Simple Hummus without Tahini

My family loves eating hummus! It's one of our go-to snacks, paired with carrots, pita or pita crackers. I started making my own hummus recently and quickly realized this was going to save us money compared to buying store bought hummus. Plus, it's fun for my 7 year old daughter to help me make (she actually made some all by herself with me observing).

This recipe does not include Tahini which most hummus may contain. What is Tahini? It's a Middle Eastern paste or sauce made from ground sesame seeds. Now I have skipped using Tahini simply for two reasons: 1, it's not an ingredient I ever have on hand. Second, and the more important reason of the two, our daughter has a severe peanut allergy and her allergist wants her to avoid eating sesame. This way our daughter can enjoy eating hummus too, which she happens to LOVE! You can of course add Tahini to this recipe if you enjoy that sesame seed flavor in your hummus.

This recipe will make about 2 cups of hummus.

Ingredients:
(1) 15.5 oz can of garbanzo beans
1/4 cup olive oil (see note below about reducing this in half for lower calories)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 - 1/2 tsp garlic powder (use less or more depending on your love of garlic flavor)
1/4 tsp salt

**Note: For lower calories, use 2 Tbsp olive oil and 2 Tbsp water instead of 1/4 cup olive oil.
Original recipe is 27 calories per Tablespoon. Using 1/2 the olive oil and replacing with water brings the calories down to 19 per Tablespoon.

Directions:
Drain, rinse and drain again your garbanzo beans. Put all ingredients into a food processor. Mix until texture is smooth.

I use a Ninja (style- Kitchen System Pulse) for a food processor. I probably blend the hummus for about a minute, making sure I get the perfect creamy texture. You can salt to taste, I usually end up adding a shake or two more, and I also love the flavor of garlic and lemon so I add a little bit more of each of those. You really can add as little or as much of the garlic powder, lemon juice and salt as you want. 

So how easy is this recipe? It's so simple and very inexpensive compared to store bought hummus. Plus it's delicious! We can't get enough of it. It's a great recipe to have little chefs do on their own if you have a daughter or son showing interest in learning to cook or help out in the kitchen. Just make sure they are extra careful using the food processor as sharp blades are involved. 

Enjoy! Let us know if you try this recipe and what you think!

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