Ever look at a recipe that has a ginormous list of ingredients and decide that it just ain’t worth the trouble? Simple is better. You’re more inclined to make something if it’s easy to pull off.
Years ago we were big fans of homemade ranch dressing. It takes 5, ok, 6 ingredients and I used to make it by the gallon. But, last year we found out that FishChick3 is allergic to eggs. You might not think about the connection between ranch dressing and eggs until your baby got all red in the face. It’s in the mayonnaise. (And I know many people whose children react to bottled ranch dressing even in the absence of an egg allergy.)
That said, we moved to hummus. It just wasn’t worth the hassle — or the baby’s sad face — to reject her requests for dip. So, I started buying different brands of hummus. And our hands-down favorite is Tribe Hummus.
Recently, after multiple readers and friends telling me how easy it was to make at home, I gave it another try. I tried last year with canned beans and we didn’t like the texture. But, Tammy said that it was different, yet easy, to make it with dried beans. So, I gave it a shot. I ended up adding a lot of lime juice because I like the tang that it gives, more reminiscent of my favorite prepared brand. You can also add a pinch of cayenne for a little heat.
What I came up with was a 5-ingredient recipe that even passed the FishChick test. See?
She ran out of dippers and decided to just use her fingers. She licked the bowl clean!
- 1/2 pound dried chick peas picked over, soaked, and drained
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 to 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- Place the chick peas in the crockpot and cook 8 to 10 hours on low until very tender. Drain the beans.
- Place the cooked beans, tahini, garlic, and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and blend until very smooth.
- Add enough lime juice and blend until the desired consistency is achieved.
- Season to taste with salt. Chill until ready to serve.
Promptly store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days.
Nutritional values are approximate and based on 1/10 the recipe.
Got an easy five-ingredient recipe to share with us?
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If you have some cumin and cayenne hanging around, add a little -at least for the grownups’ bowl. Just a tiny pinch of both, or maybe a little more of the cumin. 🙂
Oops- I see that you already mentioned cayenne. Well, think about the cumin anyway:)
Thanks for sharing!
Where have you found is the best place to buy tahini? I’ve had a hard time locating- except for the one time I found it at the dollar store! I was super excited.
I bought a big can at Sprouts. It was pricey (like $6) but it lasts a long time.
Don’t you just LOVE Sprouts?!? I just discovered it, and am really happy with the produce and produce prices there. Oh, and the bulk foods! So pretty and fun!
I will look for Tahini there — I hadn’t been able to find it at my other grocery (St. Bros.)
I found it in the ethnic foods isle at Wal-mart
Did you know you can make your own tahini, rather than always having to buy store-bought? I saw it on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/pin/48050046/
I’m kind of lazy so I’ve just been throwing whole sesame seeds into my hummus and grinding them up with everything else. You have to add more olive oil, but it seems to work for me!
Want to know something funny? The other day I mentioned to my friend that whenever I cook it looks like an explosion went off in my kitchen. She said that’s because I cook “all fancy.” I use very basic ingredients so I was surprised at that, but when I went to see if I had any recipes that were 5 ingredients or less I couldn’t find any recently. At least not if you count spices. Too funny!
YUM! Can’t wait to try this. Hummus is a staple around our house. We eat it almost daily at some point! I’ve never thought to put lime in it. 🙂
Thanks for hosting, the hummus looks delish!
Thank you for hosting. Mine is a little less than five ingredients, homemade hashbrowns. You can even freeze them to eat later!
I love coming to this blog! I love that every time I come here, I leave uplifted and with some new tidbit of information I need. I have tried many of the recipes that get posted on URS days and love getting to read other blogs of like-minded people. I am a busy mom of a teen and a preteen with multiple allergies who works full-time out of my house. Just wanted to say thanks, Jessica.
Thanks for the great hummus recipe.
My girls also got red faces after eating commercially made ranch dressing until we tried Kraft ranch dressing. Now that’s the only kind of dressing we buy. I do want to try to make homemade healthier dressing, but this works for us right now!
