Homemade Hummus without Tahini
No tahini? No problem! You can make a quick homemade hummus without tahini if you’ve got sesame seeds. It results in a fantastic and much more convenient dip – plus, it’s simpler and less expensive.
When I first met Brian’s family back in the 1980s, I had a tiny bit of culture shock since they had traveled and lived in different parts of the world, including Turkey and the Middle East.
So Brian’s mom regularly made Middle Eastern dishes like lamb shish kabobs, baba ganoush (an eggplant dip), jajik (the yogurt/cucumber dish which has different names & variations depending on the country, similar to Greek tzatziki) and hummus (garbanzo bean dip) served with pita bread.
No one I knew ate these foods, let alone made them from scratch.
At that point in my life I was more picky about food, but trying to make a good impression on my new family, I ate them.
I found I loved the shish kabobs, and baba ganoush is still the best way to eat eggplant in my book, although jajik I stay away from (as I do with anything that contains fresh cucumbers…).
But I fell in love with hummus and I actually learned to make it since it was so good and it was one of Brian’s favorites.
I was not surprised that by the 1990s hummus became wildly popular and suddenly you could find it in delis and groceries and get the recipe in newspapers.
It’s super easy to make, is perfect with vegetables as well as chips and pita and makes a nice protein rich dip alternative to the normal creamy-cheese type dips.
The only bummer with making hummus, though, is that besides garbanzo beans, the other main ingredient is tahini.
It’s a relatively expensive item that is not something I normally buy so it was usually feast or famine with homemade hummus – we’d have a lot and then none for months.
Plus, it was plain irritating to usually be out of tahini when I wanted to make hummus.
What is tahini made of?
This went on for years, really, before I realized that tahini is just a spread like peanut butter. If you look on the container, the ingredients are sesame seeds and salt.
And that means sesame seeds could be ground just like nuts to make a butter.
Duh.
Sesame seeds are less expensive and something I usually keep in the pantry to use to coat granola bites, top stir fries and more.
Guess what I discovered? It’s easy to grind the seeds as a first step to making hummus – there’s no extra dishes and only about an extra minute of time!
Unless you have a super powerful food processor, the texture of this homemade hummus may not be as smooth as hummus from the store (though I actually prefer it a bit less smooth…) but the flavor is amazing.
This is the only way I make hummus now – without tahini and with sesame seeds!
Recipe Video
Homemade Hummus Without Tahini
Ingredients
This is why learning to make hummus can be a “back pocket” recipe you can pull out for snacks, entertaining, and road trips – it consists of:
- garbanzo beans (also called chickpeas) – they can be canned or dried and cooked (maybe even from your freezer ready for recipes like this)
- olive oil
- lemon juice
- garlic
- salt
- sesame seeds (or, yes, you could use tahini if you have it)
Then you literally add everything to a food processor and whir until it’s smooth.
Directions
The only thing that’s different for this hummus without tahini from the regular recipe is that you begin with a step of making a sesame paste (tahini) by processing sesame seeds with a little olive oil.
After a chunky-smooth paste forms, add the rest of the ingredients and process until as smooth as you can get it, scraping the sides as needed.
And voilà – homemade hummus without having to buy tahini!
To serve the hummus, drizzle with more olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of paprika.
Serve with vegetables and pita or flat bread.
Do you know pita bread is even easy to make, too? Here’s a simple whole wheat pita recipe to try.
The ultimate test to this tahini-less hummus, though, came when I (hesitantly) served it to my in-laws, practically tripping over my words to prepare my mother-in-law for the fact that it wasn’t “real” hummus made with tahini.
Her verdict? “I think this is the best hummus I’ve ever had.”
Hummus Without Tahini FAQs
About a week in the fridge in an airtight container.
Yes! I freeze hummus all the time in airtight 1-cup containers. Thaw overnight before using and use up within a week after thawing. (This also works for store bought hummus.)
