A hummus recipe for kids is a great thing to have in your recipe box. It makes a quick and healthy snack that you can eat at home or pack into small containers to take on the go.
Hummus is a staple in our home. My daughter has loved hummus ever since she started eating solids. Initially I just spread it on Baby MumMums for her to gum and enjoy, but now she eats it on crackers and in sandwiches. She also loves dipping cucumber slices and boiled baby carrots into her hummus. Any kind of dip makes meal time lots of fun for kids.
I started off buying ready-made hummus for us. But after a quick look at the label I became concerned with the amount of sodium in many of the store brands. Eventually I started making it myself.
Adapted from Cookie and Kate, this hummus recipe for kids (and adults too!) is toddler approved.
Classic Hummus Recipe for Kids
When my daughter was younger I used canned chickpeas to save time. Now I prepare dried chickpeas ahead of time for hummus. It takes a bit more planning but it is more cost effective and results in lower sodium levels.
When using canned chickpeas try to buy the brand with the least amount of sodium and rinse the chickpeas thoroughly.
If you’re using dried, then 1 cup of dried chickpeas will yield 3 cups cooked. Put them in a bowl to soak overnight. Rinse and then add to a pot with fresh water and cook on medium-high heat until tender (about 1 – 2 hours depending on the age of the beans; older beans take longer to cook). Often I’ll cook them a day or two before I plan to make the hummus and store them in a sealed container in the fridge until I’m ready for them.
(If you like the idea of making hummus from scratch with dried chickpeas but don’t think you can manage soaking and cooking beans every week then there are two things you can do. You can cook up a big batch of beans and freeze them in 3 cup servings ready for making hummus. But with this method you can’t freeze the hummus later since the beans were already frozen. The second option is to cook up a big batch of beans and then make a larger batch of hummus to freeze into portions that can be thawed as needed.)
Add all the ingredients except for the garlic into your food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. If needed you can add an extra tablespoon of liquid to achieve your preferred consistency. Add the garlic last one clove at a time and taste test in between to make sure it’s not too spicy. If your kids won’t tolerate any spiciness at all you can always leave the garlic out and substitute with a pinch of lemon zest. This will give the hummus a nice citrus flavor.
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas (1 cup dried or 2 x 15 oz cans)
- ⅓ cup water or reserve liquid from can
- ¼ cup extra light olive oil
- 4 tbsp tahini
- 4 tbsp lemon juice
- ⅓ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp ground sea salt
- 1 - 3 cloves fresh garlic
- Soak 1 cup of chickpeas overnight in filtered water. Rinse and add to a pot with enough water to cover the chickpeas by at least an inch.
- Cook uncovered on medium-high heat until tender (1 - 2 hours). Test after one hour and adjust time accordingly.
- Add the chickpeas and other ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth and creamy. You may want to start with one clove of garlic at a time to ensure the hummus doesn't get too spicy.
If this is too much for your family to get through in a week then you can freeze some for later. It's great to make big batches of hummus so you only have to make it once or twice a month.
*The nutritional information has been calculated based on using dried chickpeas. If you're using canned the sodium amount will be higher.
Featured Image: Hummus Recipe for Kids by Isle of Baby
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