Bought vs homemade: Garlic hummus

Hummus can be used as a dip, a spread or even a vege garnish. How much difference is there between bought and homemade?

Bought

Greater! Hummus Roasted Garlic

Ingredients: chickpeas, water, canola oil, tahini, lemon juice concentrate, sea salt, garlic, preservative (202), pepper.

vs

Homemade

HFG Roasted garlic hummus*

Ingredients: Chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, olive oil, black pepper.

*We’ve used our recipe minus the spiced chickpeas so that we can make a direct comparison with the bought hummus.

Nutrition information

Per 20g serve (1 rounded tablespoon)

Chickpeas are the main ingredient in hummus, meaning this dip contains protein and fibre. Nutritionally, both the bought and the homemade hummus stack up well. At around 180kJ per tablespoon, either the Greater! Hummmus Roasted Garlic or the Healthy Food Guide version, with slightly fewer kJ, is a good dip to choose. Serve it with carrot sticks or high-fibre crackers as a low-energy snack.

Around 50 per cent of the energy comes from fat, from the tahini and oil. Making your own hummus means you can choose which oil you use. The Healthy Food Guide Roasted garlic hummus comes in marginally higher in both protein and fibre, but not enough to make a real difference to whether you’ll make or buy it.

The main difference between these two is the amount of sodium: the Healthy Food Guide Roasted garlic hummus has only one-fifth of the sodium in the Greater! Hummmus. Both are still low sodium options.

It’s great to see the store-bought hummus is not hugely different to what we would make at home. Go for the Greater Hummmus Roasted Garlic if you’re short on time, or make your own if you want an option where you’re in charge of the ingredients. Making your own is also cheaper.