News Ticker

Hummus nutritional value: dried vs. canned chickpeas

Canned and preserved foods are not as healthy. Specifically, when using canned chickpeas instead of dried ones to make hummus, you loose half the nutrients.

Most of the recipes for homemade hummus found on the web, are based on canned chickpeas (a.k.a garbanzo beens). To those of you who are acquainted with the original flavor of hummus (not the industrial type, that is), this probably sound like a but idea. True, the use of canned peas demands less effort, but it doesn’t taste that good.

For those of you who see think canned chickpeas are a reasonable substitute, I collected some data about the nutritional differences between cooked dried chickpeas and canned ones.

Minerals. Canned chickpeas contain 52% more sodium than cooked chickpeas, although in the process of making the final product (the hummus, that is), this might change.

raw data source:
NutritionalData

But the use of canned chickpeas leaves you with 48% less Iron, 42% less Copper, about 30% less Magnesium, Phosphors and Potassium and 10-25 percent less Zinc, Calcium and Selenium.

Vitamins. Vitamin C is not affected by cooking and can-conserving. The canned chickpeas contain 55-75% less Niacin and Folate though.

Amino Acids. Chickpeas contain 18 essential amino acids. About 35% in average of that content is missing from the canned product.

Omega-3. About 48% of the Omega-3 fatty acids found in dried chickpeas after it is cooked, are absent from the canned product. On the other hand, the Tahini (second most important ingredient in hummus) contains a triple amount of Omega-3.

Summery
Canned chickpeas nutritional value is very poor compared with cooked traditionally chickpeas. In general, about 50 percent of the nutrients are lost, and in some cases even more. This is, of course, a potential case-study for the general effect of nutritional value loss when using preserved foods instead of fresh ones, but of course – this blog talks about hummus, so our special concern is about what happens to chickpeas.

33 Comments on Hummus nutritional value: dried vs. canned chickpeas

  1. I worked at a middle eastern/turkish resturant as a supervisor
    and while I worked there we were allowed to eat the food that we made for lunch. I never tasted humus before, until i started working there. And I fell in love with it, however, I’m afraid it actually made me lose a LOT of weight. Why is this? Does humus usually make people lose weight. Oh and by the way the website is great, and very informational, I’m originaly from bosnia and my english is not as well as i’d like it to be. So don’t worry about the ignorance of others.
    And once again.
    Thank you

    — Zerina

  2. I made a huge batch of hummus with raw garlic in it. I was going to freeze the excess, but after reading some the info you all have put forth, I am now afraid that it wont work. Does it alway ruin when you freeze?

  3. Lea, you are a moron! Care to have a head to head to head spelling competition? Just say the word.

    As for this blog, I am so glad I found it, I haven’t had homemade hummus in years, but I will tonight, or at the latest tomorrow morning.

  4. I would love it if someone could answer this question- I haven’t been able to find it on the net…
    If a recipe calls for a 14.5 oz can of chickpeas, what is the equivalent (in cups) if I am using dried (cooked) chickpeas?
    Thank you!

  5. Cortney – 14.5 oz is about 400 grams of cooked chickpeas which is what you get from cooking 250 grams or so of dried chickpeas. That’s about one teacup.

  6. Thank you!!

  7. I always look up the recipe whenever I make hommous (or rather hummus or hommus … depending in which English speaking world you are from) hoping to improve the taste of my product. My family is kind and tell me they love my efforts but the tahini I can buy in Asia is very strong flavoured. It is made in Taiwan. It took me ages to find it. I came across this web site. Thanks heaps, I am re inspired to keep trying to use chick peas. Tonight I am using dried chick peas for the first time. I went to buy my usual can of garbanzo beans and the grocer here in Singapore had only dried – I thought ‘Why not? I can figure it out.’ Looks like it was a blessing after reading this site. In Australia I tasted hommous and olives. Very nice combination.
    Question: What is the purpose of the lemon juice? To add tang? Or to add depth of flavour?
    I always add fresh garlic but I am now concerned that this is not the way to go.
    I’ve added sodium bicarb to the soaking beans and I hope that is not a mistake.

  8. Hi Shooky & Al,

    I made your recipe of hommus and yet is it AWESOME, well worth the effort. I found your website after I start cooking some chickpeas and made soooooo much hummus that I very nearly blew my blender up.

    My friends and family will be pleased as it is now hummus all round!!!

    Anna

    PS I didn’t notice english was not your first language.

  9. Thank you for your very informative blog. I have recently started making hummus at home and love having it for lunch at work. Today, I am trying hummus from dried chickpeas for the first time. I am waiting for the chickpeas to finish cooking now. For future versions, I will use your website as my guide.

    I also made pita bread for the first time tonight. I need to work on perfecting my pita bread as several came out more like little pizzas than pitas. πŸ™‚ I will look at your recipe now.

  10. thanks for your awesome site! I can’t wait to taste my hummus!!! πŸ™‚

  11. I love hummus, but have been making it from canned chickpeas up till now. Lazy… so many hours of preparation. But now that I read your article here about the loss of nutritional value in canned chick peas, I am considering preparing from dried chickpeas again. I was just wondering: would freezing cooked chickpeas keep these nutritional values? It’s a lot of work for a small amount of chickpeas. We don’t eat buckets of hummus πŸ˜‰

  12. I use dried chickpeas because cans are lined with plastic containing bisphenol A (BPA) which is VERY detrimental to one’s health.

  13. Eric Johnson // April 8, 2010 at 6:41 pm // Reply

    Shooky,

    I just want to thank you so much for presenting this information, especially because I understand the additional time and effort that it must take to bring it to people like me in English (I do not speak Hebrew). The information here has been very helpful, and I can’t thank you enough.

