Hummus without Tahini Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What can I substitute for tahini in hummus? ›

If you feel adventurous, try replacing the tahini with an equal amount of peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, Greek yogurt, chopped roasted peppers, pitted olives, roasted beets, steamed sweet potato, avocado, or thawed frozen peas, to name just a few possibilities.

Does hummus need tahini? You bet! In fact, tahini is one of hummus' main ingredients, along with chickpeas and olive oil. That's why our favorite dip can be so rich and delicious—in hummus, tahini adds smoothness to the texture, as well as a wide variety of vitamins and minerals.

Some people find tahini to have bitter undertones, so using sesame oil is a good alternative for giving hummus a silky texture and subtle sesame flavor.

You might need more tahini, garlic, lemon and/or salt and very likely more chickpea water. Add a bit of each as you need, the recipe explains. "Blitz the hummus until very smooth, a few minutes at least. Don't worry about the hummus being too loose; it will thicken as it sits."

Hummus can be a good source of healthy fat because most are made with both olive oil and tahini. My recipe omits the tahini and just uses olive oil for a more neutral taste.

As I said earlier, tahini has a mildly bitter flavour, so if your hummus is bitter, you've most likely added too much tahini. Also make sure that the tahini you do have is hulled, as opposed to unhulled. Hulled tahini just means that the bitter husks on the outside of the sesame seed have been removed before blending.

Peanut butter is often recommended as a substitute for tahini, but cashew butter may yield better results. It is a more neutral nut butter and is often used as a base for plant-based dips, sauces, and salad dressings much like tahini. For those with sesame allergies, cashew butter is a seed-free alternative.

The difference is that roasted eggplant forms the base for baba ganoush while chick peas are the backbone of hummus. The roasted eggplant lends this eggplant dip a slightly sweeter, smokier flavor, and a lower fat and calorie count than hummus. Plus it can be easier on the tummy than hard-to-digest chickpeas.

Tahini also has selenium. It acts as an antioxidant and helps lower inflammation in the body. Studies show sesamol, a natural chemical found in sesame seeds and sesame oil, has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging benefits. Other studies suggest it also has strong anti-cancer effects.

Hummus is another story: It contains tahini, a paste made of finely ground sesame seeds. The hulls of the sesame seeds no longer encase the storage proteins, which can therefore trigger a sesame allergy.

How much sesame oil to replace tahini? ›

Toasted sesame oil is more potently sesame-ish than tahini (which is sesame seed paste), so start with a smaller amount than you would normally use of tahini – say 1 tablespoon, blend it up, taste, and add more if you want a more pronounced sesame flavor.

Tahini is sometimes listed as a substitute for sesame paste, but to me, the two aren't interchangeable. Though tahini is also made from white sesame seeds, those seeds are usually untoasted or lightly toasted. By comparison, toasted sesame paste is more assertive and aromatic and also thicker in texture.

Ice Cubes Incorporate Much Needed Air And Moisture Into Hummus. Adding ice cubes to your hummus may seem counterintuitive, but it works to improve the texture of your hummus greatly. Two elements you need for food that's meant to be fluffy and creamy are air and moisture.

Tip for extra CREAMY hummus

Add enough liquid! Compared to other hummus recipes, I use little tahini (sesame paste), lemon juice and olive oil. I want the hummus to taste like chickpeas and not like sesame or slightly bitter due to adding too much olive oil or lemon juice. Ergo, I add enough water.

How do you thicken hummus? If , for some reason, you ended up using more liquid than you should have or if you still want a thicker consistency, you can add a bit more tahini. And if you chill the hummus for an hour or so before adding any garnish, that should help as well.

Tahini has a very earthy flavor and is slightly bitter, but not overpowering. Although the spread resembles peanut butter and other nut butters, it does not have a similarly sweet flavor profile. The toasted sesame seed flavor shines through in this creamy, rich ingredient.

Tahini is sometimes listed as a substitute for sesame paste, but to me, the two aren't interchangeable. Though tahini is also made from white sesame seeds, those seeds are usually untoasted or lightly toasted. By comparison, toasted sesame paste is more assertive and aromatic and also thicker in texture.