Homemade fermented hummus is a delicious and probiotic snack. It is ideal for lunch, picnics, potlucks or as a side dish.
However, the main reason to make hummus is that it ridiculously easy and cheap. All it takes is about 10 minutes and a decent food processor.
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, which will make them less suitable for fermentation
- Dried chickpeas are much more affordable than canned chickpeas.
- Buy them in bulk for a waste free option.
Toppings for Hummus
The best part about homemade hummus is that you get to choose your own flavours and toppings.
Simple fermented hummus is rich and flavourful all on it’s own, and the flavour will vary depending on what is used for the fermentation. Even so, it’s always fun to add a bit more pizzazz.
Flavour (and colour) hummus by adding in a 1/4 cup of one of the following:
- Roasted red peppers
- Pesto
- Wilted spinach
- Cooked sweet potato or pumpkin
Traditional hummus is flavoured with added toppings. To add toppings, first place hummus in the final serving dish, then add 2-4 tbsp of a topping in the centre of the hummus and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
Here are some delicious toppings:
- Mixed chopped olives
- Roasted pine nuts
- Za’atar spice mix
- Fresh herbs: parsley, chives, basil or sumac
- Diced and roasted garlic
- Caramelized onions
- Lemon and tahini sauce
- Chili oil
Fermented hummus
Homemade fermented hummus is a delicious and probiotic snack. Adding a lactic culture or miso acts as a natural preservative and really adds a flavour dimension to this easy dip. See the section above for 8 different toppings and 4 different flavour options.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: Sides
- Method: Fermented
- Cuisine: Lebanese
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups dried chickpeas (or 2 –14 oz cans)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 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 probiotic culture (see notes)
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
Instructions
- If using canned chickpeas skip to step 4. Otherwise, soak dried chickpeas in 3 cups of water for 8 to 12 hours.
- Drain the chickpeas and place in a saucepan. Cover with water and add 1 tsp of baking soda.
- Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 to 40 minutes, until the chickpeas are cooked. They should be soft but not mushy.
- Drain the chickpeas and add to a food processor with the garlic. Pulse a few times, then add the tahini and lemon juice.
- Blend until smooth, adding water as needed. If fermenting, add only 1/4 cup of water for liquid ferments (dairy, sauerkraut juice) or 1/2 cup of water if using miso. The hummus should start out quite thick.
- When blended and smooth, allow the hummus to cool to room temperature, then stir in the fermenting culture and salt. Taste, and adjust the salt as required.
- Put the hummus into a glass container for fermenting. Top with few tablespoons of water to keep the hummus from exposure to air.
- Cover the hummus with a tea towel and leave it to ferment at room temperature for up to 12 hours.
- After fermenting, either drain off the water or stir it in for a runnier dip. Top it with olive oil and store in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Finish 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 may contain preservatives. If you already have a favourite recipe, feel free to skip right to the fermentation.
- Using miso is my favourite way to culture hummus. It adds a depth of flavour that works well with the 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 or buy miso from the refrigerated section of the grocery store.
- Alternatively, miso can be cultured with dairy (milk kefir, buttermilk or yogurt) or a vegetable starter (affiliate link.)
- I recommend making a double or triple batch of hummus and freezing it in small, serving-sized containers. It’s a perfect 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
“miso … so make your own”
It’s never crossed my mind before. How?! 🙂
All in good time. I have a serious backlog of recipes to post. 😉
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.
Can I use kombucha as a culture? Whey from store bought yogurt will work?
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.
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?
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.
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?
Taste it and smell it first. If it smells and tastes good, then it should be fine.
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.
★★★★★
I admit that I don’t always add a probiotic culture. However, miso is really tasty so I recommend trying it at least once.
Could you just use chickpea tempeh (as you describe elsewhere on your site)? Would that be probiotic hummus?
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.
I always add raw apple cider vinegar to mine, MMmmmmmmm!
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?
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!
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?
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!
Oh, lovely thank you I will definitely give this a go!
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
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
Love you site. Can you tell me why you have to top with a layer of water during fermentation- I thought I’d should be exposed to the air?
What are your thoughts on Apple cider Vinegar?
Many thanks!!!
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?
Hi! I love how informative and great your articles are. Thanks a lot!
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