  • Deborah Smikle-Davis (@debsmikdav1) 15th June 2016 at 18:11

    What mouthwatering photos! This is one of my favorite treats! Thank you for sharing this healthy and delicious Houmous recipe with us at the Plant-Based Potluck Party. I’m pinning and sharing.

    Reply
    • Life Diet Health 16th June 2016 at 00:08

      Thanks Deborah 🙂 Houmous is not something I normally take photos of so I’m glad you think it looked mouthwatering! I think it’s the dip (or spread) I use most often… yumyum! 🙂

      Reply
  • Share Vegan Food & Fun at the Plant Based Potluck Party Link Up #90 15th June 2016 at 19:13

    […] Back to Basics: Houmous from lifediethealth […]

    Reply
  • Carrot Cake – Vegan & Free-From! | Life Diet Health 16th June 2016 at 23:32

    […] this with the lovely Deborah at the Plant Based Potluck Party… my houmous is one of the features over there this week! 🙂  Looking forward to seeing what other goodies are […]

    Reply
  • Create a home salad bar with delicious texture, taste and colour ⋆ Life Diet Health 30th June 2022 at 12:07

    […] fan. Perhaps you like vinegar, balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar on your food. Do you like to cover everything in houmous, tahini or mild mustard. Are you a salad cream, mayonnaise, vinaigrette, ranch or caesar dressing […]

    Reply
  • Delicious easy recipe for more mushrooms than you can eat! ⋆ Life Diet Health 10th November 2022 at 13:37

    […] I would try something new! Of course, if mushrooms are something you prefer to leave, then try my regular houmous instead! Why mushroom houmous? Well, as many of you know, I hate food waste, and when I saw loads […]

    Reply

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