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.
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?
Hmmm, I’ve never thought about making red lentil hummus… I tend to stay away from red lentils for some reason, even though they cook so much faster than the green variety!
This is absolutely ingenius! We often find ourselves in a hummus crisis (lol), and there just isn’t the time to soak and cook the chick peas. I will absolutely try this soon! SO smart. Thank you, Angela!
I hope you enjoy it! I agree, it’s nice to know a quicker method exists.
U can eat pea shoots?? May have to keep that in mind since my container peas don’t seem to want to produce anything but shoots!
Way to save the day! Looks delish
oh that wrap looks delicious! I love the avocado in it! mmm! and i hate when i run out of hummus…total day ruiner! haha thanks for sharing!
Hi Angela,
This looks absolutely delicious and is about to be my weekend lunch. I just wanted to share with you a substitute for tahini. I am not a tahini fan and feel that it ruins hummus (but that is just my opinion). It took me years to figure out what to use in place of it, but I found it – zucchini! It makes a huge difference to the moisture of the hummus plus you’re getting the added nutrition. Anyway, I just thought that I’d share, in case you ever run out of tahini.
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing this, Michelle! My husband has a sensitivity to sesame, and I have never found a good enough substitute for homemade hummus without tahini! Tried avocado once, but it wasn’t quite the same. Will definitely try zucchini.
Thanks for the tip, I will have to try that sometime!
Your sneaky hummus looks so creamy and smooth and perfect! And what a perfectly-rolled wrap. It’s so tight and even. Sometimes mine are a total mess :)
I have tons of lentils in my fridge just waiting to be made into hummus. Plus I have wraps. I think I know what I’m having for lunch. Have a great weekend, Angela!
I had good intentions when I bought lentils, then I threw them out. Now I’m going to buy them again and use them for more than a snazzy votive candle filler. (Uncooked of course…HA!)
I have not tried hummus! Is this the first recipe for it that u would suggest I begin with?
I know its good for me and I want to like it. thx LInda
I would start with the one I linked to at the top of the post. It can be adjusted to taste, well, as most dips can I guess :)
Ooh I love wraps. There is no better lunch than a packed in there veggie wrap or pita. Extreme Pita is one of my fave on-the-go lunch spots!
Try kicking it up with some spicy oil (oil with cayenne) and some chopped dried apricot and toasted pumpkin seeds. Now THAT is my favorite yellow lentil hummus ever.
I’m so grateful for every non-chickpea version of hummus that I find because I’m one of the unlucky ones who LOVES HUMMUS but doesn’t digest chickpeas very well. So, hurray and thank you for another awesome hummus-y idea! The wrap looks fantastic too. I love being able to use the the random veg in the crisper drawer.
Great idea! I love red lentils, especially in dal, so I’m sure to love this!
That wrap looks so good!
I guess in the end one can make ‘hummus’ with any kind of bean, chickpea or lentil. Reminds me of a great dip of one of Giada di Laurentiis food network shows: a can of rinsed cannellini beans, 1 TB olive oil, garlic, rosemary and salt and pepper. For those surprise summer guest, or for a wrap!
I am always afraid that I am going to burn out the motor on my food processor. Do you just say “do or die?” and go for it? :)
This recipe sounds delicious! I’m going to have to give it a try over the weekend, thanks for sharing!
This looks so good and has 3 of my faves avocado, hummus and cilantro. I’ll definitely be trying this recipe.
NICE, I wonder if I can get it past my non-lentil-loving hubby. Hmmm. Yummy wrap.
This. Looks. AMAZING! Thanks so much for sharing- it’s always fun to see what delicious concoctions you can find from the leftovers in your cupboard :)