Homemade hummus

One of my favourite snacks to have around is hummus. Traditionally, it's often eaten with pita, but I love it with some fresh vegetables. I'll also use it as a spread on whole grain crackers, or as a substitute for other condiments on a sandwich or burger.

It's a bit expensive to buy, but super easy to make. All you need is a food processor and the necessary ingredients. I thought I'd share my basic recipe today. This one is for roasted red pepper hummus, but you could leave them out or substitute something else instead.

Keep in mind, I don't measure things, but this isn't the type of recipe where you have to be exact.

The ingredient list:

Chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans)
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Tahini (or sesame seed paste; I found it next to the peanut butter with the other nut butters)
Garlic (fresh not powdered)
Red peppers
Olive oil spray

1. Cut up the red pepper and cut the ends off your garlic cloves. Put them on a pan. I just roast them in the toaster oven. Give them a quick spray with olive oil and put them in until they are soft (around 10 minutes).


2. Rinse your chickpeas and toss them into the food processor. I had a can of them around when I made this batch, but I usually use dry ones. If you use dry ones, you'll have to soak and cook them according to the directions first.


3. Add the red peppers and garlic. Reserve some of the red pepper for garnish.

4. Add about 1 Tbsp of olive oil and 1 Tbsp of lemon juice.

5. Add tahini. I'd estimate I use about 2 Tbsp here. (That's actually a teaspoon I'm doling it out with.) Sure, you can make hummus without the tahini, but it doesn't taste as good. It's worth the extra calories.


6. Put the lid on the food processor and whir away!

7. Add more liquid if necessary. If it looks like the picture below, it'll need more. I usually add lemon juice when I need extra. You want it to be dippable and spreadable. Process more after you add the liquid.

8. Take a picture of it once fully processed. Somehow I missed this step and my camera had a picture of my adorable (though dirty faced) daughter instead.


9. Garnish with extra red pepper and... Eat!


I'll keep this hummus in my fridge for about 5 days. It may stay good longer then that, but I'm a bit cautious about expiry dates. It also freezes beautifully, but the red pepper garnish doesn't, so leave that off of any portion you're going to freeze.

I've also thought of making it with butternut squash or carmelized onions. I've seen versions in the grocery store with pinenuts. Use your imagination!