Each week, there’s a few staple foods we make. Like homemade yogurt, to be sure. Or real bone broth. Homemade sourdough bread. And this sprouted hummus, made with chickpeas, garlic, lemon and plenty of extra virgin olive oil.
Sprouting is a magical process to watch. It’s a slow and gently transformative process that wakens a seed from its dormancy. It’s also easy (budget-friendly!) to pack more nutrients into foods you already make and love.
Jump to Recipe | Why Sprout Chickpeas? | Tips | Variations
Why Sprout (and cook) Chickpeas
Like most kitchen adventures, sprouting always seems intimidating at first. But once you try it, you’ll find that it’s actually super easy – and you’ll wonder why it took you so long.
I promise you this: If you can fill a jar with water and give it a good shake, you can sprout chickpeas for hummus (and just about anything else, too).
But, beyond the fun of watching a seed, or grain or bean come alive, sprouting also makes foods more nutritious. Much in the same way that making sauerkraut makes cabbage more nutritious, and that’s because there’s several key processes at play.
Like all pulses, chickpeas contain food phytate as well as enzyme inhibitors (1, 2). Soaking and sprouting improves the nutrient profile of chickpeas, just soaking grains improves their nutrition, too. That’s because phytates bind minerals and make them difficult to absorb, while enzyme inhibitors can make foods difficult to digest and protein difficult to absorb.
When you soak and then sprout chickpeas, you release food enzymes that mitigate the presence of both food phytates and enzyme inhibitors. As a result, the minerals and protein in sprouted hummus are more easily absorbed by your body, and the hummus is also easier to digest.
While sprouting is particularly effective at reducing these anti-nutrients, it’s not sufficient on its own. And the you’ll see the greatest improvement in nutrient availability when you sprout and then cook chickpeas (3) before making hummus or other foods from them. That’s also why making raw sprouted hummus is generally a bad idea.
Pressure cooking chickpeas in your Instant Pot or in another pressure cooker is even more effective at reducing these compounds than cooking on the stove. It’s also faster, too.
Tips for Making Sprouted Hummus
Making sprouted hummus is a simple process, even though it takes a few extra steps. First, you’ll begin by soaking chickpeas in warm water and then draining the water. After that, you’ll need to rinse and drain them daily until they germinate. Next, you’ll cook the chickpeas either on the stove or, preferably, in your pressure cooker before puréeing them with garlic, tahini, extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.
And while the process of making sprouted hummus is pretty straightforward, there’s a few things you’ll want to keep in mind to make sure the recipe comes out great every time.
- Plan ahead. It takes about 3 days for chickpeas to sprout sufficiently to make hummus.
- Soak chickpeas in warm (not hot or cold) water. Warm water facilitates the release of enzymes and helps your chickpeas sprout.
- Keep the jar at a cool room temperature. Sprouting favors a cool room temperature of about 68 to 70 F.
- Use a jar fitted with a mesh sprouting lid. A ventilated sprouting jar or a jar fitted with a mesh lid allows water to drain efficiently. Without it, your chickpeas will be prone to mold.
- Rinse the chickpeas 2 to 3 times daily. Fill your jar with water, shake gently, and then let it drain completely.
- Blend the ingredients really well to promote a smooth, spreadable hummus.
Sprouted Hummus Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup chickpeas
- 2 medium cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
Sprouting Chickpeas
- Rinse the garbanzo beans, and pick out any loose bits of debris. Place them in a jar, and cover them with warm water. Allow the beans to soak overnight, at least 8 and up to 12 hours. Drain and rinse well.
- Seal the jar with a mesh sprouting lid, and turn it upside down or at angle to allow for airflow.
- Twice to three times a day, rinse the chickpeas by filling the jar with water, shaking gently, and then pouring out the water. Invert the jar at an angle to allow for airflow. Sprouts should appear within 2 days, and are ready when they reach about 1/4-inch in length – about 3 days total.
Making Sprouted Hummus
- Rinse the chickpeas well, and then dump them into the insert of your pressure cooker. Cover with water by 3 inches, and swirl in a spoonful of fine sea salt. Pressure cook for 20 minutes.
- Drain the chickpeas, and dump them into a high-speed blender or a food processor. Add the minced garlic, lemon juice, salt, tahini, olive oil and water as well as any other flavorings or seasonings you like. Process until completely smooth.
