Yesterday, I somehow found myself depleted of my hummus stash, which let me tell you, I rarely let happen. Hummus addicts must have a stash at all times! Normally, I wouldn’t be able to blame Eric for this one, but he has recently fallen in love with hummus after years of me pestering him to try it. Now, I’ve created a monster who eats all my hummus. It’s karma, clearly.
I was also out of dried chickpeas and canned chickpeas, so making the hummus that changed everything was out of the question. That was when the red lentils caught my eye hidden in the back of my messy cupboard.
Knowing how fluffy and soft red lentils get when cooked, I figured that I could use them for a base in a spread, very similar to hummus. Red lentils have a fairly neutral taste (although a bit earthier than chickpeas), but I figured they would blend well into the other ingredients. Plus, they cook extremely fast so I knew it wouldn’t set me back much time.
It looks just like hummus, right?
After adding some lemon juice, tahini, sea salt, garlic, and a touch of olive oil, I had a spread that was very similar to hummus. It doesn’t taste exactly the same, but it’s delicious in its own unique way. Best of all, this dip took me about 15-20 minutes, and that includes cooking the lentils. Not too shabby!
I now had a lovely base for my wrap! I gathered some random veggies in the crisper (green onion, tomato, avocado, kale, red pepper, pea shoots) and went to town.
You can use this recipe below as the “base” recipe and leave it as is (think of it as a classic hummus) or have fun playing around with mix-ins. I could see Indian and Mexican flavours working very well here. I added in a couple sun-dried tomatoes and some smoked paprika, but to be honest I preferred it best plain.
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Sneaky Red Lentil "Hummus"
Yield
1 heaping cup
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Make this spread as a fun alternative to chickpeas! It’s not only similar in appearance, but taste too. Red lentils also tend to be easier to digest, so if you have problems with chickpeas I encourage you to give this a try.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup uncooked red lentils + 1 & 1/4 cup water
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt, or to taste
- water to thin out, if needed
- Herbs & seasonings of choice, if desired
Directions
- Pick through the lentils to make sure there are no pebbles and rinse in a small colander. In a medium-sized pot, add the lentils and 1 & 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cover, simmering until the water is absorbed or about 10-13 minutes. Stir the lentils frequently to prevent them from sticking to the pot.
- With the food processor running, drop in the clove of garlic to mince. Add the cooked lentils, along with the lemon juice, tahini, and olive oil. Process until smooth. Add a touch of water if necessary to thin out.
- Add salt to taste and other herbs and seasonings if desired.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Have a great weekend and goodluck to Nik Wallenda tonight! Anyone going to watch?
I made some of this yesterday and added cumin and sriracha as my spices. It is AMAZING and I think it will be my go-to hummus from now on.
What kind of spices would you recommend adding to the lentil hummus?
I prepared this for new years’ eve tonight, it was very liquid when hot still but now it became a delicious creamy hummus :)
Delicious. I also add Berbere Spice Mixture to the hummus for a twist.
I have just made this and it’s lush!!!!!! My kids are gonna luv it…. I can’t wait for tea!!!!!
I made this for an afternoon snack for my kids and I, ages 12, 6 and 4. I didn’t have yellow lentils but had brown ones instead so it looked like bean dip but I threw in sun dried tomatos, cilantro and cumin and it was perfect! My kids asked me to refill their bowl! I’m so glad they are getting something so nutritious! Thanks!!
This is my new favorite hummus. It’s seriously so good. This will be a fun recipe to play around with. Thank you!!!
Can you use anything else other than tahini and what does it do to the hummus?
it makes the hummus very smooth and adds a bit of a kick! I don’t know of a substitute for it.
Hi, that looks really great. I was looking for a recipe that I can make for lunch. Question, what is the name of the wrap you used? Also, what seasoning did you put in your wrap? Thank you.
Thank you for making so many recipes without tofu and giving us other options (I’m trying to limit the amount of soy I eat but was finding it hard to find good protein-packed vegan lunch options).
What type of wraps do you recommend?
Made this today and not sure what happened? The red lentils absorbed all the water and were quite mushy (as red lentils are) and adding them with other liquids just made more of a liquidy puree instead of hummus. Luckily I had some cooked chickpeas on hand I just threw in to thicken it up.
Hi Angela! What brand wraps do you use? They look delicious!
do you have any favorite tortillas that you use? My favorite are Ezekial wraps (usually found in frozen section in Whole Foods) but they don’t “wrap” well.
thanks!
Hi Emily,
Before I started eating gluten free I used to buy the Food for Life sprouted green tortillas. They might make a gluten free one, but I’m not sure.
I made this last night and it was soupy like some of the others had commented. However, I put it in the fridge over night and it hardened a bit by morning. I was able to spread it on my wrap without a problem and it lasted until lunchtime. I’ll try to use less water next time cooking the lentils and see how that works out. I really like the flavor of the hummus.
Hi Angela, I really like your recipes, even bought your book. I have recently moved from the Uk to Oakville and it is not easy to find many options of vegan labelled wraps or buns. May I ask you where do you buy them? Thanks a mil!
Hey Janet, Thank you so much for the kind words about my recipes and book It’s been several years since this blog post so I’m not quite sure where I bought the wraps…likely from Whole Foods or Organic Garage though.