30 Easy Low Sodium Hummus Recipes, From A Dietitian

Low-sodium hummus recipes are easy to create and full of heart-healthy soluble fiber. When you make hummus yourself you can control your sodium intake to stay on track with a low-sodium eating plan.

There are 30 Registered Dietitian approved low salt hummus recipes for you to try for yourself. These are the absolute best hummus recipes out there. You won’t get bored since there are some that feature garbanzo beans (chickpeas), others that don’t even use legumes, and there are great dessert hummus options too!

Table of Contents

Pin It Now & Make It Later!

Sodium And Health

Let’s discuss the difference between salt and sodium. Salt is made up of two molecules, sodium, and chloride. This means eating salt, increases your intake of the mineral sodium.

Sodium is the mineral we want to eat less of when managing blood pressure, heart failure, kidney disease or just to stay healthy.

Where doe sodium come from? Well, you are probably thinking of the salt shaker – duh! But actually, around 70% of Americans are consuming sodium from restaurants, prepackaged, and processed foods (1).

You may not even realize you are consuming more sodium than needed, because some of these foods don’t even taste salty! This hidden sodium can really add up.

How To Eat Low Sodium

Guess what? Hummus is a prepackaged food that can hide a lot of sodium in every bite.

And you know what? Hummus is super easy to make at home. So I challenge you to try it yourself to ensure this healthy low sodium snack fits into your heart-healthy eating plan.

Making it at home also ensures hummus is made of heart-healthy oils like olive oil, instead of cheaper fillers like soybean oil.

Oh, and another benefit is that making it yourself can save you money.

Start eliminating processed, pre-packaged foods by making them at home. It is easier than you think. You don’t need kitchen skills, just a blender or food processor and a recipe.

I’ve done the research for you, selecting 30 recipes that are simple to execute and help make eliminating prepackaged hummus easy. I also recommend checking out my Epicure review if you are interested in purchasing pre-made low sodium spices to flavor your hummus.

Tips To Purchase Low Sodium Chickpeas

The main ingredient in hummus is chickpeas. These heart-healthy ingredients contain soluble fiber and are full of a blood pressure-lowering nutrient potassium.

You cook chickpeas from dried, which is usually the most frugal option (and the lowest in sodium!) but requires more labor. Or you can open up a can of chickpeas to save time.

Just be careful. When purchasing canned items, like canned chickpeas, look for the words:

“low sodium” or
“no salt added”

on the food label.

This can make quite the difference in staying on track with your health goals. For example, “no salt added” canned chickpeas have 10 mg of sodium per serving compared to regular canned chickpeas which have 230-400 mg of sodium in the same serving size.

If you want more information about food labels, here is a great resource to learn how to read food labels.

Another great tip is if you do purchase full sodium canned beans, try rinsing them in a strainer to cut the sodium by up to 40% (2).

Low Sodium Hummus Is Heart Healthy

As I mentioned, hummus is made of chickpeas or garbanzo beans. These legumes are an important part of a heart-healthy diet. They can unclog arteries, and are essential in the portfolio diet.

Chickpeas are rich in soluble fiber. Soluble fiber forms a gel-like consistency in your digestive tract which can lower your cholesterol. Like beans, oat bran is rich in soluble fiber that can lower cholesterol. Check out these oat bran recipes for more cholesterol lowering recipe inspiration. . This type of fiber traps and prevents “bad” LDL cholesterol from entering your bloodstream by being excreted when having a bowel movement.

Additionally, chickpeas and other legumes protect your heart health since they are rich in healthy fats. These healthy fats can also manage LDL cholesterol levels. In fact, eating legumes can significantly lower LDL cholesterol after 6 weeks (3).

Finally, hummus is a good source of protein, specifically plant-based protein. Looking to add more protein from plants? Try a hummus sandwich with roasted veggies for lunch! Yum.

Who Is Hummus For?

Hummus is for anyone looking to add legumes to their daily dietary intake. In fact, if you are new to eating legumes, hummus is a fantastic starter food to try these versatile legumes. I’d recommend using it as a dip or a sandwich spread to start.

Classic hummus is a great starter if you are new to this heart healthy spread. Once you become an expert at this easy hummus recipe, you can explore the list of 30 recipes below to add variety in taste in texture while still reaping the heart healthy benefits.

Or if you are interested in eating chickpeas in addition to hummus, try this Mediterranean chickpea quinoa bowl, chocolate-covered chickpeas, or as an alternative to deli meat.

What To Dip In Hummus?

Low salt hummus makes a great heathy snack to add other healthy foods to your day like vegetables and whole grains. Some of my favorite items to dip in homemade hummus are:

low sodium pita chips or pita bread
raw veggies like snap peas, cucumber slices, zucchini, or carrot sticks (baby carrots work too!)
bell peppers including red peppers, cherry tomatoes, or celery sticks are also great
low sodium tortilla chips, bagel chips, or black bean chips
low sodium crackers like rice crackers
low sodium pretzel sticks or regular pretzels

Be sure to store hummus in an airtight container in the fridge when you aren’t eating it!