While a tub of store bought hummus isn’t terribly expensive ($3-5.00), homemade hummus will cost you only about half of that, depending on where you live and the type of products you buy. An example: 1 can of garbanzo beans = .79; 1/2 cup (4oz) sesame seeds at .25 per ounce = $1 + the olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice adding about another .25 together bringing the cost of homemade hummus to just over $2.00.
Starting with dried garbanzo beans would make it even cheaper – closer to $1 for a full recipe. (Remember, it’s easy to do when you’ve cooked dried beans in advance and frozen them for recipes like this!)
According to Healthline, hummus can help fight inflammation, improve blood sugar and digestive health, lower heart disease risk, and aid in weight loss. However, if you’re sensitive to legumes, you want to monitor the amount you eat – too much may cause GI inflammation.
Yes, according to this site, 1 oz. of sesame seeds contains more than double the amount of calcium than the same amount of tahini. Just one more bonus!
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Homemade Hummus Without Tahini
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup olive oil plus more as needed and for garnish
- 2 large cloves garlic
- 1-½ cups garbanzo beans, home cooked or a 15.5-ounce can
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, about 1 small lemon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- paprika for topping
Instructions
- Make sesame seed paste (tahini): Place the sesame seeds and 1/4 cup olive oil in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until a smooth-ish paste forms, adding a little more olive oil if needed.
- Continue Making Hummus: Add the garlic and pulse until evenly chopped.
- Add the remaining ingredients, except the paprika. Process until desired consistency, adding more olive oil (or water) as needed. Taste to adjust for salt.
- Transfer to a serving bowl, drizzle with more olive oil and sprinkle with paprika.
- Serve with pita bread and vegetables for dipping. Keep extra in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about a week or freeze for longer storage.
Notes
- Roasted Red Pepper Hummus: add a 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of roasted red peppers (drained if from a jar) and whir as directed.
- Pesto Hummus: stir 1/4 to 1/3 cup (to taste) of pesto into the prepared hummus.
- Spicy Hummus: swirl 1-3 tablespoons (to taste) of Sriracha into prepared hummus (my fav!).
Nutrition
More Easy Dips To Try
This recipe has been updated – it was originally published in 2010 and updated in 2015.
This has been a really fun read. Gave me some good ideas…like the idea of sesame seeds instead of tahini…time saver!!!
This is the most delicious hummus ever! Love all your comments and suggestions! Thank you! Diana
Oh, this makes me so happy, Diana – I’m SO glad to know you like it and the tips were helpful!!
I almost always have sesame seeds in my cupboard but not Tahini. I was excited to see this recipe as the lack of Tahini and the unwillingness to buy a jar of it, that I usually don’t use up, is what keeps me from making it at home more often. This is a really good classic hummus recipe on it’s own. I tasted this after following the recipe as written and it was good. However, I like more lemon in my hummus, so I put more in. Suddenly, it was a bit too saltly tasting. I have since read that lemon intensifies the saltly flavor. If you prefer a stronger lemon flavor in your hummus, add the salt last and don’t add the full amount. Then adjust it to taste. This recipe would also be a great jumping board for different hummus add ins. How about red pepper, artichokes, spinach or olives? Za’atar or Cumin would be great spice additions. I’m going to try it next with Cilantro and lime. I’m also thinking this would be a good way to make a “hummus” with other types of beans. Thank you so much!!!!
I felt exactly the same way – I’m so glad this was helpful to you!
Thank you so much for the review and your tips.
The hummus recipe I’ve used for years has peanut butter as well as 1 tbsp sour cream and 1 tsp honey and cumin! When the peanut butter is combined with the garlic and cumin it is to die for!!!
Wow, that’s a new one I’ve not heard of before, Lola!
It was fun to see this recipe. I started making hummus in the 70’s after having it at a middle Eastern restaurant in Minneapolis while in college. Found a recipe in a cookbook and it used sesame seeds, and for decades that is the way I made it. Now I make with with tahini, but if I don’t have tahini, I use sesame seeds. I have a friend who makes it with peanut butter which someone above mentioned also! Tastes different but still good.
