While the majority of consumers don’t typically give this too much thought, for some people that can make or break a sale.
If you are one of those people who do care about whether hummus is vegan, you’ve come to the right place.
Similarly, we will take a look at whether vegan is raw or not. Interested? Let’s get going.
What Is Hummus?
Let’s start with the basics – what is hummus? Hummus is a delicious dip that comes from the Middle East. It can be a dish, dip, or spread, so it has many uses.
Typically, hummus is primarily made from chickpeas. Added to the chickpeas are garlic, tahini, and lemon juice, but there are a lot of variations that you can try out.
You will often find this dish garnished with olive oil, whole chickpeas, paprika, and parsley.
Traditionally, in the Middle East, hummus will be consumed as a dip.
The most popular thing to use with this dip is pita bread. It has long had a reputation for being a very healthy and clean food, which is just one thing that draws so many people to it.
What Can You Eat Hummus With?
As we just mentioned, the most popular method is eating hummus is with pita bread. However, there are plenty of other ways to try out this delicious dip. Below is a table of a few ways you can try eating hummus.
Cream sauce substitute – use the hummus to replace the heavy creams in some sauces. All you need to do is add a little water to get the right texture and heat it up
As a vegetable dip – replace the pita bread with some vegetables. Celery, carrots, cauliflower, cucumber and just about anything else so really well with hummus
Add to avocados – if you’re an avocado lover, add some hummus on top of your avocado and make it even more delicious
Great substitute for avocado toast – try spreading some delicious hummus on your toast instead of an avocado for something different!
A salad dressing – want a creamy salad dressing that doesn’t make you feel guilty? Use your hummus as a dressing to savor every bite you take
Paired with apple slices – looking for a nice sweet and savory combination to knock your socks off? Pair your apple slices with some hummus and see what happens.
Brownies – use some hummus to replace some fat that goes into the recipe. This will add a pleasant texture to the finished product, and the flavor works great
Create some veggie roll-ups – it can be used to fill squash or eggplant and take the place of risotto
Scramble it – you can add some hummus to your eggs and scramble them together
Fancy food bowls – hummus works with just about anything, so make a bowl of all your favorite grains, greens, and anything else you feel like
Hummus pizza – try using hummus instead of pizza sauce. This will make the pizza a little more nutritious, and goes great with a topping of feta, olives, and pickled peppers.
Put it on a sandwich – add a decent helping to your sandwiches to help everything stay in place and get some great flavor
Marinade your food in it – hummus is great for marinading meat, so why not try it out?
It can be used in risotto – adding hummus will make your risotto healthier and lighter. The flavors will work well together and the texture will be better than ever
Is Hummus Vegan?
The short answer? Yes! Hummus is considered to be vegan as there is no animal product used in it.
This food item uses really basic ingredients (ingredients listed below for clarity), so you don’t have to worry about missing out.
If you are ever unsure of whether a product is vegan, the ingredients label is usually pretty straightforward. Although it will not always have ‘vegan-friendly’ printed somewhere, the ingredients should be a dead giveaway.
There is always a small chance that some hummus brands and recipes are not vegan. Because of this, it is always best to check the label and see what that says.
Sometimes, brands are not very forward with their labeling, and it is up to us to double-check products.
Basic hummus ingredients:
Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
Tahini (sesame seeds and oil)
Extra virgin olive oil
Lemon juice
Garlic
Sea salt
Is Hummus Raw?
This question is a little more complicated. The short answer is no, hummus is not a raw food.
This is because the garbanzo beans (chickpeas) are actually cooked and soaked before being blended in traditional recipes.
Brands and manufacturers will also do other things to the ingredients that mean they are no longer raw. These processes include pasteurization, which helps to maintain the freshness of the product and preserve it.
Looking at the label of the hummus should let you know that some ingredients are pasteurized.
However, not all hummus is made using the pasteurization process. Some brands use High-Pressure Processing (HPP), which gets rid of bacteria by crushing their cell membrane.
This allows the product to stay above the ‘raw-approved’ temperatures. If you are in the market for some hummus that is raw beside the chickpeas being cooked, check out Hope Foods.
Hummus Recipe
To make a basic hummus recipe, try this one out.
Ingredient needed
Chickpeas – 1 ½ cups
Lemon juice – fresh, ¼ cup
Tahini – ¼ cup
Garlic – 1 clove, minced up
Extra virgin olive oil – 2 tablespoons
Ground cumin – ½ teaspoon
Water – 2-3 tablespoons
Kosher salt (to taste)
Paprika (for serving)
Method
Get all your ingredients out and measured
In your food processor bowl
Add your tahini and lemon juice, process for 1 minute
Scrape the sides of the bowl
Process for another 30 seconds
Add your minced garlic, olive oil, salt, and cumin
Process for 30 seconds (or until it is fully blended)
Get your chickpeas. If they are tinned, drain them before adding half to the food processor bowl.
Process all ingredients together for 1 minute
Scrape the sides of the bowl
Add the rest of the chickpeas
Process for a further 1-2 minutes
Add 203 tablespoons of water to make the paste thinner
Keep adding water until to reach the desired thickness of the hummus paste
Season to taste. Add salt and anything else you would like to
Store your hummus in the refrigerator. It will last about 1 week.
Enjoy!
Final Thoughts
Hummus is delicious and healthy, so why haven’t you tried it? It is a vegan recipe (not all recipes might be vegan), but it is not raw.
However, that does not take away from how great it is, and what an amazing and convenient snack it can make. If you haven’t tried hummus or tried making your own at home, why not? The recipe is so easy, and all you need is some kind of blender to turn everything into a paste.
Hopefully, this post answered any questions you might have on hummus and are now more willing to try it out!
Hi, my name is Brett White, and I have a passion for cooking, and following a raw diet. Eating raw has completely changed how I view food, and has led me down a much healthier and happier path in life over the last three years.
Through Addicted To Veggies, I want to share with you my favorite raw recipes. From brownie recipes, to recipes containing pumpkin, my site is full of delicious and wonderful options to consider.
