Besides the core hummus ingredients, one can add in all kinds of other stuff to create a different flavor of Hummus.
This makes hummus, which is made of chickpeas at its base, a versatile choice for anyone looking for variety in flavors.
What’s In Hummus’s Basic Recipe?
If you’re wondering what is in hummus’s basic recipe, it’s a mixture of chickpeas, salt, lemon juice, tahini and olive oil tossed into a food processor to create a paste.
Now, Chickpeas have a meaty texture, and when Tahini is added as an ingredient, it creates a nutty flavor kind of hummus.
- Lemon juice contains acid that will spruce up the flavor.
- Salt improves upon that flavor
- Olive oil creates a creamy texture that won’t crack when it’s spread
Basic ingredients, but they are not the end-all, be-all to hummus. You can add other ingredients to hummus that will bring out the flavor and spark your renewed interest in this healthy food.
What Hummus Flavors Are Available?
Many groceries tend to stick with regionally accepted Hummus.
What is commonly found in the Americas may not be what is commonly seen in the Middle East or European nations.
The common hummus flavor many grocery stores offer is roasted red pepper because many people like the idea of sweet and tangy.
The reality is that there are numerous hummus recipes, and you can add to the variations by being creative and inventing your own.
Do you love sweet? Do you live tangy? Do you love sweet and tangy in one? Do you have a preference for more salty snacks?
Whatever type of a snacker you are, you’re going to find a flavored hummus that will tantalize your taste buds and make you crave more.
1. Genuine Hummus Flavors Of the Middle East
The Middle East comprises many countries, and although the common Hummus ingredients are used, the added flavors can be vastly different.
The most commonly used ingredient in the Middle East is baking soda.
Baking soda in hummus is a leavener, causing the level of pH in water during a chickpea boil to increase.
It speeds up the cooking time of chickpeas.
Garlic, which gives hummus its tangy flavor, is another commonly used ingredient in the Middle Eastern recipe.
| Type of Hummus Recipe | Signature Ingredients |
| Israeli hummus recipe | Baking soda, cumin, garlic |
| Lebanese hummus recipe | Baking soda, garlic |
| Palestinian hummus recipe | Baking soda, garlic |
| Egyptian hummus recipe | Red wine vinegar, various nuts & seeds |
2. Create Alternative Hummus Flavors For Your Taste Buds
Dessert hummus is just one of the many kinds of flavors you can make for hummus, and changing the flavor is done in two ways:
Make changes to the basic chickpea recipe
What are some common alternative ingredients to go in Hummus? They are:
- Avocado
- Pumpkin
- Garlic
- Roasted red peppers
The most basic hummus recipes made with added ingredients include:
- Roasted garlic hummus
- Beet hummus
- Avocado hummus
- Roasted red pepper hummus
- Pumpkin hummus
Change the flavors of hummus with a change to the base
Rather than using the traditional chickpeas base, you can experiment and use other things such as black beans, lentils or even cauliflower.
Some common hummus recipes that use an alternative base include:
- Black bean hummus
- Lentil hummus
- Roasted cauliflower hummus
- White bean hummus
3. Go With A Spicy Hummus For An Added Kick
If you love spicy food, you’ll love the idea of spicy hummus.
Store shelves are often packed with spicy hummus, which usually has had a pepper of some kind added to its recipe.
For example, you can create jalapeno hummus to give your dish the kick it needs and what you want.
4. Go For A Dessert Hummus For Your Sweet Tooth
Hummus for dessert?
Absolutely!
It might seem a little strange at the start, but dessert-like hummus is actually quite popular and needs just a few staples you likely already have in your home. These include:
- Peanut butter
- Cocoa powder
- Vanilla extract
- Caramel
Want something basic for dessert? Add in dark chocolate.
Favor something a little more complex? Consider sugar cookie or brownie batter.
What Are Some Hummus Ingredient Substitutes You Can Add To Recipes?
Can you substitute hummus ingredients?
Absolutely!
Nearly all the ingredients of a hummus recipe can be eliminated or substituted for something else.
For instance, if you cannot tolerate garlic or have a food allergy used in hummus, you can find an alternative ingredient to add to the recipe.
Substitute for Tahini in Hummus
If you don’t like the tang Tahini produces in Hummus, you can completely eliminate the ingredient.
Hummus will still have the rich, flavorful texture you know; it just won’t have that tang.
You can also find a substitute for Tahini in Hummus like cashew butter, sunflower seed butter, peanut butter, etc.
While not an exact match, they give a flavorful depth to the hummus recipe.
Substitute for Garlic
It’s not difficult to find hummus with no garlic in it because it’s not a primary ingredient in the basic recipe.
Therefore, finding a substitute for garlic is easier than you think.
For instance, you can use avocadoes or jalapenos for your garlic substitute.
The key is to find an alternative that fits your craving.
Oil Substitute
While oil is not necessary for creating hummus, the olive oil ensures the hummus stays rich and creamy and doesn’t crack on the surface.
However, if you follow a vegan or plant-based diet, oil-free hummus is possible.
You can also switch out the olive oil for peanut oil, grapeseed oil or avocado oil.
These oils will also create another flavor of hummus that you may like even better than the basic.
Lemon Juice Substitute
If you have an allergy to lemons or don’t like the flavor, finding a substitute for lemon juice is quite possible.
One alternative is to use citrus fruit instead of lemon juice. Lime and orange juice will also work.
These ingredients will slightly alter the hummus flavor but work similarly to lemon juice.
If citrus fruits are not available, you can also use white wine or white vinegar, but cut the ingredient amount in half.
The majority of hummus recipes need only a minute amount of lemon juice, which means finding an alternative won’t affect the flavor too much.
On a side note, some Egyptian hummus recipes use red wine vinegar in place of lemon juice.