I want to say first off that this genius idea is not mine. I actually found this a few years ago when I was exploring raw foods.
This recipe is lightly adapted from Matt Amsden’s book RAWvolution. Interestingly, there are a lot of raw food recipes that fit perfectly into a low carb lifestyle. Eating raw eliminates processed foods and grains – focusing on healthy fats and using vegetables in creative ways which naturally leads to some low carb friendly dishes. This hummus, which uses zucchini in place of the chickpeas is an excellent example. I was skeptical when I first tried it because I really love a classic hummus.
I was very surprised when I made it at how good and…well…hummusy it was! It’s perfect as a dip for low carb veggies or these flax crackers. You could even use it as a condiment for low carb wraps, a dressing for salads, or even a sauce for chicken or lamb dishes. I would normally eat hummus with falafel, which I love, and an idea just popped into my head to try making it with ground cauliflower instead of chickpeas. Could be brilliant or a total bust – I will try it soon and get back to you on that! (For those of you who have asked me where I get my ideas, this is usually how it happens, then one idea leads to another, and another, etc, etc. Sometimes it comes out great, other times….not so much!)
Ok back to the hummus! This is pretty simple to make but to get the right consistency you’ll need a blender. I used my vitamix which is pretty powerful so I don’t know how well a traditional blender will work – hopefully ok since zucchini blends easily. A food processor might also work but I’ve never tried it – so if you try it please report back on how it came out!
Low Carb Hummus (Bean Free)
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 cups peeled & chopped raw zucchini
- 3/4 cups tahini (sesame paste)
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 2 tsp kosher salt (or to taste)
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until thick and smooth.
- Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference.
- Pour into a shallow bowl and garnish with parsley, paprika and a drizzle of olive oil if desired. Enjoy!
- Category: Dip/spread
- Cuisine: Hummus
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 Tbsp
- Carbohydrates: 2.5g net
KC says
Yum! Topped some with toasted pine nuts and smoked paprika. Topped some with leftover meat (from your Stromboli recipe, actually; had minced beef and bacon crumbles, seasoned; rewarmed) and pine nuts.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sounds delicious!
Tyler says
No stars. It turned into hummus soup and was salty beyond repair.
Annie says
A method of reducing bitterness in vegetables is to sprinkle them with salt after cutting them up. The salt draws out the bitterness and some of the water content from the vegetables. Then you rinse the veg, pat dry and use in the recipe. This should make the finished hummus a bit thicker too.
Matt Amsden says
Hi! Your page looks great! I wonder if you might allow me to use your photo of the hummus on the Rawvolution Instagram. I’ll credit you of course.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Hey Matt, yes go for it! Big fan of yours and I have your book from years ago when I went raw vegan for about 6 months!
Holly1 says
Oh, yum! I just made this with yellow squash instead of zukes (The zucchinis were literally the size and shape of a cigar at the store. LOL) BUT something has a bitter aftertaste. Any idea what that might be? I totally know it’s not the fault of the recipe at all! Just wondering if it happened to anyone but me and what it ended up being, if so. I’ll definitely make it again and might press through with this batch anyway, but any ideas would be welcome!
Incidentally, as a tahini lover, I would not suggest buying Trader Joe’s tahini from the shelf (unrefrigerated). Of the ones I’ve used before, this one has the most sunflower butter-y taste ever. Not ideal for hummus or “hummus.” :-) Learn from my mistake!
Thanks for the awesome recipe! I know it’s something I did wrong and I will absolutely be trying it again!
Kaitlin Ruiz says
Hi! How many calories per serving? Please let me know, thanks!
Theresa Anderson RD LD CDE says
You may be surprised when you compute the net carbs from hummus made from beans vs the carbs in this recipe, that they are almost the same. In our field we feel the nutrition from beans is invaluable–the people who live the longest in the world and without chronic disease (the “Blue Zones) have a common denominator of eating a cup of beans or more almost every day.
Priya says
Hi there !
I made your dip. It tasted excellent !
I used the zuchinni skins too.(didnt peel it)
I ate it with kale chips. Kale,nut paste ,curry powder,salt,cumin and coriander powder . . Roasted at 160 C for 35-40 min. Hope thats low carb ..
The combination is excellent.
Dip’s not bitter,tahini proportion is perfect etc etc
..
Lisa says
Yum, wow, fantastic! Just made this tonight and it was awesome! Great recipe. I eat low carb and my husband eats raw so this was perfect for the both of us to eat. I would have never know it wasn’t hummus. We followed they exact recipe but just added to the top mince garlic and oregano. Also ate with carrot that were crinkled cut (like a chip) and raw flax chips. Thanks for the recipe.
Mellissa Sevigny says
So glad you enjoyed it Lisa, thanks for letting me know!
Anne says
Hiya! Where I live we don’t really use ‘cups’, but I’m dying to make this hummus! Could you tell me how many grams of zucchini you used? Or if you used one zucchini or a half or two? …Anything? Thank you!
Greetings,
Ane
dodie says
A cup is roughly 400 grams. :)