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Healthy Hummus (Fermented, GF & Vegan)

Fermented hummus for a probiotic snack.
Homemade healthy hummus is affordable and delicious

This homemade hummus is a healthy, delicious, and affordable snack. It is ideal for lunch, picnics, potlucks, and parties. It also can be fermented for a probiotic dip!

Miso-fermented healthy hummus.

However, the main reason to make hummus is that it is ridiculously cheap and easy. All it takes is a decent food processor and about 10 minutes.

Dried or Canned Chickpeas?

Using canned chickpeas in this recipe is perfectly fine, especially if you are short on time. However, if you’ve got time and can plan ahead, then I recommend using dried chickpeas.

Dried chickpeas are better than canned because:

  • Cooking chickpeas according to the recipe below will result in very soft chickpeas that are perfect for hummus. They are smooth, creamy, and easy to grind up in a blender.
  • Canned beans may have preservatives or extra salt.
  • Dried chickpeas are much more affordable than canned chickpeas.
  • Buy them in bulk for a waste-free option! (We buy chickpeas in large quantities).

Cultures for Fermenting

It’s not necessary to ferment this healthy hummus. However, it’s really easy, probiotic, and the culture acts as a preservative!

Here are a few simple options for cultures:

  • Miso is my favorite way to culture hummus. It adds a depth of flavor that works well with garlic and tahini. However, store-bought, shelf-stable miso has been pasteurized and won’t be able to culture your hummus, so make your own miso or buy it from the refrigerated section of the grocery store.
  • Apple cider vinegar is a close runner-up to miso. It adds a tanginess that is perfect for a sandwich spread. To make sure the ACV has live culture, use a brand that is labeled raw, unpasteurized, or with mother.
  • Vegetable brine or a vegetable starter won’t really change the flavor. They are the best option for plain hummus.
  • Probiotic beverages like kombucha will give the hummus a bit of sparkliness. However, the carbonation should calm down after a few days in the fridge.

Adding Flavor to Hummus

The best part about homemade hummus is that you get to choose your own flavors and toppings.

Simple fermented hummus is rich and flavorful all on its own, and the flavor will vary depending on what is used for the fermentation. Even so, it’s always fun to add a bit more pizzazz.

Added flavors

Flavor (and color) hummus by adding in a 1/4 cup of a flavor when grinding the chickpeas. Here are a few options:

  1. Roasted red peppers
  2. Pesto
  3. Wilted spinach
  4. Cooked sweet potato or pumpkin
  5. Roasted beets

Added Toppings

Traditionally hummus is flavored with a topping. Add a topping right before serving. A batch of hummus works with about 2-4 Tbsp of a topping in the center of the hummus along with a drizzle of olive oil.

Here are some delicious topping options:

  1. Mixed olives, finely chopped
  2. Roasted pine nuts
  3. Za’atar spice mix
  4. Fresh herbs like parsley, chives, basil, or sumac
  5. Roasted garlic, finely diced
  6. Caramelized onions
  7. Chili oil
Gluten-free and vegan, healthy hummus
Print

Healthy Hummus

Fermented hummus for a probiotic snack.
Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

This healthy hummus is a delicious probiotic snack. Adding ACV or miso acts as a natural preservative and really adds a flavor dimension to this easy dip. See the section above for 8 different toppings and 5 different flavor options.

  • Author: Emillie
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 mins
  • Yield: 2 cups 1x
  • Category: Sides
  • Method: Fermented
  • Cuisine: Lebanese
  • Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 1/4 cups dried chickpeas (or 2 -14 oz cans)
  • 1 tsp baking soda (for dried chickpeas)
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 cup light tahini
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water
  • 1 tsp salt, to taste
  • 2 Tbsp fermentation culture (optional, see section above for details)
  • 2 Tbsp of olive oil

Instructions

Cooking the Chickpeas

  1. Soak the dried chickpeas in 3 cups of water for 8 to 12 hours.
  2. Drain the chickpeas and place them in a saucepan. Cover them with water and add 1 tsp of baking soda.
  3. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 to 40 minutes, until the chickpeas are cooked. They should be soft but not mushy. The exact cooking time will depend on the freshness of the chickpeas.

