This gently spiced red lentil hummus is creamy, silky smooth and super light. It will win you over with its whipped like consistency. Sorry chickpeas but there is new kid in town.
Over the years hummus has become one of world's most popular dips.
It doesn't matter what country you're in, I'm pretty sure you can find hummus in your local supermarket. Many different flavours (beetroot, wild garlic) with fancy toppers, smoked perhaps? You name it, you can buy it.
Another thing about hummus is that most of the time it's made with chickpeas, although you can of course make it with other beans and pulses as well (see this lovely broad bean hummus dip).
However, it wasn't until I've discovered hummus made with red lentils that I properly fell in love with this delicious dip.
If you love smooth, silky, creamy, whipped like consistency, that's exactly what you get when using red lentils. Don't get me wrong, you can get all that with chickpeas as well but not without peeling the skins first, which is a bit of a faff to say the least.
With red lentils, there is none of that. Ok, you have to cook them first but all it takes is 15 minutes and it's pretty much hands off kind of task.
When making my red lentil hummus I went with traditional flavours of tahini, garlic, ground cumin and lemon juice. Super simple, really delicious and don't forget you can always use different toppings to add extra dimension while keeping the base super simple. That's my favourite way to go!
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe
- The most amazing silky smooth consistency you will love.
- Simple to make, amazing flavour.
- Perfect as a dip or spread, but also fantastic as a base for topping with different veg, grains and proteins.
- Popular with all ages.
- Great picnic and party food.
- Naturally vegan, gluten and nut-free.
🛒 Ingredients for making Red Lentil Hummus
Here's what you will need to make my Red Lentil Hummus:
Red Lentils - Our hero ingredient. Cheap and cheerful, super quick to cook and super nutritious too.
250g of dried red lentils we use for this recipe will yield approximately 650g of cooked ones which is quite a lot. Although worry not as you will want to eat this hummus with everything.
Tahini - Sesame seeds paste. It's worth using good quality, creamy tahini that is nice and liquid. I love Belazu and Al Nakhil.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Use best olive oil you can. It adds flavour and slight richness too.
Ground Cumin - Classic hummus spice giving it that traditional flavour. You can always experiment with other spices too.
Garlic - Use a decent size clove of raw garlic or if you prefer (and next time you've got your oven on) you can always roast entire head and use few roasted garlic cloves instead. Both work well.
Lemon Juice - For that bit of acidity.
Salt and Pepper - Season to taste.
Water - For cooking lentils and possibly for adjusting consistency when blending.
🔪 How to make Red Lentil Hummus
Ingredient quantities & detailed instructions to be found in recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step 1: Rinse your lentils really well on the sieve and under running water to get rid of all the dust and debris. Pick any stones or impurities which can make their way into the lentils. Boil the kettle with 500ml water.
Step 2: Put washed lentils in a saucepan and pour over 500ml of just boiled water. Give it a stir and bring back to boil. Once boiling, lower the heat, partially cover with a lid and let it cook for approx. 15 min or until all the water has been absorbed and lentils are nice and tender.
***Quick Tip*** Watch your pan as lentils might boil over especially if the lid moves itself shut which happens more than you think.
Take the pan with lentils off the heat and let them sit uncovered to cool slightly.
***Quick Tip***I like to cook my red lentils ahead of time and use for hummus when completely cold unless I intend to use them as a base for a meal. That's when I use just cooked red lentils to make warm hummus which I use as a base and serve topped with veg, grains and protein of choice.
Step 3: Once ready put cooked red lentils, tahini, ground cumin, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a food processor and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
I find the consistency spot on but you might want to add extra splash of water or olive oil to adjust it to your liking.
Serve and enjoy!
🥡 Storing Red Lentil Hummus
Store: Red lentil hummus will keep in the fridge in the airtight container for up to a week providing you don't dip anything in the container you store it in and use a clean utensil every time you want to transfer some hummus to serving dish.