Tips For Making Heart-Healthy Low-Sodium Hummus Recipes

It’s easy to buy hummus at the grocery store, but you may notice that store-bought versions areis high in salt. To add flavor to your low sodium hummus recipe try these tips:

Use fresh herbs and spices for flavor. For example try lemon juice, fresh garlic cloves, and traditional spices like cumin.
Opt for no salt or low-sodium canned items.
Use extra virin olive oil as the source of fat, and top with pine nuts or sesame seeds.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Hummus Has The Least Sodium

The hummus that you make at home will have the least amount of sodium because you can choose the ingredients for the recipe and don’t need to add salt.

When you make foods from scratch you can use whole ingredients that are naturally low in sodium and add flavor with herbs and spices.

Is Hummus Good For A Low Sodium Diet

Hummus is great for a low-sodium diet because it is less than 150 mg of sodium per serving. You can also dip whole ingredients into the hummus that are naturally low sodium, like carrot sticks, which makes this a very low-sodium-satiating snack.

How Do You Reduce The Salt In Hummus

The easiest way to reduce the salt in hummus is by purchasing canned chickpeas with “no salt added” on the food label. If you choose regular canned legumes, it can increase the salt from 10 mg to 230 mg.

Is Hummus A High Sodium Food

Store-bought hummus can be a high-sodium food. You can tell if it is high in sodium if the % DV (% Daily Value) on the food label is more than 5% per serving.

30 Low Sodium Hummus Recipes

As a heart dietitian, I’ve looked at numerous hummus recipes, and narrowed it down to these 30.

These recipes have 150 mg of sodium or less per serving based on the recipe’s information. You can likely reduce this amount by purchasing low-sodium canned chickpeas.

Remember, making your own hummus can be super easy to whip up by simply dumping ingredients into a blender and blitzing.

Image of Veronica Rouse with Free 7 day heart healthy meal plan freebie.

Hummus Made With Chickpeas

Wild Garlic Hummus – The Vegan Larder

Basil Hummus – In The Kitch

Beet Hummus – Little Sunny Kitchen

Rosemary White Bean Hummus – My Organized Chaos

Red Pepper Hummus – Daisies And Pie

Green Chile Hummus – Burrata And Bubbles

Baba Ghanoush Hummus – Strength And Sunshine

Smoked Paprika Hummus – My Plantiful Cooking

Yogurt Hummus – Food Meanderings

This recipe is full of simple ingredients and topped with red pepper flakes for contrast.

Cinnamon Hummus – Emily Leary

Avocado Hummus – Veggie World Recipes

Caramelized Onion Hummus – The Urben Life

Pumpkin Sage Hummus – Hoorah To Health

This recipe uses different herbs like sage that pairs nicely with pumpkin.

Original Hummus – Christina Scucina

This low sodium version of an original recipe of a classic hummus is a keeper

Hummus Made With Other Legumes

Butter Bean Hummus – Sula And Spice

Try this fantastic snack that will contribute to a high fiber intake since it is made with butter beans!

Cashew Hummus – Clean Eating Kitchen

This new healthy dip uses cashews instead of chickpeas!

Boiled Peanut Hummus – Grits And Gouda

Fava Bean Hummus – Attainable Sustainable

Creamy White Bean Hummus – With Spice

Black Eyed Pea Hummus – The Vgn Way

Spinach Hummus – Moms Test Kitchen

Roasted Carrot Navy Bean Hummus – Veggie Inspired

Hummus Without Legumes

Everything Bagel Cauliflower Hummus – Crinkled Cookbook

Cauliflower Hummus – Through The Fibro Fog

Dessert Hummus

Chocolate Hummus – Little Sunny Kitchen

Brownie Batter Dessert Hummus – Pinch Of Wellness

Cacao Raspberry Dessert Hummus – Cook Eat Live Love

Pumpkin Pie Dessert Hummus – Haute And Healthy Living

Gingerbread Dessert Hummus Dip – Randa Derkson

Final Thoughts

Hummus is an excellent low-sodium snack, or it can be a great addition to a meal. These homemade recipes are quick to execute, and easy on the cleanup.

Let me know which low-sodium hummus recipe is your favorite in the comments.

And if you need more low sodium inspiration try low sodium mayonnaise, low sodium breakfast idea, low sodium lunch ideas, low sodium pasta recipes,low sodium bagels, low sodium tortillas, low sodium instant pot recipes, low sodium hot chocolate, low sodium marinara sauce, low sodium pancakes, low sodium oatmeal recipes, low sodium salsa, low sodium taco seasoning, DASH diet smoothies, DASH diet desserts, DASH diet soups, low sodium dips, tofu bolognese, beet mac and cheese… to name a few.