Hummus (or houmous!) not only tastes great, but it’s packed with protein, healthy fats and soluble fibre – making it a superfood in my opinion!
Making your own hummus is a great way of not only saving money, but cutting calories too (handy if you’re trying to lose weight!). Swapping your regular hummus for this low calorie healthy hummus will save you over 100Kcal and 10g fat per 50g serving and it really is simple to make too!
And for more information about calories check out these stats (and by the way – I’m not demonising ‘calories’ in any way – it’s just that if you are able to save a few hundred here and there then it really does make weight loss easier OR it means you can eat twice the amount!!) .. Per 100g:
- Shop-bought regular hummus = 332 calories
- Shop-bought reduced fat hummus = 252 calories
- Nic’s Nutrition’s hummus = 125 calories
Hummus is the perfect starter or dip (I like to serve mine with crudités such as carrots or cucumber, or [these] Snackettes from Linwoods; they packed with healthy fats & soluble fibre from linseeds & they are so yummy!) or as with falafel.
Healthy Hummus Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tin chickpeas* (240g drained)
- 1 heaped tbsp (20g) tahini - creamed sesame seeds**
- 1/2 cup (105g) low fat natural/plain yoghurt
- 2 chopped/crushed garlic cloves
- juice from 1 lemon (or 2 tbsp lemon juice)
- 1/2 tsp salt (essential!)
- OPTIONAL: 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tbsp olive oil and/or 1 roasted red pepper
Instructions
- Put the chickpeas, tahini, yoghurt, garlic, salt, lemon juice and any optional extras such as roasted red pepper or cumin into a food processor or blender***
- Blend! And if you would like a smoother hummus then add 1-2 tbsp of the chickpea water at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
- Serve with raw carrot batons or toasted pitta bread and enjoy!
Notes
*Keep some of the chickpea water for a smoother consistency. You could also try swapping 1/2 of the chickpeas for white beans (cannellini beans) for a slightly different taste/texture.
**If you can't find tahini paste (some supermarkets don't stock it, you can use 2 tbsp of sesame oil)
**I use [this blender] from Sage!
Nutrition stats are for per 7th of the recipe.
P.S You can make your hummus & chunky or as smooth as you like. For a smoother consistency simply add more yoghurt or chickpea water!
Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 66 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 3 g | 5% | |
Total Carbohydrates 6 g | 2% | |
Protein 4 g | 8% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
*This blog post contains an affiliate link. Please read my disclaimer page for more information.
Would this recipe work with plain soya yoghurt, if we don’t want to use dairy yoghurt?
Author
Hello! Yes it would but it will taste differently of course 🙂 You could omit though and just use more tahini!
throwing a birthday bbq this weekend and going to try this hummus recipe…i’ve never managed to make a hummus which wasn’t either too garlicky or too lemony or with too much tahini…been through a few tins of chickpeas!! so will give this a go 🙂
Author
OOOh you’ll love this one guarenteed 🙂 Enjoy!! xx
Yum! Yum! Yum! I love hummus but rarely eat it as it’s so calorific, so I was really interested to try this recipe and I made it using Alpro soya plain yogurt. I tasted it prior to the addition of salt, and yes, deffo needs salt! I found I only needed to add 1/2 tsp salt because after I had added ground cumin, it was just perfect! Next time I won’t blend it so much or add all the yogurt though, as it was a bit too smooth for my liking. Look forward to experimenting with different flavour combos – Big thumbs up Nic! x
Author
Hi Kagsema, thank you so much for your comment and fab suggestions – I really appreciate it! Yes I think the soya yoghurts are a little runnier than other yoghurts so good idea on using slightly less next time. The salt really helps to bring out the flavour hey! Enjoy your hummus!! xx
So quick and easy to make! I added sundried tomato puree then at the end for serving I added a little chilli olive oil and walnuts and loved it! (tip: make sure to drain the chickpeas and add the water only if needed.. 😉
Author
Hehe thanks for your great comment Jo! And I love the pic – going to upload it now! xx
Hi Nic
Would you use greek yoghurt for the yoghurt or would it be too thick?
Thanks! x
Author
Greek yoghurt would be fine! 🙂 x
How much would a serving weigh in grams or in tbs?
Author
about 3 heaped tbsp 🙂
Hi Nic, I have struggled to find a healthy hummus recipe I like and now I have found one. Yippee! I do however think 1tsp of salt is too much for us as we gave up adding salt to food for health reasons a few years ago. The first batch I made as directed and found it far too salty. I have just made another batch and tasted it without salt and you are right you do need some salt. I tried 1/4 tsp but felt that was not enough but 1/2 tsp was just right. Thank you for this great recipe.
Author
Aw that’s great to hear – thank you for letting me know, I usually just add a pinch!
Can you replace the tahini with anything?
Author
Try cashew nut butter! x
What is the serving size? 1 tablespoon, 2? Please help!! Greetings from the US!
Author
2 heaped tbsp 🙂
Sorry but I’m a bit confused over the serving size, you replied to Maria that a serving size was 2 heaped tablespoons but earlier you replied to Juliet that a serving would be 2 tablespoons. You give the calories as 66 per serving but it would be good to know what a serving is either in tablespoons or grams. Many thanks
Author
Hi Pam, I made this recipe quite a while ago now; however I would say that the calorie stats change depending on what ingredients you use e.g. type of yoghurt… if you look on the nutrition labels you should be able to work out the calories of the whole recipe then what 1/4 of it is (by dividing the total amount by 4) etc; hope this helps?
I made this with Greek yogurt and added some lemon juice and crushed cumin. Still wanted a little something more so added some freshly ground carroway seeds. Yum! Thank you for this healthful, tasty, low-cal hummous inspiration. Brilliant! Glad to have discovered you by reading my new favorite magazine: Superfoods.
Author
Aw that’s amazing to hear Debbie – love your additions and welcome!! xx
Can you please tell me what the shelf life is for this recipe.
Author
2-3 days in the fridge?
Hey Nic – made this first time earlier – YUM! You are a star! The addition of natural yoghurt was genius. Thanks! ?
Author
Aw thank you!!
Hi Nic! I cannot stress enough how much better hummus is when you cook the canned chickpeas with a teaspoon of baking soda 10 mins or so- they get all nice and soft and the ‘shells’come off. I found that straight from the can, they taste way too gritty! Add fresh parsley and coriander as well and plenty of spices:) and lemon is essential.Don’t need much olive oil either, I put in maybe a teaspoon in. AND most important is the tahini, always go for a good quality one, to avoid bitterness. This still keeps it low calorie and yum!
Author
Aw wow that’s so interesting!!
Hi Nic, would the taste still be OK without adding lemon, unfortunately it is a migraine trigger for me.
Author
yes it would be lovely 🙂