There are a lot of recipes for hummus without tahini out there, but most of them make one critical mistake: they don’t choose something similar enough to tahini as a substitute:
- Some recipes introduce something like yogurt or sour cream, which is not similar enough to tag in for tahini (and moreover means that you can’t serve hummus to your vegan/dairy free friends).
- Some recipes use an oil, which is just not going to give you the same creamy texture you get with tahini (and if it’s sesame oil, it won’t work for people who are allergic to tahini).
- Some recipes just leave the tahini out entirely! But as someone who grew up eating a lot of hummus made by my big Assyrian family, I can’t recommend leaving it out altogether. Tahini plays a crucial role, adding richness and creaminess.
But don’t worry—there is another way! As long as you’re not allergic to all nuts, legumes, and seeds, this recipe has you covered.
What is tahini after all but a fancy nut butter?
That’s exactly what we’re going to be using here: peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter—you name it. As long as you’re not allergic and you enjoy the taste, it’ll work. (If you are allergic to literally all nut/seed/legume butters, this is not the recipe for you!/I’m sorry!)
Jump to the recipe to start blending, or read on for a little bit more about what makes this recipe work.
What makes this hummus without tahini work
1. It’s creamy, just like hummus with tahini.
Nut and seed butters (like tahini) have a lot of oil. That oil emulsifies with the chickpeas and lemon juice as you blend it. This creates the creamy hummus texture you’re looking for. Without it, you’re just looking at some mashed chickpeas with lemon juice and garlic.
2. This recipe is formulated to work with any nut or seed butter.
I didn’t want the final flavor of the hummus to be too influenced by whatever nut butter we choose. The nut butter should be there for texture and richness, not so much for flavor. So I used my version of hummus that is not super tahini-heavy to begin with. This results in a much less nut/seed-dominant flavor, while still yielding a creamy texture. That being said, be sure to choose one that you enjoy.
3. It’s authentic, even though it’s also totally not.
The essentials of the kind of hummus I grew up eating are all present. There’s plenty of lemon juice for tanginess. There’s enough water in general, which means that the nut butter will have enough moisture to blend with and become creamy. And there’s just enough garlic. Those are the biggest pitfalls in making hummus in general, tahini or no tahini.
If you want to get really pedantic, the official name for hummus is “hummus bi tahini,” which literally translates to “chickpeas with tahini.” So yes, a hummus made with peanut butter instead of tahini is starting to color a little outside the lines. But if anyone questions you, you can just remind them that it’s still technically hummus, since “hummus” literally just means “chickpeas” in Arabic! 😎
A few tips for success:
1. Go with smooth, not crunchy.
Don’t use a crunchy/chunky nut butter. It’s got to be smooth. “Natural” nut butters work better here than the kind with palm oil and/or stabilizers (but those will work too, as long as they’re smooth). The runnier the nut butter, the more similar to tahini in composition.
If you only have crunchy natural nut butter on hand, you can add it to the food processor before starting the hummus process. Blend it until it completely smooths out, almost like making homemade nut butter (it might take a while to break down and fully liquify).
2. Don’t use a low-fat nut butter.
Diety reduced- or low-fat nut butters are not your friend here. We really need that fat to get the right texture and flavor.
3. Add the water gradually (and use less if you’d like).
Authentic hummus is not clumpy and stodgy. To accomplish a silky smooth texture, a decent amount of water is usually added. After it chills, it tends to set up a bit more than in the refrigerator. But feel free to scale back the amount of water if you like a super thick hummus.
You also want to make sure you add the water gradually because different nut butters are going to bind with it slightly differently.
4. Use a nut butter that you actually like.
If you don’t like the flavor of the nut butter, you’re not going to like the flavor of the hummus. So choose one you actually like! For instance, sunflower seed butter is kind of polarizing. If you love it, go for it. If you don’t like it on its own, you’re not going to like it in hummus.
A few relevant links:
PrintHummus without Tahini
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 large or 2 small bowls of hummus
Ingredients
- 2 medium cloves of garlic
- Two 15 ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1/3 cup [80 g] fresh lemon juice (about 2 to 3 lemons)
- 1/3 cup [85 g] nut or seed butter
- 1/3 cup [80 g] cold water
- Salt to taste
- Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
- Paprika or za’atar* for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- Place the garlic in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse until it is chopped finely.
- Add the chickpeas, lemon, and nut/seed butter and blend until it completely combines.
- Add the water gradually (start with about half, and add the rest gradually). Different nut butters require slightly different amounts of water. The hummus should be creamy, not stodgy or clumpy. But it should not be runny.
- Taste, add salt to taste, and blend.
- Spread thinly on a deep plate or shallow bowl. Dip the spoon across the surface to make swirls or dimples. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with spices.
Notes
* Most za’atar has sesame in it, so be cautious if you’re skipping the tahini because of an allergy! Paprika works just great too.
