%MCEPASTEBIN%Whip up this smoky and delicious Red Lentil Hummus with just a few ingredients and serve with chips or pita bread for a healthy, protein filled snack.
Let me be honest here and tell you that I’m not really all too wild about lentils. Brown and green lentils, when cooked, look yucky … and although my kids and husband love them, I feel indifferent about them.
However…. red lentils, on the other hand, I absolutely adore. They are a gorgeous, beautiful, creamy red color and when cooked, they tend to get mushy so much faster than green or brown lentils. Because they cook quite a bit different, they are wonderful to add to hearty Marinara Sauce to sneak in some protein, or… to vegetarian chili.
Related: Easy Instant Pot Marinara Sauce (with 2 secret ingredients!)
Red lentils have a smoky, earthy flavor that works wonderfully for dips and spreads – full of protein, this hummus is great to spread on pita bread, or serve with chips, or smear on a sandwich. Yum!
Smoky Red Lentil Hummus
Even better, this hummus is relatively easy to make if you have an Instant Pot, because they can cook up in just a few minutes.
Hummus is usually made with tahini – but in this case, we were out and a trip to the store wasn’t in order; we substituted chickpeas that we made in our Instant Pot the day prior. To make it easier, use a can of garbanzo beans instead.
Add the juice from a few limes, a little olive oil, smoked paprika, cumin, salt and pepper and you have a generous dip that will wow everyone in the family.
Related post: How to make Chickpeas in the Instant Pot
Your kids might not even realize it’s healthy. That’s huge!
This recipe makes enough for a crowd – if you have enough leftover, refrigerate in sealed containers. To serve, top with some extra virgin olive oil and a few dashes of smoked paprika. It’s a wonderful way to create a last minute appetizer or dish to pass if you are in a pinch.
Red Lentil Hummus
Ingredients
Red Lentils:
- 1 C red lentils rinsed and sorted
- 2 C water
Hummus:
- 1/2 C garbanzo beans chickpeas
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil + more for drizzling
- 1/4 C lemon juice
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt or more, to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- In your Instant Pot, combine the lentils with the water.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, and seal the valve.
- Set the timer for 9 minutes on manual (high) pressure.
- Once the timer beeps finished, release the pressure.
- Add the contents of the Instant Pot to the food processor with the rest of the ingredients and puree until smooth.
- Add more extra virgin olive oil and/or lemon juice as needed.
- Season with additional salt/pepper as needed, and pour into serving bowl.
- Drizzle with a little extra olive oil and a few dashes of smoked paprika.
- Serve with chips, pita bread or spread on sandwiches.
Nutrition
If you loved this hummus recipe, I would be so appreciative if you gave the recipe a review. Make sure you snap a pic of your hummus and tag me on Instagram … and use the tag #RebootedMom. Or… tag me in your post at @RebootedMom.
For more great recipes, follow me on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram!
Victoria says
How long is the shelf life for this hummus?
sheryl says
Eat immediately or, refrigerate and eat within 4-5 days. It doesn’t usually last that long here though, our family of 7 usually has it demolished in a few hours.
Glenn Freeman says
How might you revise this recipe to use split dried chickpeas (chana dal), in place of cooked chickpeas? Maybe add ¼ C to the red lentils along an extra ¼ C water? Let me know what you think.
Sheryl says
You could definitely do 1/4 C. though chickpeas usually follow a ratio of 1:4 (chickpeas to water). I’m wondering if maybe you would need to up the water a bit, though you don’t want to go too much either or you’ll have a soupy mess. Maybe 1/4 C. dried, spit chickpeas along with 3/4 to 1 C. water? (just to be safe?)
Let me know how it works for you, I’d be interested to know!
Glenn Freeman says
It worked fantastic with ½ C of water (1:2 ratio, just like the lentils). These are split chickpeas, so they behave more like dal. Maybe whole chickpeas would require more water … but more than ½ C in this setting would be too wet. Great recipe!
Izzy de la Meme says
This looks delicious! If I was to use tahini instead of chickpeas, how much should I use?
Jacob says
Really enjoyed this as a simple soup, with 2 cups dried chickpeas, 7 cups water in total, and some cayenne pepper added. Pressure cooked for 46 minutes, left to sit for 20, then released. Will be eating it for the next few days. I always appreciate hearty bulk food. Might use a stock cube next time for variety. Thanks for the recipe!
P.S. This is my first online recipe review I believe.