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I’ve got to admit: “lentil hummus” makes no sense. The thing is, “hummus” literally means “chickpeas” in Arabic, so the title of this recipe technically means “lentil chickpeas,” which sounds very silly indeed. But do you know what does make sense?

Making a creamy, lemony, tahini-based dip out of red lentils. They take literally 10 minutes to get super soft, at which point we blend them up with all the usual hummus ingredients. I got the idea from my friend Mai from the food blog Almond and Fig. In her blog post, she says it best:

This dip has the consistency of creamy hummus, although nothing will ever replace traditional hummus in my book. […] But when I am crunched for time I love making a recipe like this as the lentils don’t need to be presoaked like the chickpeas.

And that’s just it: hummus made from dried chickpeas is the absolute best kind of hummus. I actually have a recipe for hummus made from dried chickpeas with a trick that lets you skip the soak… but even so! They still take a long time to cook and become super soft. That’s why red lentils are such a great shortcut. This lentil hummus has all the creaminess of hummus made from dried beans, without any of the waiting around.

Jump to the recipe to hit the ground running or read on for a bit more info.

Tips for lentil “hummus” success

1. Salt, salt salt!

This is an important thing to consider for hummus made from any dried bean or legume. Even low sodium canned chickpeas and lentils usually have a dash of salt added. But the ingredients going into this recipe are all entirely unsalted. If you’re used to making hummus, you may need to add more salt than you usually do, so taste and adjust as necessary. I showed how much salt I added in the video attached to this recipe (about 3/4 teaspoon), but I even sometimes add a bit more at the table.

2. Just (don’t) add water

I say the same thing in my recipe for hummus made from dried chickpeas: do not add water to this recipe. The beautiful thing about making chickpeas with a good amount of baking soda is that they turn to total mush. They would be dreadful on a salad, but they’re perfect for hummus.

Split red lentils on the other hand? They don’t need any help from baking soda. Turning to mush is what red lentils were born to do 😎

After a 7 to 10 minute simmer, they’ve absorbed a ton of water and really don’t need any more. We’re going to add a decent amount of lemon juice, which adds just enough moisture to bind with the tahini, turning it into a super creamy dip.

3. Plate it shallow (not deep)

I try to remember to say this in just about every hummus recipe I ever write, and I learned it from my mom and grandmother: When you’re plating your hummus, don’t do it in a cereal bowl. Don’t do it in a soup bowl. Find a deep plate or very shallow bowl (pasta bowls tend to work great) so that your hummus has lots of surface area. That way you can top it with olive oil and spices, and every bite will get some of that topping.

Many hummus recipes have you add olive oil directly to the mix, but I much prefer the kind I grew up with, drizzled with a layer of olive oil and sprinkled with spices. I can’t imagine plating it any other way, and I highly recommend trying it. Just make little indentations across the surface, drizzle, and sprinkle. You can’t go wrong!

Lentil Hummus

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Ingredients

1 1/4 cups (220g) split red lentils*
2 big garlic cloves
1/4 cup (60g) lemon juice
1/4 cup (80g) tahini
Salt
Optional spices (za’atar, paprika, etc.)

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Instructions

Bring a stockpot of water to boil. Add the red lentils and cook for about 7 to 10 minutes, until mushy and just beginning to fall apart. Drain very well with a fine mesh sieve.
Put the garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse until it’s finely chopped.
Add the drained lentils, lemon, and tahini to the food processor. Blend until completely smooth. Taste and add salt (I used about 3/4 teaspoon). Mix, taste, and adjust seasoning. If your lentils did not cool down first, it will be on the runny side (but still quite thick). It will thicken as it cools.
Spread the hummus evenly on a deep plate/shallow bowl and refrigerate. Once cool, dip the back of a spoon across the surface to create little dimples, top with oil and spices (if using).

Notes

* Here’s a helpful guide to red lentils. You can use whole, hulled red lentils (as long as they don’t have their outer brown layer of skin) in this recipe, but they will probably take longer to cook and your hummus might not turn out as creamy.

Video note: If you don’t see the video for this post after scrolling up, please disable ad block and try reloading the page.

If you’re used to the dairy-free option always being the sadder option, then I hope this recipe surprises you! My dairy-free banana bread recipe is not just dairy-free for dietary reasons. All of the dairy-free adjustments actually make it an even better loaf of banana bread than one that’s made with dairy.

So you can let all your dairy-eating friends know that if they’re not making their banana bread dairy-free, they are gonna wanna start.

Jump to the recipe to hit the ground running, or read on for a list of reasons this dairy-free banana bread is better than a conventional loaf.

What makes this banana bread dairy-free AND very good:

1) Milk, sour cream, and/or yogurt all make for a less flavorful banana bread

One of the biggest mistakes in developing a banana bread recipe is adding anything other than bananas and eggs as the water-containing ingredients. Or at least, that’s my banana bread hot take.

Why? We can only add a certain amount of moisture to the batter. If you add sour cream, yogurt, or milk, then you have to add less banana to achieve the right balance. Since we want a robust banana flavor, this results in a less flavorful loaf.

By skipping the dairy altogether, we can max out our banana budget. This is true even if you like an extra-moist almost pudding-like loaf. If you want maximum banana flavor, don’t water it down with dairy.

2) Butter is good, but oil is better for texture

The other dairy-based ingredient in banana bread is butter. Loaves of banana bread made with butter are good, but I actually prefer loaves made with oil. The flavor of butter is wonderful, but oil gives banana bread a moister texture. I still sometimes swipe some butter on after toasting a slice (all the flavor, none of the texture), but I like to leave butter out of the recipe itself.

This recipe calls for any neutral oil—use whatever you prefer. I used canola to develop it.

3) Dairy-free chocolate is easy-to-find (and delicious!)

If you’re a fan of dark chocolate, then having to use a dairy-free chocolate is not a bug—it’s a feature. Find a vegan chocolate that is just cocoa beans, cocoa butter, and sugar, and you’re good to go.

Or skip the chocolate altogether—it’s totally optional, and this loaf is great with or without it. I photographed it and shot the video without chocolate chips, mostly because I didn’t feel like adding them. But I’ve added them many times before. It can really go either way.

A couple helpful notes:

A silly little note about eggs

If you’re dairy-free, you certainly already know this, but for everyone else: Please note that eggs do not count as dairy. Dairy is very specifically milk and products made from milk like cream, cheese, whey protein, butter, and so on. Thus, this recipe does contain eggs.

If you’re looking for a recipe for dairy-free and egg-free banana bread, I’ve got you covered with my eggless banana bread recipe, which uses 0 additional ingredients in place of the missing eggs (just some extra banana and a tad more flour). There is no need to make a chia egg or buy a vegan egg substitute. Just be really careful not to over-mix that one.

Speaking of over-mixing, that’s my number 1 suggestion here too

With any quick bread recipe, the biggest risk is over-mixing. Mix the wet ingredients together thoroughly, then sift the dry ingredients together thoroughly, but once you bring them together, try to use as few swipes as possible. Stir efficiently, and stop once there are no longer dry pockets of flour.

You’ll find a video for this banana bread recipe at the end of the recipe card below. But before I leave you with the recipe, here’s a quick video that’s specifically about over-mixing. If it doesn’t load, disable ad block and reload the page:

Lentil Hummus