My favorite addition is sundried tomatoes.

Another is with roasted red peppers.

Here's the recipe I use to make hummus:

SPICED SWEET ROASTED RED PEPPER HUMMUS
-----------------------------------------

1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 (4 oz) jar roasted red peppers (or homemade)
3 TBS lemon juice
1 1/2 TBS tahini
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teasp ground cummin
1/2 teasp cayenne pepper *(I used 1/4 teasp)
1/4 teasp salt
1 TBS chopped fresh parsley

Blend all ingredients except parsley in electric blender. Process until fairly smooth. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Sprinkle with parsley before serving.

SharonCb

Sharon, I'm going to try that with the cumin and cayenne, Elery would love it.

My favorite addition is roasted red pepper and I don't like lemon juice in the hummus, so I leave it out. Heresy, I know.

Elery likes his with a handful of chopped olives stirred in after the hummus is made.

Annie

Olives, sundried tomatoes, roasted peppers, extra garlic, all are good. It's hard to beat plain old hummus though.

Jim

I think I will try the roasted red pepper. Thanks. And for sure I will make some pita chips.

Great post. My 13 year old son loves Hummus -- he makes it himself at least twice a week. It's his favorite food. He brings it to school for lunch on pita bread with feta, kalamata olives, and tomatoes.

Keep the recipes coming -- he'll love lots of variations on his plain hummus recipe.

Hummus is much better if you omit the cumin. I know it's a traditional ingredient, but if you leave it out, you will have a much crisper, fresher taste. You can always add it in later, if you want, but I find that is severely detracts from the flavor of the garbanzos. Here's my recipe:

Ingredients

1/2 pound (1-1/3 c) dried garbanzo beans, (about 3 to 3-1/2 cups cooked)
1/4 - 1/3 cup lemon juice
3-4 large cloves of garlic (6 if small)
1/3 - 1/2 cup olive oil
3-4 tbsp toasted sesame seed oil
1/2 cup tahini (toasted, if available)
2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 to 1-1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
1-2 tbsp water, if needed

Directions

Cook beans according to package instructions. I generally boil them for two minutes in a large pan, with triple height of water. Then I turn off the heat and soak for 1 hour covered and then wash them. Garbanzos will require about 2 hours to cook, after being soaked. After cooking, I rinse them twice with cold water to remove the cooking water.

Put the drained cooked beans in a large food processor with the peeled garlic cloves (coarsely chopped) and the rest of the ingredients. Process until smooth. If it is too thick, thin with water, a tablespoon at a time.

I use cumin in my Texas bean dip, but not in hummus, as I find it too overwhelming. I developed this recipe by taste - not having much of an idea of what was supposed to go into hummus, but remembering what flavors in it I liked.

Lars

I'm cutting and pasting these recipes. Thanks. I should make hummus more often, as in more often than never! lol. I used to buy it pre-made, but got out of the habit for some reason. It's so easy to make, there's no reason not to make home made.

Sally