This easy lunchbox hummus recipe will delight you. It delights me every time I make it. And most importantly, kids love my hummus for school. A healthy school box that gets eaten: now that’s a winner.
Let me tell you my secret.
My secret lunchbox hummus recipe
I have two versions of this recipe, and when I make a larger batch, I divide it into 2 portions: one for school, and one for me in the office.
The school-box hummus recipe
What's special about it is two things: 1. It uses only traditional hummus recipe ingredients: chickpeas, tahini, top-quality olive oil and fresh lemon, with salt and pepper to taste. Store-bought versions tend to substitute the expensive ingredients, which change the way it tastes as well as the texture.
2. The key ingredient that I omit for the school lunch box is the raw garlic. I substitute this with extra lemon. This alters the flavour significantly, making it more lemony! And as kids tend to love lemon (and dislike garlic) it works!
In a sandwich, I sprinkle on some dried paprika powder or dried basil powder on for presentation and an extra flavor component. If your child likes parsley or other kinds of fresh herbs, I’d sure add that instead. However, I observed that the dried versions of things work better. So try cutting up sundried tomatoes (if your kids love those) and add that to this recipe. Delicious.
I hope you like these ideas. They sure work for my family!
My office lunchbox hummus recipe version
In the office where we'll have after-lunch meetings, we can't have bad-breath lunch food. So, I leave out the raw garlic for my lunch as well.
Having said this, I want to point out that without garlic it does not have to be bland!
If I have meetings to go to that day, I leave out the garlic also for me. And then I substitute that not only with lemon, but also with finely chopped fresh organic red peppers or fresh cilantro, or fresh oregano if my cilantro has run low. Garnish with fresh parsley. Parsley is a detoxifying herb that is excellent for your health. It also cleanse your palette and gives you a fresh breadth. I tend to add a lot. Perfect for meeting days! And there you have it.
How to Make Hummus From Scratch (for a snack for 4 people or lunch for 2 people)
Start with 1 or 2 cups of dried chickpeas. I use organic chickpeas, ideally that have been grown high up in the mountain. Look for that. Those are usually smaller and they are much richer in minerals/vitamins and more potent. Soak the cup of dried chickpeas overnight or 12 hours. Change the water several times. Etc.
Then, just make these minor variations to the ingredient list of my classic Hummus recipe and you’ll be good.
How to make creamy hummus ?
- If your hummus is not creamy enough, I suggest you simply add a bit of water.
- I’ve also added fresh milk in the past. Works great too. Ensure your milk as a good use-by date if you want to create this as a make-ahead recipe.
- Hummus stays good in the fridge for up to a week, I’d say, so you can certainly make this ahead in the weekend to be consumed during the week.
Other Chickpeas Recipes
Made too much and got chickpeas left over? Try out this recipe for roasted chickpea salad. It’s one of 15 Healthy Snacks Lunch & Dinner Recipes for Summer.
hummus photo credits: FineCraftGuild.com] First published May 2, 2015. Updated 2024.