Freeze: Hummus can be frozen in the freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
Defrost: Defrost in the fridge overnight and stir an extra tablespoon or two of olive oil just to adjust consistency and bring it back to its pre-freezing best.
💭 Pro Tips
Don't skip rinsing red lentils. They might look clean but they're covered in dust and dirt. You also want to remove any unwanted debris or stones that might have sneaked into the packaging. Rinsing also helps to remove some starch which improves texture and consistency of cooked lentils.
If you have time let cooked lentils cool completely or at least substantially before blending unless you're after warm hummus to use as a base for other dishes.
Feel free to adjust the amount of lemon juice, garlic and cumin. It's your dip so make it suit your taste. Remember to start with less as it's super easy to add more if you want to but not so easy to take away. The amounts listed in the recipe are to make this dip the way I like it.
Feel free to adjust consistency of your hummus by adding some extra water or olive oil when blending.
Experiment with other spices - smoked paprika, turmeric, ground coriander will all work well. Small quantities, perhaps combine spices together, little at a time, taste and adjust if needed.
🍴 Serving suggestions
Perfect dip for crudités and all other crunchy delights out there. All the usual suspects like carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, celery sticks, red pepper strips, radishes, sugar snap peas, baby corn, broccoli and cauliflower florets etc.
Serve it with your favourite crackers, potato crisps or tortilla chips and have you ever tried dipping potato chips (fries) in hummus? Divine.
As you can imagine any bready goodies will make great pairing. Our favourite is my easy no-knead focaccia and soft and fluffy homemade breadsticks. We also love it with my tofu and mushrooms sausage rolls. Might sounds weird but works.
Next time you're making a sandwich, red lentil hummus will make a fantastic spread. We love it on my granary bread or with these easy bread rolls.
Different toppings add interest to your hummus without changing base flavour. Try caramelised onions, sun dried tomatoes, za'atar and drizzle of flavoured olive oil etc. For a bit of extra texture try air fryer chickpeas or crispy cannellini beans.
Turn it into pasta sauce adjusting consistency with some pasta cooking water and adding some roasted or steamed veg too.
I could go on but you know best how to enjoy your hummus.
❓FAQ
Yes you can use blender instead of food processor. The results will be pretty much the same if not better if it's a high speed blender.
With this particular hummus you could even try stick (immersion) blender at a push. Your hummus won't be as smooth but it's doable.
Have you tried my Red Lentil Hummus?
Please consider giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in recipe card below and share your views or tips in the comments.
📋 Recipe
Red Lentil Hummus (Silky Smooth)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 250 g dried red lentils
- 500 ml water for cooking lentils
- 4 tablespoon tahini
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 garlic clove see notes
- 4 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse your lentils really well on the sieve and under running water to get rid of all the dust and debris. Pick any stones or impurities which can make their way into the lentils. Boil the kettle with 500ml water.250 g dried red lentils
- Put washed lentils in a saucepan and pour over 500ml of just boiled water. Give it a stir and bring back to boil. Once boiling, lower the heat, partially cover with a lid and let it cook for approx. 15 min or until all the water has been absorbed and lentils are nice and tender.500 ml water, 250 g dried red lentils
- Take the pan with lentils off the heat and let them sit uncovered to cool slightly.
- Once ready put cooked red lentils, tahini, ground cumin, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a food processor and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.I find the consistency spot on but you might want to add extra splash of water or olive oil to adjust it to your liking.Serve and enjoy!4 tbsp tahini, 1 tbsp ground cumin, 4 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil, salt and pepper
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate, per 2 tablespoon serving based on 21 servings and should be treated as a rough guideline only.
- This recipe yields approximately 650ml of hummus.
- feel free to use roasted garlic instead of raw. You might want to use few cloves as it's much more mellow in flavour.
- Feel free to use extra water or olive oil to adjust consistency of your hummus.
- Store in a fridge for up to a week. Freezer friendly. See 🥡 Storing for more details.
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