Hey friends! Having Monday off made this week fly by and I’m pretty excited Friday is already here!!
Today I have a fun recipe to share. It all started with the lima bean mousse we had at the Arcadia vegetarian wine dinner last week…
I couldn’t get the cucumber cups with mousse out of my head and I knew we had a bag of frozen lima beans in the freezer. Despite having nothing packed for the beach when I came home from work on Friday evening, I started whipping up a batch of hummus. You see where my priorities are.
We needed a healthy snack for the drive. 🙂
I ate a few crackers with the hummus before leaving and then packed the rest in a cooler so I could share it with my friend Jess and her family at the beach. I was a little apprehensive when we broke it out one night as an appetizer before dinner (you just never know how new foods are going to go over) but it was a huge hit! A couple of people even thought there was some sort of cheese in it because it tasted so creamy… nope, it’s vegan.
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A new twist on an old classic, this lima bean hummus is creamy, sweet and super easy to make!
Ingredients
- 12 oz bag of frozen lima beans
- 1 Tablespoon tahini
- 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 medium cloves garlic, sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1/4–1/2 cup reserved cooking liquid or water, more or less to thin dip as desired
Instructions
- Cook lima beans according to package directions, drain and reserve 1/4-1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
- In a food processor (affiliate link), combine all ingredients except cooking liquid or water.
- Purée until smooth, gradually adding liquid as desired to thin dip and scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
By the way, I was getting a lot of emails from people asking for an easy way to print my recipes so I’m now formatting them with the print button. I hope this is helpful!
This recipe is a lovely change of pace from regular hummus – it has a sweeter flavor and works great as a dip with crackers or veggies, as a spread on sandwiches or as a salad topping. Speaking of crackers, the ones in these photos are Raisin Rosemary Crisps from Trader Joe’s and they are phenomenal. My cousin told me about them a few weeks ago and I’m now in love a.k.a I can’t stop eating them by the handful. If you buy them, don’t blame me, I gave you all a fair warning. 😉
Let me know what you think of the hummus if you try it!
Lauren says
September 7, 2012 at 7:59 amOoohhh this looks great Brittany! I have never used lima beans for hummus, in fact, I can’t remember the last time I ate a lima bean. Sounds delicious!
Erica { EricaDHouse.com } says
September 7, 2012 at 8:39 amI don’t think I’ve ever had lima beans before, but I *love* hummus, so I’ll have to give this a shot!
Brittany Mullins says
September 8, 2012 at 10:24 amLet me know if you do! 🙂
daria says
September 7, 2012 at 8:41 amI love hummus so I need to try this! Thanks!
Beth @ Tasty Yummies says
September 7, 2012 at 9:24 amThis looks amazing. I cannot believe how creamy it is. I actually love lima beans, so I cannot wait to try this.
Rachel says
September 7, 2012 at 10:25 amThis looks great! I love hummus!
Paige @ Healthy Hits the Spot says
September 7, 2012 at 10:56 amI’m pinning this one! Must try!
Brittany Mullins says
September 8, 2012 at 10:23 amThanks Paige. I hope you like it!
Sara says
September 8, 2012 at 10:14 amThose crackers look good! Have you ever tried the Lesley Stowe Raincoast Crisps fig & olive cracker? They are the best. Once the box is open, there is no coming back :-p
Brittany Mullins says
September 8, 2012 at 10:21 amYES!!! They remind me of those, only they’re smaller and cheaper. They are just as addictive. 🙂
Lauren says
September 9, 2012 at 5:04 pmThis sounds so delicious! I can’t wait to try it!
Burdette Jennison says
October 22, 2012 at 3:50 pmThat hummus looks beautiful, I have to try this!!
Louisa says
December 18, 2012 at 3:40 amthis recipe is so good. I used dried lima beans and I think I overcooked them but it didnt matter.
★★★★★
Brittany Mullins says
December 18, 2012 at 4:17 pmSo glad you liked it Louisa!
Robyn says
April 7, 2013 at 3:23 pmI also used dried lima beans, along with frozen basil from last summer’s garden, and it’s fantastic! Super yummy – thanks Brittany!
★★★★
michelle says
March 4, 2013 at 1:23 amLove the dip. Added a chilli and used lime and cumquat juice instead of the lemon as I didnt have any. YUM. CHEERS
Daleen Grimes says
March 31, 2013 at 5:47 pmThis may be the best darn dip I’ve ever made Brittany. My diet is very low acidity, so this is perfect! I’ll now use this as a sandwich spread also. Thank you TONS!
Brittany Mullins says
March 31, 2013 at 7:04 pmYay! I’m so glad that you like it Daleen!
Paola says
June 3, 2013 at 5:38 pmThe perfect use for that sad bag of lima beans sitting in the kitchen cupboard…wanting to stray from the standard hummus recipe and I’m glad I came across yours! I added dried coriander and sumac to give it a middle eastern flair and deepen the overall flavor- a hit in my household!
★★★★
Metalhaid says
April 26, 2014 at 9:16 pmLooks interesting. Question – what if you don’t have tahini, is there an acceptable substitute, or is the recipe a bust without it? I’d try it but my family is kinda picky and I would hate to waste a can of beans. Yes, I’m that cheap. 😉 Thanks!
Brittany Mullins says
April 27, 2014 at 12:48 amI think it would be okay without the tahini. You could add a teaspoon or two of sesame oil to get the sesame flavor. Let me know if you try it.
Linda says
June 28, 2014 at 4:50 pmThere was a reference to the crackers, but I didn’t catch what kind are pictured. THey really look great and I can’t wait to try this!
Brittany Mullins says
June 28, 2014 at 5:29 pmThey’re Raisin Rosemary Crisps from Trader Joe’s. Another version that’s a bit more pricey but similar is the Rosemary Raisin Pecan Crisps from Raincoast Crisps.
Felicity says
October 20, 2014 at 2:35 pmI’ve been making this for 6 months now with my Ninja. It’s delicious. I’ve tried it with frozen lima beans however and I didn’t care for it as well. It’s much better to use dried beans in my opinion. To me, it kind of tastes like garlic mashed potatoes. Nobody else in the house really cares for it – bonus for me – I eat it up with a bag of tortilla chips. I’ve also frozen the leftovers in 1 cup plastic bowls, thawed overnite, no change in taste or texture, yum! I also use fresh basil from the garden (it adds a better flavor to this than the bottled dried basil from the store). The way I preserve the basil is just run it under water, throw the leaves in a container, and put straight in freezer. There is no need to blanch the basil, or any greens for that matter, just rinse them with water, and freeze with the water droplets on them – when you are ready to use, just get the amount you need from the freezer, and put straight into your blender.
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, it’s one of my favorite recipes.
I’m going to try using the coriander seed and I love the idea of using this for a sandwich/pita spread.