- Serve the hummus immediately, or store in the fridge up to 1 week.
Notes
Sprouted Hummus Variations
Once you’ve mastered the basic technique for making sprouted hummus, you can add different flavor combinations and new seasonings.
Add serrano or jalapeños and a touch of cumin. A little bit of heat can balance the naturally earthy flavor of hummus.
Add garlic confit instead of raw garlic, for a rich and more complex garlic flavor.
Add a slice of preserved lemon for a probiotic boost and a fantastic flavor.
Add roasted beets for a reach color and a touch of sweetness.
Add a spoonful of miso paste for a rich, complex umami flavor.
References
1) Duhan, et al. (1986) Phytic acid content of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and black gram (Vigna mungo): varietal differences and effect of domestic processing and cooking methods. Science of Food and Agriculture.
2-3) Shi, L., et al. (2017). Changes in levels of enzyme inhibitors during soaking and cooking for pulses available in Canada. Journal of food science and technology.
I made this recipe and it was delicious, so fun to watch the chickpeas sprout. I’ll definitely be keeping this in the repertoire! Is this recipe freezable should I decide to make a bigger batch in the future? Thank you!
Hi Margaret,
Glad you liked the recipe. I do freeze this hummus, and whip it after thawing.
Eating some red pepper hummus made with sprouted chickpeas right now. The hummus is a little dry because I was following a different recipe; yours calls for much more liquid so I’m trying it this way next time. Nom nom!
After growing chickpeas and then hummus work do you have to remove the buds stems before boiling???
I recommend simply following the recipe exactly as it’s written.
No, you keep those! Cook beans as is.
Hello Jenny!
Thank you for the recipe! I love hummus and often buy it at the grocery store but with your recipe, it will be so much healthier and economical.
Just recently, I have run across the website: Sproutpeople
Do you know of them? They have THE MOST EASY SPROUTING CONTAINER I have ever used! So much better than the Mason jar way,
that I am now “hooked” on sprouts and sprouting now! Please check them out. You will not be disappointed.
Thanks again for your service!
God bless!
Instead of cooking them on the stove would a slow cooker work?
You could try and let us know how ti goes.
I soaked my chickpeas and most of the sprouts are pretty long stems, do I take the stems off before cooking or just keep them on?
You might use them for a salad, but when sprouts are VERY long they’re not good for hummus.
I follow the directions exactly and used a sprouting jar. I rinsed the beans several times a day. At the moment they have been simmering on the stove for the last hour and the smell is incredibly pungent. I’m concerned that during the process they have gone bad. I don’t know if this is normal or not or if they are safe to consume. Any advice or direction would be greatly appreciated.
Ok so I think some of my beans were soaking too long because they got mushy and slimy. I picked them out and rinsed the rest well. They are cooking now. Do you think that they will be ok? They should be safe after cooking, right? I guess I will let you know how they turn out!
Thanks for a great recipe and clear instructions.
How can I extend the shelf life of hummus in the refrigerator?, Are there any health supplements preservatives in order to solve this issue?
Thanks, Rebecca
Hi Rebecca,
I don’t know. Maybe google, “How to extend shelf life of hummus?”
While in the sprouting process, do I have to worry about mold growing? I’ve heard with beans you need to add a bit of vinegar to the water, is this true?
Hi Rachel,
Mold is a potential in sprouted foods if you don’t actively stir the chickpeas as you sprout them.
Hi Jenny, I bought beans from your recommended website, and I followed the directions, rinsing my beans three times a day for 3 days. By the morning of day 3 Not all by beans sprouted, and the smell was pretty horrible. I live in Los Angeles, and the temperature inside my house during the day is about 78, and dips to about 70 at night. Does the foul smell indicate the process has been done wrong, or is that a normal fermentation side effect? Thank you!
Hi Reale!
It probably smells faintly like vomit and the top has is kind of milky and foamy, right? If you soak beans for a longer period of time (longer than 8-18 hours), they’ll start to ferment and they smell foul. Good news is that, as long as no mold appears, you should be able to rinse them off and cook them, and they’ll be just fine – and extra easy to digest.
