Traditional hummus is a food of Middle Eastern descent that is made from cooked mashed chickpeas that have been blended with tahini, olive oil, salt, garlic and a dash of lemon juice. Prepared hummus can run $3-5 a container in the grocery store, but can easily be prepared at home for about 85 cents- or about .04 cents per serving.
I’m not quite sure why prepared hummus is so expensive in the grocery stores, as I passed a display today I saw a container for $5.97 for approximately 2 cups of hummus! I secretly wondered if it contained caviar too. Hummus is very simple to make at home and it’s loaded with vitamins.
You’ll Need:
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)**
3 cloves garlic (about 1 Tbs. minced)
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1-2 Tbs. Tahini paste (to your taste preference)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup water (or 1/4 c. water & 1/4 c. olive OR canola oil)
** There are 2 options for the beans, you can either purchased them already cooked (canned) or you can purchase dried beans. We choose the latter, first of all, because I hate the amount of sodium & the “tinny” flavor of canned foods and secondly, because it’s about 1/3 of the price.
Soak the beans overnight in cold water. In the morning, rinse them, then add just enough water to cover, place them on the stove and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook until tender, about 1 1/2- 2 hours. Drain and rinse in cold water.
Here’s an optional step, but one that we prefer to do for texture purposes… lightly salt the beans and then rub them gently between your hands under running water to gently remove the skins. While you can leave the skins on, it slightly alters the texture of the finished hummus.
Place them in a bowl and mash them up, add remaining ingredients, blending well until smooth. Serve with fresh pita bread or veggies, as desired. This will last in the fridge about 7 days.
Just prior to serving, add a dash of fresh olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika, if desired.
The GroceryBudget101.com Breakdown:
Garbanzo/Chickpeas 1 lb Bag $1.18 (makes 2 batches) = .59
3 Cloves garlic .06
lemon juice. 06
Tahini Paste ($3.99 for 16 oz jar= 32 Tbs) used 1 Tbs = .12 per Tbs.
onion powder/pepper .02
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Total Cost for a single batch $0.85 for 12 oz of Hummus
A serving size is 2 Tbs. = 24 servings .04 per serving!
© Can Stock Photo Inc. / robynmac
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