Make this low-calorie hummus with garlic and tahini! Despite its being low-fat, it is the best hummus recipe I've ever tasted.
This low-calorie or light hummus is the best hummus recipe ever!
I am normally careful with things like best ever, ultimate, and so on, but in this case, I cannot help it. There was never a better hummus for me, and trust me, I made and ate lots and lots of them, endless variations of it, with chickpeas or beans or lentils, with red peppers white bean dip or regular hummus, with sesame paste or peanut butter, I even put feta or cream cheese in it.
I love all hummus varieties, but this low-calorie version is my favorite. It might be the garlic or the nigella seeds adding that special touch or its creaminess. Probably, it's the combination of all these elements.
Plus, it's low-fat, made with just 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and tahini, and has only about 60 calories per serving. Most hummus recipes are loaded with oil and tahini, making them delicious but not as light.
I always make a large batch of low-calorie hummus since it keeps in the fridge for about a week. We enjoy it on bread, with bread chips, and as a dip for veggie sticks, as a side dish for kรถfte (Turkish meatballs) and turkey skewers. It is amazing every time!
And if you would like to try a healthy dessert made with pulses, how about these Low-Calorie Brownies?
How to cook chickpeas for hummus?
You can make the low-fat hummus with dried chickpeas, which you can cook yourself, or with canned chickpeas. Cooking chickpeas is not a big deal; it just requires a bit of organization and time.
For 9 oz/ 250 g cooked chickpeas, you must cook about 4.5 oz/ 125 g dry chickpeas, but I recommend cooking more and freezing the rest. I always cook a big batch of chickpeas, normally a whole package. I use what I need immediately and freeze the rest; they keep perfectly for a long time. Use some to make Vegan Apple Curry with Chickpeas or Spanish Pork Stew.
The packages I buy usually say that 30 to 45 minutes is enoughโthat is a lie! ๐ My chickpeas always need at least one and a half hours, if not longer.
To make this light hummus, you will also need some cooking water, so don't throw it all away immediately.
- Remember to soak the chickpeas the day before; they should soak for at least 12, preferably longer, and up to 24 hours.
- Drain and rinse, place in a pot, and cover them with plenty of water. Add 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda.
- Cook until they are really, really, really soft; cooking time always depends on the size and age of the chickpeas.
Tips for making low-fat hummus
Use good quality tahini paste (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab). It is not very cheap, but a jar goes a long way and keeps a long time in the fridge.
Fresh garlic is mandatory. I used two very large cloves, and they were not too much, but I do adore garlic. Don't even consider using garlic powder or something like that, or you will ruin the hummus. Start with one garlic clove and add more according to your taste.
If you blend the spread with a handheld mixer, grate the garlic cloves before adding them to the chickpeas to prevent larger pieces from entering your mouth later.
Use the spices generously; there is nothing worse than a bland dip. Don't forget the nigella seeds on top; they really add a little bit of extra something. (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab).
I make the low-calorie hummus in the Thermomix, and I recommend using a good, powerful kitchen machine to get a really nice creamy consistency.
Remember to scrape the walls of your kitchen machine several times in between. Continue processing the chickpeas, occasionally adding a bit of cooking water until you reach perfect consistency.
More dips and spreads
Recipe
Low-Calorie Hummus - Best Hummus Recipe Ever
Ingredients
- 9 oz cooked chickpeas the same amount of canned chickpeas (See note)
- some chickpea cooking water or water from the can
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 heaped tablespoon tahini
- ยฝ - 1 teaspoon fine sea salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ยฝ teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon hot paprika
- nigella seeds to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- Drain the chickpeas, but keep about 1 cup of cooking water or the water from the can.
- Blend: Place the drained chickpeas in the food processor. Add the grated garlic cloves, olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, salt, cumin, coriander, and paprika and process until really smooth, scraping the walls of the food processor a few times in between.
- Add some cooking water (or water from the chickpea can) little by little to obtain the desired consistency. You don't have to add it all; stop when you think the texture is correct, it should have more or less the consistency of mashed potatoes.
- Adjust the taste with more lemon juice or salt. Transfer to a bowl, and sprinkle with nigella seeds.
Dee says
Really good. I stopped a few times, checked the seasoning and scrapped the sides down. Added more liquid until it was just right. It's a keeper.
Adina says
I am happy to hear it, Dee. Thanks for the feedback.
Jacquie says
This is delicious! I made a few modifications due to lack of ingredients/nutritional value. I used a scoop of miso in place of the salt (to add the additional fermented/nutritional component), I replaced the coriander with fresh chopped cilantro, and I substituted smokey paprika for the sweet and hot paprikas.
Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I'm excited to explore your website further.
Adina says
I am happy to hear it, Jacquie. Miso sounds good, I never tried it, but I will now. And I hope you will find many recipes you like here.
L says
This was really good. I made some modifications - was out of chickpeas, so I used Cannellini beans. Didn't have hot paprika, so I used 1/2 tsp of cayenne. I did bump up the lemon a little bit and want light on the salt.
Really good and I will be doing it again. Finally found a use for all those well-intentioned cans of apocalypse beans in my emergency supply, nearing their expiration date!
Adina says
Apocalypse beans sounds good, have some of those myself :). I love bean hummus, too; it's always a great change.
Crystal says
Just to clarify - if we use canned chickpeas, they donโt need to be cooked? We go straight to the recipe and use some of the canned water in the can?
Adina says
Yes. Canned chickpeas are already cooked.
Lynn says
This hummus was fantastic! Using it with celery. I found in other comments that a serving was slight heaped tablespoon. Oops! Overshot that but I'll be better next snack! ๐ค
susan says
This recipe indeed made the best hummus I ever had. I ate it all myself in 2 days. I could have finished it all the first day. I made it as written but without the paprikas, coriander and nigella seeds (increasing the cumin) using canned chickpeas which I drained, rinsed and boiled in water with 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda for 20 minutes. Last week I made hummus using 1/2 c. Tahini and way more olive oil. This was way better. You sacrifice nothing in taste and texture using this recipe. Thank you so much.
Adina says
Hi Susan. Thank you for the feedback and the rating. That's why I love this hummus recipe so much myself, a lot less fat but actually better than the full fat version.