Oh, that’s great to know, Mary. And it makes sense as I’m sure it would’ve been hard to find tahini in the 70s and 80s.
Pretty sure all the ways will still be good. 😀
A tip: this can be made in a Ninja, just grind the sesame seeds before adding the oil. If you add them together in a Ninja or Magic Bullet the seeds don’t grind thoroughly in my experience.
Thank you, Anna! I just got a Ninja, so I’ll give this a try in it. 🙂
Hi, Jami:
Thank you for the “Hummus” recipe. It was wonderful to see that one my first try I received the gift of something that both my daughter and I like. It will be more accessible to make now using the sesame seeds instead of buying the store bought version. Looking forward to more interestiing recipes.
Thank you. Jean Gordon.
Glad this was a ‘gift’ to you, Jean – that is so encouraging to me. 🙂 I love being able to use what’s in my pantry, and save money at the same time!
Made this recipe exactly as written (which I always do on any new recipe… then I make revisions if needed on the second or third try!). I absolutely love it… it is also a great base to add more flavors — like extra garlic or spices, etc. In any case, the original recipe here is fantastic — I WILL NEVER BUY HUMMUS IN THE STORE AGAIN. Thanks so much!
Yeah! So glad to read this, David, ’cause that’s one of my goals in life: to arm people with simple, lovely recipes instead of thinking they need to buy them. 🙂
I also have been making hummus for yrs, it is my ‘go to’ food, eating everyday. I prefer the hulled (brown) sesame seeds. I slowly toast in small batches (maybe a cup-total), then use a spice grinder (actually a coffee grinder turned spice grinder), after seeds have cooled a little, to finely grind seeds. I place seeds in a lidded jar, in the fridge and just add to beans when ready to process. I also use sesame oil to add more flavor. There is a Nigella Lawson recipe which uses peanut butter, instead of tahini, and yogurt. I’ve tried it-it’s good.
Hmmm, peanut butter? That’s a new one, Michelle! Can’t decide how I feel about that, but I’ll take your word for it that it’s good. 🙂 Thanks for sharing that tip for the sesame seeds – nice idea!
I’ve been making your hummus for a few years now and we love it. In fact I used the last of my sesame seeds yesterday making a batch! And I don’t add the honey, but that is just personal taste. This time around I was making pesto in my food processor and decided to see how a pesto flavored hummus tried (i.e. I didn’t want to wash the food processor twice in 20 minutes). There was a minimal amount of pesto left after scraping out the food processor, but when my 5 year old tried it with veggies yesterday she declared it the best I’ve made and that I must make it that way again. Two recipes and only doing dishes once….I can do that again!
Yum – that does sound delicious, Heather. I’ll have to try it, too!
That is so smart! I would never thought to do that. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Fantastic idea! I can’t wait to try it! And it’s so much cheaper than buying tahini in the store! Thanks so much for a fabulous recipe! Yet another one from you I will put in my arsenal!
I’m glad I republished again then, Rosemary, so you could see it. 🙂
How long do you pulse the sesame seeds? After a good 10 minutes of pulsing and scraping down the sides I still had quite a few whole seeds. Do I need to give it longer? I’d love to make this work – I have the same issues with the expense of and difficulty finding tahini!
I don’t usually have whole seeds left, Anne, after a few minutes of processing. Is your blade sharp? Also, I don’t worry too much about it being smooth – I figure it’s a ‘rustic’ hummus anyway. 😉
Yum! I never thought about adding honey to hummus! Thanks for the idea. I like to make a big batch and freeze the hummus in small, (cup or pint) plastic containers. They’re freezer friendly and convenient. I also customize the smaller plain batches with fresh garlic, herbs, sun dried tomatoes, or diced roasted peppers.