    Eric

  14. Just needed to tell you that there are 20 amino acids that make up protein, 9 of which humans can not synthesize. Those 9 that we can not synthesize are the essential amino acids that we must consume in our diets. There are not, however, 18 essential amino acids as you say. You might want to check your sources to make sure that they are reliable.

  15. Has anyone just ground the dried chickpeas and made hummus from the flour? Does that work? Are there any recommendations?

    Thanks,
    Jessica

  16. Joanne Proctor // November 20, 2010 at 7:39 am // Reply

    Hey Shooky, I believe you are the author of this site. Nice job, the information was perfectly what I needed today. Don’t listen to those uptight bores telling you that your English and Grammar is unprofessional. I AM English and I had no trouble at all understanding your information. Thank you for taking the time to put it out there …. warm regards, jojo

  17. Hey,
    This website is very interesting. I am looking forward to try Hummus for the first time. I wanted to make my own out of the canned peas, but you did change my mind. Keep up the good work!
    hugs,
    misia

  18. Trevor Graham // December 8, 2010 at 11:04 pm // Reply

    The Hummus War makes its way downunder.The following article appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald 6/12/10

    WITH HUMUS WARS

    NOT Hamas, but hummus is once again at the centre of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Students at Princeton and DePaul universities in the US tried to ban an Israeli company’s brand of the chickpea dip from campus cafeterias-or at least to provide “an alternative brand… to Sabra”, The New York Times reported. Palestinian students and their supporters say the hummus maker Strauss Group helps finance a branch of the Israeli military with a questionable human rights record. But chickpeas, oil, garlic and politics don’t mix at Princeton: its hummus referendum failed. DePaul, a Catholic university in Chicago, removed Sabra products, only to reinstate them pending a review. Those familiar with the geopolitics of hummus would know this to be only the latest time it has been caught between nations, rather than in a pide pocket. In what is becoming the “hummuswars”, Lebanon reclaimed the dish as its own while setting the Guinness world record for the largest batch-10,452 kilograms – in May. This came after Israel claimed the dish with 4090 kilograms in January. Attempts to register the dish’s nationality with the Euro –
    pean Union have failed-making it a potential pavlovian trigger for disputes (in the trans-Tasman meringue dessert provenance sense) for years to come.

  19. Greetings loser who commented on language and syntax up top. This is a blog. The internet is the only forum left for free speech (unless you’re in the land of the reds) and blogs are civilian platforms. I don’t plan to further qualify that statement.

    This site is wicked. Great source for information – thank you for your work.

    Toodles~

  20. LOVING your blog. I just found it. A blog devoted to one of the best, healthiest, most nutritious foods around… the chickpea. I always think back to when I lived in Israel and how much healthier I was then… must be that amazing middle eastern diet full of chickpeas, tehina, garlic, cilantro and all that GOOD stuff! keep up the good work!! πŸ™‚ B’Shalom- Yaffa

  21. Lea you’re a douchebag!
    Someone actually has the decency to share recipes from their culture and you comment on their spelling. Is your life really that sad you need to insult people doing you a favor?

    On another note : Thanks so much for posting this blog!!!!! I’ve only made hummus once and the chickpeas were from a can, but I bought dried ones and am excited to try them out for a more authentic taste!!!
    Thank you!!!!!! πŸ™‚

  22. Did Lea ever offer to help? I provide English proofreading and correction services at a very reasonable price.

    (This site is no worse than many sites written by folks whose native language is English, but I thought I’d offer…)

  23. Any thoughts on preparation of the third option… fresh chickpeas? I’m planning on a large section of one of my gardens to grow them specifically for hummus and/or preserving for making hummus later. I am curious how one would prepare for using from the garden.

  24. Dimitri Cados // January 4, 2012 at 7:05 am // Reply

    I am also a hummus lover but i resist enjoying it as much as I would love to because of the high oil (fat) content. Is there a way to make low fat hummus without sacrificing the rich delicious taste?

  25. So where is the recipe? My garbanzos are soaking…

  26. I was looking for information on the best canned garbanzo beans to buy to make hummus, and came across this. Now I’ll just use dried. Thank you so much!

  27. Wonderful blog! Thank you for translating it into English so people like me can read it! I am very excited to try making hummus this weekend!

  28. Shooky and Followers

    You all have saved me from a life filled with crap Hummus. A buddy of mines dad made a batch using his “secret recipe” and I have been trying to replicate it ever since.

    Where do you like to eat your Hummus?

    Snuf

  29. People can be so unkind! Rather than praise the fact that you know (at least) two languages, to focus on some minor spelling errors is ridiculous. I commend you for your wealth of knowledge that far surpasses my own. The world needs less haters.

  30. Rune Naljoss // May 20, 2014 at 4:06 pm // Reply

    Love the website and the tips and the passion. With three cheers from Vienna (not a city of hummus, alas) –

    Rune

  31. Hi Rune,

    You have very very famous hoummus place on Nashmarkt – dr. Falafell. And of course you have close to our place – Hummus Amamamusi in Krakow!! :- )
    You are invited!!!

    Bart
    Hummus Amamamusi

  32. You are comparing dried to canned chickpeas. You are not comparing the right amounts. After cooking the dried when they absorb the moisture the calories are nutrition are very similar. One cup of dried beans make more than than one cup of canned beans already cooked.

    • Shooky Galili // May 14, 2016 at 12:59 pm // Reply

      Sunny – I compared cooked dried chickpeas to canned chickpeas, so what you say is irrelevant.

1 2

2 Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. Hummus it taking over the world at Cuak!Cuak!Cuak! | Cuak!
  2. Roasted Garlic Hummus & Using Dried Chickpeas | The Hungry Years of a Bohemian

Leave a Reply