Nothing is better than hummus– or, at least it’s in the top 20 best vegan foods ever. Super easy, super cheap, crazy delicious. You can eat hummus with almost anything– on a bagel, as a sandwich spread, with pita bread, with veggies, on pizza, in wraps; pretty much on or with anything.

In one cup of cooked chickpeas, there is 39g of protein and 69% of your daily value of iron. Chickpeas are nutrient-rich in other ways, too– tons of Magnesium, B6 and calcium – but with such a substantial amount of the two nutrients vegans are claimed to lack the most, there aren’t very many better snacks.

After being vegan for a few years, I started to get tired of hummus. Like, really tired. However, my husband kept requesting it over and over, and so I learned how to make it myself. That was a game-changer.

You can make hummus out of chickpeas, sure, but you can also make it out of any other bean. Black bean hummus is amazing, and so is cannellini white bean. You can also roast root vegetables – such as beets or carrots – or other savory vegetables like eggplant, and then blend them 1:1 with beans as a base.

On top of switching up your bean base, you can play around a lot with seasonings and mix-ins. One of my favorite mix-ins is jalapenos, but you can mix in any favorite pepper – like serrano or habanero – to add some spice or sweetness. You can also mix in onions, shallots, chives, parsley, mint, basil or any other fresh herbs. 

Not only can it taste like anything, but you can also eat it with anything. For any new vegans, or just anyone who needs a brush-up, here’s an easy list of 25 vegan snacks to enjoy with hummus– but, seriously, the list could go on forever.

• Carrots
• Cucumbers
• Pita Bread
• Pita Chips
• Celery
• Pretzels
• Bell Peppers 
• Tortilla Chips
• Rye Bread
• Sourdough
• Roasted Beets
• Flat Bread
• On Salad
• Cauliflower
• Snack Peppers
• Jalapeños 
• Brussel Sprouts
• Snap Peas
• Triscuits
• Original Wheat Thins
• Saltines
• French Fries
• Roasted Cauliflower
• Nut Thins
• Ritz

You can play around forever with different combinations of base and mix-ins, but what I’ve got here is a recipe for classic hummus, just to start. 

Make and eat hummus as often as possible. That’s my advice.

Hummus

Chickpeas, cooked – 1lb
Tahini – ¾c
Lemon Juice – ¼c
Garlic, fresh – 3 cloves
Olive Oil – 2 fl.oz. 

to taste: 
Salt 
Black Pepper, ground  
Cumin, ground
Smoked Paprika
Garlic Powder 

1. Place all ingredients into a food processor.
2. Blend.
3. Season to taste.
4. Done!

It really is that easy.

Thanks for reading!
~ Chef G.