Easy Low Carb & Keto Hummus. Yes – it’s for real. Tastes just like traditional chickpea hummus, but with only 1g net carbs per 50g serving. DAIRY-FREE and VEGAN recipe.
I had been missing hummus like crazy. Nothing beats a tortilla filled with pan-fried halloumi cheese, crispy lettuce and tasty hummus. Not in my book, anyway. And after too many years of going without, I decided to try and create a keto-friendly alternative.
Maaan, why did it take me so long ?!?!? This is so incredibly good, it’s impossible to tell that no chickpeas are involved.
The secret? LUPINS of course! You all know I love baking with lupin flour, but you may not have realised that you can actually buy ready-to-eat whole lupins and snack on them to your heart’s content. Granted – they’re a bit like Marmite – you either love them or hate them. But as a high protein snack with an enviable nutritional profile, lupins really do tick all the boxes.
All About Lupin ‘beans’
Firstly, they are NOT BEANS. They may look like beans, but they’re SEEDS. Secondly, they are indeed a LEGUME. But so are PEANUTS, to which lupins are closely related. And who doesn’t love peanuts or peanut butter? Keto or low-carb, peanuts are deemed acceptable, yet they’re NOT NUTS. It’s worth noting that, unlike peanuts, lupins are 100% non-GMO, and don’t require pesticide treatment. It cannot get better than that!
Who made up those exclusive (and often incorrect) keto food lists, anyway? And why do so many people swear by them like they’re pages from a bible? I have literally no idea. It seems keto and low-carb have become more akin to religion than clean eating, sensible lifestyles. Such a shame. Ketosis is about carbohydrate restriction, not food names.
Moving on… If you can ignore the nonsense, and look beyond the ‘bean’ appearance, lupins can become your best friend. That is, unless you have a peanut allergy – in which case, stay away, just in case. Or unless you avoid legumes because of inflammation (no scientific proof here, by the way – studies have revealed an association of the exact OPPOSITE , i.e. legumes improve inflammation levels).
I for one will continue to consume lupins in all forms, because they are a nutrition powerhouse AND they’re very low carb, unlike all other legumes.
How To Make Easy Low Carb & Keto Hummus
You’ll need: whole lupins in brine (either vacuum packed or loose in a jar), extra virgin olive oil, a lemon, garlic, tahini and some spices. Plus umeboshi paste – which is optional but adds incredible flavour.
If you’ve never heard of it, you can learn about umeboshi HERE and HERE. Essentially, it’s a Japanese fermented food (hello healthy gut!) made with specific, extremely acidic, salted plums. Don’t worry about plums being high carb – this is fermented, so the carbs count is 0.3g for 100g of the paste, and you only need 2 teaspoons. Yes it’s expensive, but it lasts forever in the fridge even after you’ve opened the little jar. Think of it as a health investement. If not, no worries, just leave umeboshi out and add salt as needed.
The method is simple, although a bit long: rinse the lupins and put them in a bowl, add hot water so they’re all submerged and leave for 3 hours. Then, the tedious, boring part. Best done whilst watching TV or the kids play… You need to pop each lupin out of its waxy shell. The shell gets discarded and you’re left with the soft seed.
My tip: You’ll see a little slit in each lupin – prise it open a bit more, then squeeze out the seed. If squeezing doesn’t pop the seed out, use your fingernails to pinch and make the opening wide enough for the seed to get out.
Now boil the skinless seeds in plain water for 5 minutes, drain and let cool. You cannot skip these steps, as they are necessary to get rid of the saltiness that the brine confers to the lupins.
Long-winded part over, your hummus will be ready in no time at all. Simply blitz all ingredients in a food processor until you have a smooth paste, adjust seasoning and store. Or just slather it immediately on your low carb tortilla, add grilled/pan fried halloumi cheese and some crunchy lettuce leaves and munch away.
Is this the best Easy Low Carb & Keto Hummus on the planet? Maybe…. I’ll let you be the judge of that.
Enjoy!
- Yield: 300g total yield
- Serving: 50g
- Calories: 122
- Fat: 11g
- Net Carbs: 0.8g
- Protein: 3.5g
- 150g hulled lupin seeds (from 240g drained whole lupins) (U.S. option HERE)
- 20g (1 TBSP) QK tahini
- 50g extra virgin olive oil (U.S. option HERE)
- 50g water
- 40ml lemon juice (1 large lemon)
- ½ garlic clove (minced)
- ⅓ tsp sweet paprika
- ¼ tsp cumin
- 10g (2 tsp) umeboshi paste (optional but highly recommended) (U.S. option HERE)
- drain and rinse whole lupins, place them in a saucepan and add enough hot water to submerge them.
- after 3 hours, drain and remove outer waxy skin.
- put hulled lupins back in the pot, add fresh water and boil for 5 minutes; drain and leave to cool.
- place lupins and all ingredients in a food processor, blitz until smooth, adjust seasoning to taste and transfer to a sealable glass container.
- keep refrigerated.
TIP: To soften the lupins further, add 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda, NOT baking powder) to the water you boil the lupins in.
The best way to ensure accurate measurement of ingredients is with Metric Kitchen Scales. They are inexpensive and take up very little space. Click HERE for the ones I use. For U.S. option click HERE.
Your feedback matters to me! Please leave a comment below. If you try this recipe, you’ll make my day by sharing a photo on social media with the hashtag #queenketo. Thank you! 🙂
Lovely. I will make this . I too have just discovered Lupin beans and the flour and am keen to experiment for keto recipes. My question is why is it necessary to remove the outer shell when clearly this is eaten when Lupini are prepared in brine as a snack? Surely this cancels out their fibre value? What are the macros of Lupin seeds with and without the shell. Just interested so that I can work out my recipes too
Hi. Even though the outer skin is present in the brined lupini seeds, Italians remove it, and I learned to do the same. However, I’m aware that some people eat the whole thing. Personally, I find the waxy, tought shell unpleasant. The protein and fibre is all in the seed. That outer skin is indigestible, and contains zero nutrients. I have no idea about carb content with/without shell. Macronutrient databases do not distinguish between produce with and without shell, skin, pips, etc. so it’s pretty impossible to figure out.
Hi Antya
I found Biona organic lupin beans in water (jars, 240g) on Amazon. They are apparently ready to eat. Do these need “hulling” in the manner you describe or are they already hulled? I am a bit confused and don’t want to remove a non-existent shell!
Hello Cathy, not sure, to be honest. There’s only one way to find out: pinch the hole end with your fingernails to widen the opening and squeeze. If the seed pops out, then you’ve just hulled it. Some people actually eat the hull, but I think it’s gross – waxy and indigestible.
strange that you should recommend/link to a product on AMAZON that does not ship to the US.
I add links to both UK amazon and US amazon whenever I can find corresponding or equal products. I don’t have any control over where a supplier is happy to deliver to. Which item were you looking for?
Would you be able to use hydrated lupin flour for this?
Hi Seen, I never thought of re-hydrating lupin flour, but I doubt it would work as you wouldn’t get a ‘pulp’ consistency. You could test a small batch. I’d love to know if it turns out a success. Have a great day!