Making Hummus

  1. Drain the chickpeas and place them in a food processor with the garlic. Alternatively, place them in a large bowl and use a stick blender to puree. Pulse a few times, then add the tahini and lemon juice.
  2. Blend until smooth, adding water as needed.
  3. When blended and smooth, allow the hummus to cool to room temperature, then stir in the salt. Taste, and adjust the salt as required.

Fermenting

  1. To ferment the hummus, stir in the culture, then move it into a glass container for fermenting. (I recommend choosing a container that can also be used for serving and storage). Cover the hummus with a tea towel and leave it to ferment at room temperature for up to 12 hours.
  2. After fermenting, top the hummus with the olive oil and store it in the fridge until ready to serve.
  3. Enjoy the hummus within 2 weeks, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Notes

  • There are a thousand recipes for hummus, and all of them are equally fermentable. The only trick is to make the hummus from scratch as store-bought hummus likely contains preservatives that will prevent fermentation. If you already have a favorite recipe, feel free to skip right to the fermentation.
  • I recommend making a double or triple batch of hummus and freezing it in small, serving-sized containers. It’s a quick and delicious replacement for store-bought hummus.

Keywords: Greek, Mediterranean, cheap, frugal, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, dip, spread, snack, probiotic, miso, lacto-fermented, picnic, potluck, lunch, snack

Filed Under: Appetizers, Beans, Nuts & Seeds, VeganTagged With: Beans, chickpeas, Dip, Greek, Lebanese, Middle Eastern, Miso, Snacks, Turkish

Previous Post: « Fermented Cornmeal, Polenta, or Grits
Next Post: How To Make Cottage Cheese »

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Comments

  1. Bernie

    July 11, 2014 at 2:41 pm

    “miso … so make your own”

    It’s never crossed my mind before. How?! 🙂

    Reply
    • Emillie

      July 16, 2014 at 11:53 am

      All in good time. I have a serious backlog of recipes to post. 😉

      Reply
    • Vicky Cantin

      October 9, 2021 at 3:21 am

      J’ai la méthode dans un livre pour le faire mais ca prend un an de fermentation.

      Reply
  2. Mark

    July 13, 2014 at 8:27 pm

    I have also fermented hummus with whey – left over from cheesemaking. It worked awesomely! Though I found I had to leave it for quite a bit longer – on the order of 4 to 5 days.

    Reply
  3. Anonymous

    September 6, 2018 at 6:24 pm

    Can I use kombucha as a culture? Whey from store bought yogurt will work?

    Reply
    • Emillie

      September 7, 2018 at 6:19 am

      Homemade kombucha will work, especially if it’s very sour. And whey from store bought yogurt will work too, though it might take a little longer (depending on the brand, some yogurts don’t have a ton of culture). Just ferment until you enjoy the flavour.

      Reply
  4. B

    September 30, 2018 at 11:30 pm

    I have just served myself up a big dollop of humours and it tastes fizzy.. not off, just fermented. The humorous is made locally so I don’t know whether from dried or canned beans but I’d guess dried as it’s a lot cheaper to make it that way… my question is.. if I’m used to eating fermented sauerkraut would I be playing Russian roulette by eating this? Or would an off houmous have a more funky smell and this is just classic fermentation? Thoughts?

    Reply
    • Emillie

      October 1, 2018 at 8:10 am

      Wow… an unexpectedly fermented hummus… I’m not sure what to suggest. If you’re concerned, but want to eat the humous, then maybe heat it up high enough to kill any unwanted contamination. Usually, things that are rotten smell, look and taste bad. Fizzy suggests yeasts eating sugars, which shouldn’t happen spontaneously in hummus.

      Reply
      • Jake

        December 3, 2018 at 1:56 pm

        I have made hummus (regular way) and put it in a container with kimchi juice and app,e cider vinegar. (It’s been about 30 hours at room temp) (also not in a airtight container but it has a lid) I am a student at a college and I made this in my schools kicthen. Do you think it’s Safe to serve to my peers and teachers?

        Reply
        • Emillie

          December 3, 2018 at 3:29 pm

          Taste it and smell it first. If it smells and tastes good, then it should be fine.

