Homemade Hummus

Most hummus recipes call for olive oil, however my sister and brother-in-law try to avoid oil whenever possible. So...one day I made my homemade hummus recipe without oil and it was incredible! I also played around with a few additives and found that every flavor combination was incredibly delicious. Essentially I made 1 batch of plain hummus, then divided it into three batches and added different herbs/veggies, resulting in a mini trio hummus sampler. So yummy! Below are full recipes for an entire batch of hummus, and a full batch of the variations. In the picture, I had one scoop of each flavor of hummus (not plain) and shredded cucumber strips. Makes for a delicious and light lunch!

Homemade Hummus (with 3 variations)
-Pesto Inspired
-Cilantro Jalepeno
-Roasted Red Pepper

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

Classic Hummus Ingredients: 

•  3 Tbs lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1 14oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt (I like to use pink Himalayan sea salt)
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• dash of cayenne

Instructions: 

1. To make the classic hummus base, combine the lemon juice and water in a measuring cup. Measure out the tahini and set aside. 
2. Add the chickpeas, garlic, salt, cumin, and cayenne to a food processor and pulse until the chickpeas are almost fully ground. 
3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With machine running, add the lemon juice-water mixture through the feed tube. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and pour the tahini over the chickpea mixture. Process until smooth. 
4. If you like plain hummus, then you are done! Refrigerate and enjoy. If you like a little variety, three varieties are below. 

Pesto Hummus:

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 Tbs lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Follow Classic Hummus Recipe and add an additional tablespoon of lemon juice to the water mixture. 
2. Add the pine nuts and basil when you add the chickpeas. Process and enjoy!

Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus:

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
• 1 Tbs pickled jalapeno slices, drained

Instructions:

1.  Follow Classic Hummus Recipe, adding the cilantro leaves and jalapeno slices to the processor with the chickpeas. Process and enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup roasted red peppers, rinsed and dried

Instructions:

1.  Follow Classic Hummus Recipe, adding the roasted red peppers to the processor with the chickpeas. Process and enjoy!