Red Lentil Hummus (Silky Smooth)

Red lentil hummus served in a bowl on a board with crisps, carrots, bread and more.

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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.

Course Dip, Snack, Spread

Cuisine International, Middle Eastern

Keyword red lentil hummus

Prep Time 10

Lentils cooking time 15

Total Time 25

Servings 2 tablespoon servings

Calories 73kcal

Author Jo Allison

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Nutrition