Slow Cooker Hummus
Did you know that hummus is really easy to make and you can make several cups worth for less than $2 in about 5 minutes, plus cooking time? It is as simple as dumping a bag of dried chickpeas into a crock pot, covering them with water and letting them cook for 4-5 hours. Once your chickpeas are cooked, add some sea salt, garlic, olive oil, cumin and lemon juice. Blend it until it is well pureed. Set aside as much as you want for the next few days and take the remainder and place it by the scoopful onto a cookie sheet covered in wax paper. Once the scoops are frozen, store them in a freezer bag and pull out individual servings on an as needed basis.
Did you know that hummus is really easy to make and you can make several cups worth for less than $2 in about 5 minutes, plus cooking time? It is as simple as dumping a bag of dried chickpeas into a crock pot, covering them with water and letting them cook for 4-5 hours. Once your chickpeas are cooked, add some sea salt, garlic, olive oil, cumin and lemon juice. Blend it until it is well pureed. Set aside as much as you want for the next few days and take the remainder and place it by the scoopful onto a cookie sheet covered in wax paper. Once the scoops are frozen, store them in a freezer bag and pull out individual servings on an as needed basis.
- Carbohydrate 27.5700868752013 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 7.30019031209386 g
- Fiber 7.94561234970887 g
- Protein 9.21888312424486 g
- Saturated Fat 0.925318062438888 g
- Serving Size 1 1 1/2 cup (91g)
- Sodium 13752.2486413672 mg
- Sugar 19.6244745254924 g
- Trans Fat 0.760280874945769 g
- Calories 205 calories
Step-by-step
- Add beans to a 2 quart slow cooker and add enough water to cover, plus another inch. Cook on high for about 4-5 hours, or until the chick peas can be easily smashed with the back of a fork. Check periodically to make sure the water hasn’t gotten too low in the cooker. If it does add some more very hot water.
- Once the peas are ready, remove them from the cooker using a slotted spoon and put them into your food processor. Keep the fluids from cooking the peas because you’ll need some of it later!
- Now, add all remaining ingredients to the food processor and blend until smooth. Add additional reserved fluids by the tablespoonful until the hummus reaches your desired consistency.
Dried chickpeas require prolonged heat and ample moisture to break down dense starches entirely, a transformation that standard boiling often achieves inconsistently. Cooking these legumes in a two-quart slow cooker on high for four to five hours ensures the internal cotyledons soften completely without splitting prematurely in agitated water. Retaining the cooking liquid provides valuable starch that acts as an emulsifier when combined with the fats in the olive oil and tahini. Maintaining a water level at least one inch above the legumes throughout the heating cycle prevents uneven softening.
Achieving a velvety emulsion inside the food processor depends heavily on thermal energy during the initial puréeing stage. Processing the chickpeas immediately after draining, while they remain hot, allows fats and starches to bind much more efficiently than they would at room temperature. Cold beans create a grainy, stubborn paste that fails to incorporate the olive oil smoothly. Adding reserved cooking liquid one tablespoon at a time lets the spinning blades pull the mixture into a uniform vortex, aerating the proteins without incorporating excess water that dilutes flavor.
Swapping the chicken broth for plain water alters the savory baseline, requiring an adjustment in added salt to compensate for the missing sodium foundation. Tahini contributes essential bitter undertones and fat; reducing its volume below three tablespoons yields a thin, pasty spread that tastes predominantly of plain legumes and lemon juice. Fresh lemon juice provides the necessary acid to cut through the heavy sesame paste, though bottled alternatives introduce harsh, linear acidity that lacks nuance.
Freezing portions for later use alters the moisture stability upon thawing. Storing excess batches in sealed plastic bags for up to one month works effectively if the hummus is re-blended or vigorously whisked with a splash of warm water after defrosting to restore the original emulsion. Separating the mixture into individual servings prior to freezing prevents repeated temperature fluctuations that cause oil separation and micro-crystallization in the stored product.
