Is Hummus Keto? (How to make it work on a low-carb diet)

Traditional hummus is a spread or dip originating from the Middle East that is made by mixing mashed chickpeas with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, and spices. It’s nutritionally dense and has a lot of health benefits like helping with weight management and insulin regulation! legumes are high in carbohydrates, including chickpeas, making them hard to work into most keto diets. Chickpeas are typically moderately high in carbs, which means… Do you have to exclude hummus from a keto diet?

What’s in Hummus That Makes It Difficult To Be Keto?

Recipes can vary, but the main ingredients in hummus are chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, and seasonings. Most legumes, like chickpeas, are high-carb and generally not recommended for keto, however, this doesn’t mean that hummus can’t fit into your keto diet!

But instead of figuring out how to fit things into your diet, why not let someone else do that for you? Just eat your way through keto without the heaving lifting!

Source: nutritionvalue.org 

Half a cup of canned chickpeas has about 13.5g net carbs which is probably closer to the amount you would see in a whole batch of hummus. If your carb limit is 20-50 carbs per day, that takes a good chunk out of your daily limit! As long as you limit yourself to the 1-2 tablespoon limit, the carbs should stay within the 3-5g net carb range.

Tahini (sesame seed butter, oil, salt) is another main ingredient in hummus, but rounds out to about 3.2g of carbs per tablespoon. It is also full of beneficial fats and nutrients, and is a major part of what gives hummus its flavor. When looking for hummus alternatives, including a bit of tahini while eliminating the chickpeas entirely can give any recipe great flavor.

In summary, chickpeas are moderately high in carbohydrates. They average around 5.5g for 2 tablespoons, or 13.5g in a half cup. Choosing hummuses that lean heavily on tahini rather than chickpeas can maintain that delicious hummus flavor while staying lower-carb.

Making Hummus Work on a Low-Carb Diet

Enjoying a small serving size, or half a serving size at a time can fit into your keto diet if you plan well. Snack on hummus with low-carb vegetables or keto crackers or pita so there are no further added carbs helps make room for hummus in your carb budget.

Looking for low-carb or keto specific brands of store-bought hummus can help you make hummus work with a keto diet. Some brands cut back on the carbs by using other ingredients to replace chickpeas, or by avoiding other ingredients that are high in carbs.

Another way to make hummus work on a low-carb diet is to make your own at home, that way you can control exactly what goes into the recipe. Check out our recipe for low-carb hummus at the end of this blog!

In summary, you can enjoy hummus on a keto diet by watching how much of it you eat, shopping for keto and other low-carb hummus brands, or by making your own hummus at home.

What Can You Replace Chickpeas With In a Hummus Recipe?

Just about any low-carb vegetable with a lot of pulp works as an alternative to chickpeas in a hummus recipe! Some fruits and low-carb legumes work as well. Here are your best bets to get a similar consistency to chickpea-based hummus:

• Cauliflower

• Zucchini

• Eggplant

• Avocado

• Edamame

• White beans

• Hemp hearts

How Popular Hummus Brands Match Up

An average serving of commercial hummus (2 Tbsp) contains about 4.5g of net carbs, according to the USDA, but when looking at popular brand’s “traditional flavored” hummus, this value varies.

If you’re looking for a quick grab-and-go snack from the store, keep in mind that not all hummus brands are the same! Check the nutrition label to see how many Net Carbs (Total Carbs – Fiber = Net Carbs) a brand has before you buy it.

The Best Keto Hummus Brands

Keto-Specific Brands

Lilly’s Original Keto Hummus – 1g net carb, 50 calories, 5g of fat per 8oz serving. Made with cauliflower instead of chickpeas, and comes in other flavors like Turmeric, Ranch-Dill, and Buffalo. It’s also non-GMO and organic!

BRAMI Keto Lupini Dip – 0 net carbs, 50 calories, 4g of fat per 2 Tbsp (28g) serving. Made with Lupini Beans, extra virgin olive oil, sunflower oil, lime, and spices. Comes in flavors like Garlic & Rosemary, Calabrian Peppers, and Mediterranean Olive.

Easy to Find Low-Carb Store Brands

Lantana Edamame Hummus – 1g net carbs, 60 calories, 4.5g of fat per 2 Tbsp (30g) serving. Made with edamame and white beans. No added sugars, and 0 total sugars.

Cedar’s Organic Hommus – 2 net carbs, 80 calories, 6g of fat per 2 Tbsp (28g) serving. Dairy-free, gluten-free, kosher, vegan, and derived from healthy fats like virgin olive oil, MCT oil, and grass-fed butter. No sweeteners or food additives.

Brands like Lilly’s, BRAMI, Lantana, or Cedar are strong candidates if you’re looking to snack on hummus while on keto.

Chickpea-Free Keto Hummus Recipe

This recipe yields about 1 ½ cups of hummus. It works with any of the above suggested replacements for chickpeas, so use whichever of those you’d prefer!

Keto Hummus Ingredients:

½ cup your choice of roasted veggie, cooked bean, ripened avocado, or hemp heart (about 53g)

2 Tbsp cup extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp Greek yogurt

2 ½ Tbsp Tahini or sesame paste

2 cloves of roasted garlic

2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice

½ tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp salt

Keto Hummus Recipe Cooking Directions: 

1. If using veggies, remove skin, cut into small pieces, brush with olive oil and roast in the oven at 425°F until browned (about 20-30 in).

   For eggplant, roast first at 425°F for 20-30 min, then scoop out innards from skin.
   For edamame, remove beans from shell first.
   For white beans, boil or use canned.
   For hemp hearts, get unshelled, use as is.
   For avocados, just scoop out innards!

2. In a blender or food processor, combine your ingredient from step 1 with olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, roasted garlic, Greek yogurt, salt, and paprika. Blend until a smooth paste has formed.

3. Serve and enjoy this keto hummus recipe

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