I’m wondering if I can sprout a large batch of the garbanzo beans, she’ll, cook, and freeze so I can just pull them out and make a quick hummus easily. Does anyone know rather this would affect the flavor or nutrients of the hummus? Secondly, I’m relatively new to sprouting at home. The sprouts themselves do not go into the recipe, correct? I’m imagining they would come off during shelling anyways…
That should say “shell” not she’ll – autocorrect, sorry!
Hi Kaitlin,
You can sprout, cook and freeze your chickpeas. I often do this, not for making hummus, but for other beans. And, yes, the sprouts go into the hummus.
Another method: quick and easy, no soaking and no need to remove skins.
Cook 8 cups chickpeas in a pressure cooker. Bring to the boil and (very important!) remove any froth that appears before fixing the pressure lid. After 30 minutes pressure cooking turn off heat and let sit for a few hours.
Drain water and keep aside then place the chickpeas in a large mixing bowl.
Use a ‘stick’ blender to mince and combine the chickpeas with 2 cups fresh lemon juice & pulp, 1cup chopped fresh garlic and 2 cups tahini. Take your time blending and add a few spoons of cooking water if necessary. The blender will feel hot after a few minutes; give it a rest until cool. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Fill containers with the hummus. Freezes well. Add chilli, olive oil, herbs etc before serving.
So good!! Made a batch and then made a double batch. I’m going to feed it to my veggie/ bean hesitant friend this weekend. I’m trying to teach her to diversify her diet. So good. I had a pretty easy time removing the skin. When rinsing them with cold water I scrubbed at them with my hand and about half the skins came off. The others I pinched one at a time and they pop right out of the skins. Takes 5 minutes and the effort is worth it because this hummus is so much better than the hummus I have made in the past where I skipped this step.
I got busy this weekend and most of my beans have a 1″ sprout or so. Any downsides to still using them?
To remove skins put the chickpeas in a bowl of cold water then scoop some in your hands and rub your hands together with the chickpeas still in your hands then drop them back in bowl. Keep doing this and the skins should float to the top
I never cook garbanzo beans and mine took forever to cook. I had it on the burner for 3 hours and still super starchy and then moved it to the slow cooker for 11 hours. I did soak for 24 hours and waited about 4 days to sprout. Is this normal? Thanks!
If it takes that long, usually either (or both) of two factors are at play: #1) your beans are old, or #2) you’re at high altitude and beans take forever to cook at high altitude.
My favorite part about cooking garbanzos is listening to them pop during the first several hours of soaking. 🙂 My method. Soak for about 36 hours (changing the water several times), then cook slowly until nearly done, then pressure can in pint jars. (I do not add salt to the pot on the stove, rather I add a half teaspoon to each pint as it is filled.). The canning finishes cooking them to creamy perfection and I have properly prepared beans with all the convenience of a can. I do at least five pounds at a time this way to fill the canner and make the extra effort worth while.
I made hummus from sprouted beans once before and the final product came out bitter. What did I do wrong? TIA
I’ve read recipes that say to purée the beans while warm for the smoothest hummus.
I have sprouted my beans a few times since reading your recipe, however this time my beans smell sour even after repeated rinsing and cooking. Is this normal and part of the fermentation process or should I toss them and start over?
I made this recipe and it is awesome!!! To help remove the skins I put the cooked Garbanzo beans in a bowl with cold water and scooped the skins out with a slotted spoon as they floated around. and then I would stir the beans around to get the skins to come up and scoop some more. I don’t think I got all of them but I got most. And this seemed to speed the process a bit. Great hummus recipe! Thank you!
Does using a pressure cooker to cook the beans affect the taste or texture in any way ?
I used to work at a Lebanese restaurant for about a year (better than Jerusalem’s) and the trick is to dissolve the skins instead of removing them. Add about a 1/2 teaspoon to water during the cooking process. Makes a world of difference!
Add a 1/2 tsp of what??
I believe Alyssa meant Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate), it “softens” the water and make them more basic than acid.
In that environment the skins of the beans are dissolved. This is a technique being used in many places in the Middle East. There are many pro and cons but it does the job 🙂
Be’teavon & Bon Apetite!
