Low-Calorie Hummus – Best Hummus Recipe Ever

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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 or turmeric, with sesame paste or peanut butter, I even put feta or cream cheese in it.

Not to mention the constant changing of the spices: cumin, coriander, paprika, even garam masala, or another curry powder.

I really love all of them, but this low-calorie hummus cannot be topped, in my opinion. It could be the garlic in it or the nigella seeds that add a little bit of something else, its creaminess …. I don’t know, probably the combination of them all.

And not to forget that it is a low-fat or low-calorie hummus, made with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon tahini, and it has only about 60 calories per serving. Not many hummus recipes can keep up with that; most of them contain loads of oil and tahini. Still extremely delicious but not so light on the hips.

I always make quite a huge batch of low-calorie hummus, as it keeps in the fridge for about a week. We have it on bread and with bread chips, as a dip for veggie sticks, as a side dish for köfte (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?

• 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.
• 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.
• On the packages I buy it is usually written that 30 to 45 minutes would be enough: that is a lie! 🙂 My chickpeas always need at least one and a half hours, if not longer.
• I always cook a big batch of chickpeas, normally a whole 500 g package. I use what I need immediately and freeze the rest; they keep perfectly for a long time.
• To make this light hummus, you will need some cooking water as well, so don’t throw it all away immediately.
• To have 250 g/ 8.8 oz cooked chickpeas, you will have to cook about 125 g/ 4.4 oz dry chickpeas, but I totally recommend cooking more and freezing the rest.

Tips for making low-fat hummus?

• Use good quality tahini paste. It is not very cheap, but a jar goes a long way, and it keeps a really long time in the fridge. (Amazon affiliate link).
• Fresh garlic is mandatory, I used two very large cloves, and they were not too much, in my opinion, 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, do grate the garlic cloves before adding them to the chickpeas to make sure you will not have any larger pieces of it in your mouth later on.
• Use the spices generously; there is nothing worse than a bland dip, and don’t forget the nigella seeds on top; they really add a little bit of extra something. (Amazon affiliate link).
• I make the low-calorie hummus in the Thermomix, and I do recommend using a good and powerful kitchen machine to get a really nice creamy consistency.
• Don’t forget to scrape the walls of your kitchen machine several times in between and continue processing the chickpeas, adding a bit of cooking water from time to time, until you reach the perfect consistency.

More low-calorie dips and spreads?

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Low-Calorie Hummus – Best Hummus Recipe Ever

Low-calorie hummus with garlic and tahini! Despite its being low-fat, it is the best hummus recipe I've ever tasted.

4.87 from 37 votes

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Course: Dips, Sauces and Dressings

Cuisine: Middle East

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Servings: 10

Calories: 65kcal

Author: Adina

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Ingredients 

USEU

• ▢ 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
• ▢ 1/2 – 1 teaspoon fine sea salt to taste
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin
• ▢ ½ 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.

Notes

To cook dry chickpeas, soak them in plenty of water for 12-24 hours. Then, drain, cover with plenty of water again, add 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, bring to a boil, and cook, covered, until the chickpeas are soft; it will take more than one hour, depending on the size and age of the chickpeas.

To obtain 250 g/ 8.8 oz cooked chickpeas, you will have to cook about 125 g/ 4.4 oz dry chickpeas, but I recommend cooking more and freezing the rest.

The recipe makes 350 g/ 12.4 oz hummus, so one portion would be 35 g/ 1.2 oz. That is one slightly heaped tablespoon of hummus.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/10 of the dish | Calories: 65kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 215mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g

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