This lemon thyme hummus sings with flavor, which might surprise you, once you see you can make it without adding tahini or oil. That’s right. This zingy recipe delights the senses and nourishes the body without packing in the calories or fat.

Lemon Thyme Hummus with veggies

If you think you will miss the tahini flavor in your hummus, add half a tablespoon (1-1/2 teaspoons) toasted sesame seeds.

I toast mine in a small cast iron pan. It takes less than five minutes, but you do have to stay with them the entire time, or risk scorching.

According to SelfNutritionData, one tablespoon sesame seeds provides 89 calories, 68 from fat and 3 grams protein.

Considering we’re adding (optionally, of course) only half that to our recipe, it’s not a bad tradeoff for a wallop of flavor.

Cook your own garbanzos or use canned

1-1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds tossed into still-warm cooked garbanzos

It’s so easy to cook dried beans in a pressure cooker that I never buy canned garbanzos any more.

If you are using canned, you may need more than one to get two cups of beans.

Drain the cans, but do not discard the juice! If the hummus is drier than you like, you will want to add a little back in. I recommend adding it a tablespoon at a time until you have the consistency you like.

Pour the rest of your bean juice into your veggie stock freezer bowl. After all, you paid for those nutrients. Use them!

Lemon Thyme Hummus Recipe

An easy, zingy, flavorful dip and spread you can make in a few minutes and keep on hand to use throughout the week.

Chopped thyme and garlic

• Yield: 2 cups
• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Ingredients:

• 2 C cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained, and reserving the juice
• 2-4 medium cloves garlic, less for milder flavor, more for strong; peeled and chopped
• 1 small lemon, zest and juice
• 1/2 t sea salt
• 1-1/2 t fresh thyme leaves, chopped (If using dried, which I haven’t tried, use much less)
• 1-1/2 t toasted sesame seeds (optional)
• 1-4 T bean juice, from the can or from your home-cooked beans

Directions

Chickpeas and seasonings in food processor

1. Dump the chickpeas, garlic, lemon zest, juice, thyme, salt and toasted sesame seeds, if using and not already in the beans, into your food processor and run until smooth.
2. Add bean juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, processing between additions, until you have the consistency you like.

Serve as a dip with veggies, crackers, chips, artisan breads, or smear on toast and wraps.

One of the advantages of making your own hummus is that you get to choose the consistency.

Here, we like a thinner hummus for dipping chips and bread bites, a little thicker for dipping vegetables, and a little thicker still for spreading on tortillas, wraps and sandwiches, where we use it in place of high-fat spreads like mayonnaise and butter.

It’s easy to add a little lemon juice to thin it when we need, so I tend to make mine thick enough for dipping. Keeping it versatile!

How many ways do you eat hummus?

Homemade Lemon Thyme Hummus with whole wheat sourdough bread and Chipotle and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

In my “Coming Up” teaser the other day, I promised you two hummus recipes. This is the first. Tomorrow: Chipotle and Red Pepper Hummus, another favorite around our house.

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