          Reply
  5. Josie

    October 9, 2019 at 5:35 am

    I haven’t made hummus from dried beans before, but tried it and it was awesome! So good. Didn’t ferment it thou. Not that devoted. Still a good recipe.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Emillie

      October 9, 2019 at 5:36 am

      I admit that I don’t always add a probiotic culture. However, miso is really tasty so I recommend trying it at least once.

      Reply
  6. Kenneth Hill

    November 19, 2019 at 1:02 pm

    Could you just use chickpea tempeh (as you describe elsewhere on your site)? Would that be probiotic hummus?

    Reply
    • Emillie

      November 19, 2019 at 2:20 pm

      Hum… I guess you could grind up chickpea tempeh and turn it into a hummus-like dip. However, I wouldn’t recommend using tempeh spores to culture already blended hummus, as I’m not certain how it would work out.

      Reply
  7. Claudia

    January 17, 2020 at 5:27 pm

    I always add raw apple cider vinegar to mine, MMmmmmmmm!

    Reply
  8. Alex

    March 23, 2020 at 3:12 pm

    Newbie question but just wondering why you would do the recipe this way versus fermenting the beans first then mixing with other ingredients and blending?

    Reply
    • Emillie

      March 24, 2020 at 9:02 am

      You could preferment the chickpeas, however, unless you’re using tempeh mold, a probiotic culture won’t do much to whole chickpeas. With this recipe, I really wanted to add probiotics to the hummus as a whole. My favourite is miso… it’s just so umami!

      Reply
  9. Claudia

    April 27, 2020 at 3:15 pm

    I have been buying shop brought hummus and adding miso to it to ferment and then adding apple cider vinegar for a bit more bite. I have decided to go the whole hog and make it all from scratch so this recipe will come in very handy thank you!

    The only thing is I wanted to sprout my chickpeas first which I believe means I would not need to cook them is that correct? So I would sprout the chickpeas and then follow your recipe from stage 4?

    Reply
    • Emillie

      April 28, 2020 at 9:34 am

      I usually sprout my beans as well! You can make hummus with sprouted chickpeas (other beans are poisonous and MUST be cooked). However, the hummus won’t be as creamy. I usually sprout, then cook my chickpeas for hummus. But it’s up to you! You can just start on step 4. Enjoy!

      Reply
  10. Claudia

    April 28, 2020 at 10:14 am

    Oh, lovely thank you I will definitely give this a go!

    Reply
  11. Corinne

    May 27, 2020 at 1:13 pm

    I have cooked my chick peas or lentils in whey in the past and they take ages to cook and actually do not cook totally.
    Reading about baking soda to cook them might solve the problem, as whey is acidic ( could explain the problem) Eventhough somebody said it had to do with the protein factor of the whey?) and making soda alkanility would restablish the PH. What do you think of all that?
    Do you put the miso as a paste mixed with the chick peas?
    Will the fermented hummus be spritzy?
    Sprouted lentils are not poisonous either.
    Thanks for your website I just discovered, sound fab! Will dig in more later. Corinne

    Reply
    • Emillie

      May 27, 2020 at 5:23 pm

      Hi Corinne,
      Hum, I’ve never cooked beans in whey nor soaked beans in whey prior to cooking. However, using baking soda is a great way to make them extra soft. I don’t recommend it with lentils since they already cook quickly. It might be due to the pH, I haven’t really looked into it. I just know it works!

      If you use miso for fermenting it won’t be sparkling. However, using whey or a vegetable starter will result in sparkling hummus. However, it doesn’t stay sparkling for more than a few days after you’ve put it in the fridge.
      Enjoy! Emillie

      Reply
  12. Emillie

    February 22, 2021 at 1:09 pm

    Hi, Certain ferments need air and some are best kept away from air. Generally, all wild yeast ferments need the air to ferment properly (like sourdough). Apple cider vinegar needs oxygen for proper fermentation. But most miso and lactic bacterial ferments are better kept away from air as they could be contaminated by mould. Hope that answers your questions?

    Reply
  13. Keerti Rathore

    June 23, 2021 at 1:54 am

    Hi! I love how informative and great your articles are. Thanks a lot!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Emillie, an island-dwelling fermentation enthusiast. Fermenting For Foodies features healthy recipes designed to feed your microbiome.
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