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Berbere-Spiced Red Lentil Hummus

July 30, 2012 By Susan Voisin 67 Comments
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Privacy Policy.

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Berbere-Spiced Red Lentil Hummus

Some couples read love poems to each other; my husband and I read restaurant menus.

One of our favorite parts of planning a vacation is figuring out where we are going to eat. I like to ask my facebook followers for recommendations while my husband likes to use Google. We come up with a big list and then look at online menus to narrow down our options.

So when, during the planning stage of our upcoming trip to Colorado, my husband called out from his computer, “Red Lentil Hummus with Berberé Spice,” I knew he wasn’t experiencing some kind of mental breakdown but had found something interesting in one of the Denver menus he was reading. My first thought was, “Sounds good,” and my second was, “I can make that without a recipe.”

So I did. And it was absolutely incredible, if I do say so. I was all out of the berberé that I usually make, so I made up some more, a modified version that is lighter on the cloves and heavier on the cayenne than my old mix. But you can use either recipe or even buy a packaged berberé, and the results should still be divine because it’s pretty hard to mess up red lentils and Ethiopian spices–they just go together. If you like Ethiopian food and you like hummus, I’m betting that you’ll love this recipe.
Berbere-Spiced Red Lentil Hummus

Berbere-Spiced Red Lentil Hummus
4.14 from 15 votes
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Berbere-Spiced Red Lentil Hummus

This makes an excellent sandwich spread inside a pita with plenty of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and red onions. It serves four as sandwich filling or 6 as an appetizer dip.
Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes minutes
Total Time 35 minutes minutes
Servings 4
Author Susan Voisin

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cup red lentils (picked over and rinsed)
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 large cloves garlic , peeled
  • 1 tablespoon tahini (optional, but good)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons berberé seasoning (below), or to taste
  • salt to taste (optional)
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Instructions

  • Put the lentils and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until the lentils are soft, about 20-30 minutes. Check often and add water if it seems dry.
  • Drain all water from the lentils. Put them and all remaining ingredients into the food processor and blend until smooth. Check seasonings and add more lemon juice, berberé, and salt. Transfer to a covered bowl, sprinkle with chopped chili peppers, if desired, and serve chilled or at room temperature.
Nutrition Facts
Berbere-Spiced Red Lentil Hummus
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 234 Calories from Fat 29
% Daily Value*
Fat 3.2g5%
Sodium 12.9mg1%
Carbohydrates 37.7g13%
Fiber 7.2g30%
Protein 15.9g32%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutritional info is approximate.

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Berbere (Ethiopian Spice Blend)

Berbere (Ethiopian Spice Blend)
4.14 from 15 votes
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Berbere Spice Mixture

This recipe makes enough of this complex spice blend to season several dishes.
Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Total Time 10 minutes minutes
Servings 12
Author Susan Voisin

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 1 tablespoon ground cardamom
  • 1 tablespoon ground coriander
  • 1 tablespoon ground fenugreek
  • 1 tablespoon ground allspice
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon ground sea salt (optional)
  • 2 teaspoons cayenne (use more to taste)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
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Instructions

  • Mix all ingredients well. Store in a cool, dark place.

Nutritional info is approximate.

Have you made this recipe?Mention @SusanFFVK and tag #fatfreevegankitchen in your photos on Instagram.
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This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy something through them, I receive a commission that helps support this site. Thanks for your purchase!

Susan

Filed Under: Appetizers and Dips, Recipes, Sandwiches Tagged With: African, Eat-to-Live, Gluten-free, Hummus Recipes, lentil recipes, Soy-free

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Leah

    October 28, 2012 at 9:49 am

    Wow, this is great! My friend sent me berbere from Ethiopia and this is perfect with it!

    Reply
  2. veryfunny

    December 22, 2012 at 8:45 am

    othefoodie, there is no such thing as an Ethiopian language, and the word berbere certainly isn’t ”African”. It’s a semetic language, Amharic.

    Reply
  3. KimM

    March 4, 2013 at 7:39 pm

    I made this and 3 others dips for a party. I ended up quadrupling the berbere spice. This wasn’t my favorite but my friends liked it.

    Reply
  4. J Sumption

    August 29, 2013 at 2:24 pm

    Finally had a chance to make this today and it is DELICIOUS! I had to push the bowl away because I just kept eating it! LOL My husband’s comment: “That’s REALLY good!” THANK YOU for sharing this recipe! It will now be a “go to” for me!

    Reply
  5. Kathy Cultice

    January 13, 2014 at 9:31 am

    This sounds sooo good! We’ve given up on the yummy but full of oil hummus we’ve been getting from Costco. I will be making this tonight! Thanks!!

    Reply
  6. Steven Little

    August 1, 2014 at 3:01 pm

    Can you imagine how wonderful a north African open air market would smell? Yum. One other way to check for Vegan options is to go to Yelp and do a search on the word “Vegan”. That can help you to find places that are not necessarily vegan but have vegan options. Or you will find the occasional BBQ place where somebody commented “not for vegans!” ha ha… Some places (like most of central California) are not vegan friendly at all. They go so far as to have “vegetarian” options meaning they dump cheese all over everything.

    I am loving your site and your recipes!

    Reply
  7. theveganjunction

    March 5, 2015 at 7:48 pm

    A lentil hummus recipe, I’ve been looking for a low fat one of these. 😉

    Reply
  8. Pongodhall

    March 10, 2015 at 9:15 am

    Mmmmm! Lovely. Good dip, spread, mix in with potatoes, and oh , yes the salad dressing as I hate the dry foods. Oh yes, this one goes in THE BOOK!

    Reply
  9. Nancy

    July 30, 2015 at 1:57 pm

    I have to share this with my daughter, when we go to our favorite Ethiopian restaurant the waitress looks at my daughter and says, “red lentils”,because that is what she always orders.

    Reply
  10. Rhonda

    April 28, 2017 at 5:22 pm

    I have literally made dozens of your recipes and loved every single one.
    Any time I saw a new one posted by you it was what was going to be for dinner that night.
    Unfortunately this one was a exception. While the favour itself wasn’t bad ,no matter how much I tried to adjust it, it had the consistent of pea soup. (Yes I did drain the lentils after they cooked). Definitely not useable for hummus.

    This is more like a “lentil sauce’.
    Looking forward to trying more of your recipes – some of them are now family favourites.

    Reply
    • Susan Voisin

      April 28, 2017 at 6:22 pm

      I’m so sorry about that! I’m not sure why that happened, maybe differences in lentils, but I hope it can be salvaged as pea soup.

      Reply
  11. Karen S

    August 11, 2023 at 1:50 am

    Sorry, as written this hummus was really pretty dreadful. Was able to correct it by doubling the lemon juice, berbere (imported from Ethiopia!) tahini and salt. (And I’m NOT a salt fan!) And adding garlic powder, ground cumin and coriander, freshly-ground black pepper, and a bit of evoo. Was able to salvage it. After it rests in the fridge overnight the revised recipe will likely be fairly tasty with freshly-cut celery sticks. Really wanted to love this recipe, but will never make it again.

    Reply
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Susan VoisinI'm Susan Voisin, and I love creating delicious whole foods plant-based dishes with no added oil. Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram.
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