Amit
I read that this kills the nutrients though. Research it. (relates to softening all beans)
Thank you for a great article. It’s always nice to read anything about glorious hummus. But frankly, removing the skins from the garbanzos is exceedingly laborious and unnecessary. I worked as a chef in an Israeli restaurant where some of the best hummus I’ve ever eaten was produced fresh daily. We NEVER removed the skins and it was the smoothest, silkiest most voluptuous hummus I’ve tasted anywhere, bar none. Never was there even a hint of grittiness. My homemade version is just as smooth. I think what matters most is to neither over nor under cook the beans, and, as you stated, be very generous with the olive oil and refrain from adding any more than a tablespoon or two of water. Also, I think people greatly underestimate how long it takes a food processor or blender to break down and transform the beans into hummus. It takes much longer than you think! Even our heavy-duty restaurant equipment did not whiz through this task effortlessly, and it’s even harder for consumer appliances. People have burned out their blender motors making hummus. Be patient. Stop the machine often, scrape down the sides and stir from the bottom. You want to incorporate all the mixture thoroughly so it flows evenly through the blades. Take your time, and you will produce silken manna to swoon over.
HI! I love following your blog and recipes. Thank you for enriching us. In this one I had to smile and write as I lived in Denver, near Jerusalem in when going to Grad school. I had their hummus, pita and veggies no less than 3 times a week when heading to class. I love it! Thank you for igniting such a fond memory for my taste buds 🙂
liz
Thank you for this article! I have never heard of such a thing but now I will request it. P.s. I’ve found that adding a little sour cream is a good is really good for hummus!
I’m wondering if the only trouble with leaving the skins on would be a little grittiness or would it really make it terrible?
It doesn’t make it terrible by any means– certainly still yummy without taking off the skins, but it does improve the texture to remove them. It just makes the hummus more creamy and smooth– basically it’s the difference between good and great.
I know people who leave the skins on and others who remove them. I usually fall somewhere in the middle – I pick them off until I get bored (usually about half way through), and then I just throw them all in a blender. Like the commenter before said, peeling just affects the texture of the hummus (though there could be some nutritional issue I don’t know about).
On a side note, one thing I like to do with hummus is (if you’re using good quality olive oil) to drizzle a pool of olive oil on top instead of adding it all to the hummus itself so that you’re able to really taste the oil. I also sometimes make a meal of hummus by cooking up some toasted pine nuts mixed with sauteed ground beef/lamb, diced/minced onion, and spices (allspice, cinnamon, salt, pepper). Then I serve the meat mixture on top of the hummus with warm pita and salad on the side, yummm.
Wondering how to pick skins of easily. It is quite a chore and therefore I stopped doing it.
Also, Is the source you use to purchase these pesticide free?
Thanks!
Hi! I love your site! I do have a question about your hummus. Is there a reason why you don’t incorporate tahini?
The recipe does include it! So either it was a typo that is now fixed or you just missed it. It calls for 2 T. =)
Perfect timing! I picked up a recipe for fermented hummus from a fermentation workshop a couple weeks ago and had been researching to find out whether I should soak the garbanzo beans with some whey or sprout them before making hummus and then Voila! Your post appeared! Thanks, Jenny! And thank you for sharing the wisdom and skills most of us didn’t get from our mothers.
Any trick to removing the skins? I’ve tried it before and it just takes too long to remove them one at a time from a whole batch.
I’m wondering the thing.
My question exactly!
seems like almost too much work to take the skins off every bean. Is that a joke, like poking a whole in every bean to avoid the gas it causes?
To remove the skins, I will try to use a food mill. I own a Victorio strainer which I’ve been using for the past 5 years to make a lot of applesauce fast, so that design should work for garbanzo beans too! I am excited to try it!
For a couple of pounds or less, I just let the softened beans float in water in a large aluminum bowl and handle them for a minute. The skins really do slide off and float to the top of the water. A 5 minute job max and totally worth it.
Question regarding sprouting and then cooking. Would you not be destroying all the benefits of a sprouted food once heated above a certain point?
Thank you..
No. The point of sprouting is to release minerals and improve digestibility. Minerals aren’t affected by heat, and cooked chickpeas are still a source of vitamins. Raw pulses and grains, even sprouted, are very difficult to digest. But it’s a really good question. What is damaged by heat is food enzymes, but that’s why it’s important to eat a wide variety if foods prepared a wide variety of ways.
Thank you for this extremely helpful response! Have been wondering the same for many moons.
Anytime you cook something, you kill both it and the nutrition it provides.
🙂
There are some foods, such as kale and spinach, that must be cooked to release acids that inhibit nutrient absorption. A totally raw diet is taxing on the digestive system.