Lentil hummus is a creamy and delicious alternative to traditional chickpea-based hummus. Instead, we use cooked lentils, tahini, olive oil, and lemon juice.
For more easy dips and spread, try our tirokafteri, whipped ricotta, and tzatziki sauce.
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Our new favorite spread recipe
Hummus means chickpeas in Arabic and Hebrew, but it’s also the name of a Middle-Eastern spread and dip recipe made with cooked chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, and lemon juice.
This lentil hummus recipe is a thick creamy lentil dip similar to traditional hummus, but where we substitute lentils for chickpeas.
With our tips, you can make the creamiest lentil hummus in about 10 minutes in a food processor.
Like roasted red pepper hummus and hummus without tahini, lentil hummus is not the most traditional Middle-Eastern recipe.
But it’s a delicious way of incorporating a fiber-rich dish, and protein-rich lentils into your diet.
You can make it with canned brown lentils or dry lentils that you previously cooked in water until tender.
Here’s our guide on how to cook lentils if you need some guidance. Uh, and don’t forget warm pita bread for dipping.
Ingredients
Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
- Lentils: You can make this lentil hummus recipe with canned lentils or, as we most often do, with dry lentils that you previously cooked in water until tender. We recommend using brown lentils or green lentils.
- Lentil cooking liquid, or the canning liquid in a can of lentils, is essential when making the best lentil hummus. It adds a richer lentil flavor while keeping the lentil dip light and airy.
- Tahini: We recommend tahini made from 100% hulled sesame seeds with a light color and pourable consistency. It is best if the tahini is imported from Eastern Mediterranean countries like Lebanon or Israel.
- Lemon: We recommend fresh lemon juice. Substitute a splash of apple cider vinegar for lemon juice.
How to make lentil hummus
US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
Drain the canned or cooked lentils, but save their storage or cooking water.
To a food processor, add lentils, lentil water, lemon juice, and salt.
Blend for 3 minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the food processor, then add tahini, garlic (optional) and cumin (optional).
Blend for 3 more minutes.
Add olive oil, and if necessary, add an extra splash of water.
Blend for 2 more minutes until creamy and airy.
Tip: Depending on your taste, you might want to add more tahini, lemon juice, salt, garlic, or cumin.
Transfer lentil hummus to a serving bowl, swirl with a spoon, and drizzle with good quality extra virgin olive oil and chopped flat-leaf parsley.
You can garnish with a pinch of smoked paprika, toasted sesame seeds, lentils tossed in olive oil, and chopped parsley.
We love garnishing this dish with a sprinkle of dukkah, an Egyptian spice blend with plenty of flavor, texture, and aroma.
Serving suggestions
This lentil hummus recipe is an excellent appetizer with bread and vegetables, such as:
- Pita bread or pita chips
- Focaccia bread
- Fresh veggie sticks to dip
- Tabbouleh salad
- Shirazi salad
- Tzatziki sauce
- Spread on crostini or bruschetta, and serve with other dips such as white bean dip, sour cream, and eggplant dip.
Storage & Make ahead
Make ahead: Lentil hummus is excellent for meal prep as it keeps well for days. We often make it on a Sunday evening and have it ready for the week ahead.
Refrigerator: Store lentil hummus in an airtight container for 5 days. If it dries out, stir in warm water to make it creamy. Take it from the refrigerator 15 minutes before serving for the best flavor.
Freezer: We don’t recommend freezing hummus.
More dips and spread
- Avocado spread
- Masabacha or swimming chickpeas
- Marinara sauce
- Yogurt tahini sauce
- Roasted red pepper hummus
- Muhammara
- Romesco sauce
- Zaalouk
- Mutabal
- Baba ganoush
Lentil Hummus
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 2 cans (15 ounces each) lentils sub 3 cups cooked lentils or 1⅓ cups dry lentils cooked in water until tender.
- 4 tablespoons lentil canning or cooking liquid sub plain water.
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice or more to taste
- ½ teaspoon salt or more to taste
- ⅓ cup tahini from 100% hulled sesame seeds, light in color, and with pourable consistency. Add more or less to taste.
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin optional
- ½ clove garlic optional
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley chopped
Instructions
- Drain 2 cans (15 ounces each) lentils and reserve their storage water.To a food processor, add the lentils, 4 tablespoons lentil canning or cooking liquid, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and ½ teaspoon salt.Blend for 3 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the food processor, then add ⅓ cup tahini, ½ teaspoon ground cumin (optional) and ½ clove garlic (optional).Blend for 3 more minutes.
- Now add 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, and, if necessary, an extra splash of lentil canning water.Blend for 2 more minutes until creamy.Taste and adjust for salt.
- Tip over to a bowl, swirl with a spoon, and top with 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve with warm pita bread.For more ideas, check out the "serving suggestions" chapter linked below.
Notes
Nutrition
If you liked this lentil humus, you might also enjoy:
Hi! We are Nico & Louise
We’re here to share delicious, easy, and healthy plant-based recipes (vegetarian & vegan) 🌿✨.
Welcome to our blog, we are glad you are here.
Can we soak and use dry lentils? Which lentil have you used? We have so many options in India
Hi there,
We used canned brown lentils in order to make it in 5-minutes 🙂
You can also use soaked and cooked brown, green, or split red lentils. If needed, during blending, you might wanna add a little extra water and lemon juice for extra liquid.
Have a great weekend! Louise