Hummus is a great solution! I sometimes make mine using canned Cannelloni beans instead of garbanzo. You might also want to give Edamame a try as a dip assuming you don’t have a Soy allergy.
I think that adding a bit of salt (?) when cooking the beans in the slowcooker qualifies as “properly prepared” by WAPF standards, which is cool!
Here’s a recipe with only 3 ingredients:
http://letospassion.blogspot.com/2011/03/love-chocolate-got-food-processor.html
one with 4: http://letospassion.blogspot.com/2011/09/banana-panna-cotta.html
And one with 5 + spices:
http://letospassion.blogspot.com/2011/09/cauliflower-and-bacon-soup.html
Oooh! KK’s comment reminds me: you can blend pinto or navy beans, lots of garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, S&P and a TON of fresh parsley. Delicious as is, or can also hide canned sardines for those of us not getting enough fish. *Might* even be GAPS legal.
Simple enough, but as Wendy says, over the 5-ingredient limit 🙂
Mmmm! After reading this and the comments I am hungry!!! We love hummus! I will definately give this a try! PS…Super cute picture of Fishchick3!!!
I have never been a big hummus fan. I always thought it had a weird taste to it. I decided to make my own to try it. Well I didn’t have tahini (or even know what it was) so I found a recipe without it. I LOVE it! I guess I just don’t like tahini…who knew! Here it is for those that my not want to spend the $ on the tahini.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/extra-easy-hummus/detail.aspx
Yummy! I’m gonna have to try this recipe–I’ve been wanting to try my hand at homemade hummus.
I don’t know if you’ve ever tried this, but I buy a can of Hidden Valley ranch mix from Sam’s for about $6, and a can makes 8 16 oz containers of ranch dip if you do the just-mix-and-sour-cream recipe. It’s a thicker dip, but my hubs and kiddos love it. It’s a staple in our refrigerator, because we eat a lot of vegetable dippers. Anywho, I checked the lable, and there is no egg in the Hidden Valley ranch mix. I just thought if FishChick 3 really likes ranch…maybe it would be an option. The hummus is probably healthier, though.:)
I haven’t cooked beans in the crockpot so I am confused about whether you are putting the beans in there with water? If so, how much?
Ah, that would be an important step. Yes, enough water to cover the beans.
Thanks! I am VERY excited about cooking the beans in the crockpot & the HUMMUS sounds YUMMY too!
In a pinch, you can substitute natural peanut or almond butter for the tahini…. works great.
Our go to quick recipe is what I call my “slushie salsa”. It has a few more ingredients than 5, but it’s still easy and I keep the ingredients on hand to be able to make it anytime. In food processor, whiz together 1 (28oz) can of whole tomatoes, juice of one lime, 1 serrano pepper, 1/2 of a red onion, a big huge handful of cilantro, salt, pepper, 1 clove garlic and a tablespoon of olive oil. Whiz until “slushie”. Serve with tacos, burritos, eggs, chips, anything! We love this salsa. It is always in our fridge.
(Drain the tomatoes before putting them in the food processor!)
You mention an egg allergy. Do you have other eggless recipes, especially ones for sweet treats? My daughter has a classmate who cannot have eggs or dairy, so I am on the lookout for treats we can share with the class. Thanks!
My daughter’s egg allergy has been crossed off the list. Now we’re just dealing with walnuts and peanuts. I often used flaxseed meal in baked goods so as to avoid eggs. I also have a few egg-free recipes from that era, like these cookies: https://goodcheapeats.com/2010/07/cranberry-blueberry-oatmeal-cookies/ Unfortunately, you’d need to find substitutes for the dairy. Sorry I can’t be more help.
@Debbie, Just found is recipe so don’t know if you will see this but will try! Get on Pinterest and do a search for egg, or whatever substitutions. Know I have one for eggs saved on a board in case it is needed.
Is there a specific brand or brands your family likes for tahini? I tried two different ones many, many years ago but they seemed to be excessively bitter. I’m willing to try again though in order to make my own hummus.
I’ve only ever bought the white metal can. Not sure what brand it is. But, I’ve also made it without.