Hummus bil Lahme (Hummus with Spiced Lamb)

Hummus bil Lahme (or hummus with spiced ground lamb) is exactly what it sounds like; a delicious, creamy chickpea dip topped with spiced, cooked lamb. This stunningly beautiful Middle Eastern dish is one of our favorites to serve at casual gatherings. It is the easiest method for adding a little extra protein to hummus. Now, if you are not partial to lamb, you can certainly use ground beef, turkey, or chicken instead. 

Keep in mind that Hummus bil lahme is a meal all onto itself. Served with pita bread, you might not need a main course at all! This dish makes a great lunch or quick dinner item for busy days. It also makes a perfect appetizer for moderate-sized gatherings.

You will need a Middle Eastern spice mixture called Baharat Spice. You can purchase a ready-made spice mixture from your local grocery store, Middle Eastern grocers, or online. If you’d like to make your own, here is our recipe for Baharat Spice. We recommend making up a good-sized batch and keeping it in your cupboard for future use. After trying Hummus bil Lahme once, you might be hooked!

Hummus bil Lahme Ingredients:

• 1 15 oz can of garbanzo beans
• Tahini
• Lemon (1)
• Plain whole-milk yogurt
• Garlic 
• Olive oil
• Cumin powder
• Sea salt
• Ground lamb 
• Sweet onion finely chopped
• Toasted pine nuts
• Baharat seasoning
• Tomato (1)
• Mint leaves (fresh, 3-4)

How to Make Hummus bil Lahme

• Place the garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, yogurt, 3 garlic cloves, cumin, water, salt, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a food processor.
• Process the mixture until smooth. 
• Thin out the hummus with 1-2 tablespoons of water if it is too thick.
• Transfer hummus to a serving dish.
• With a spoon, create a shallow spiral well in the center. Set aside, or keep refrigerated until you are ready to assemble your hummus bil lahme.

Cooking the Spiced Lamb:

• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. 
• Add chopped onions and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
• Next, add the 2 cloves of minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds. 
• Transfer the onions and garlic to a clean bowl.
• Add a little extra oil (about 1 teaspoon) to the skillet. 
• Add ground meat, season with baharat mixture, and cook for 6-8 minutes. Scoop away any rendered oil and discard. Stir in cooked onion, garlic, and toasted pine nuts to meat mixture. 
• Cook through for 1 more minute and remove from heat. Time to assemble your hummus bil lahme.

Assembling and Serving Hummus bil Lahme:

• Scoop meat onto the prepared hummus, garnish with sliced tomato mint leaves, and serve with pita triangles or freshly chopped vegetables like carrots and cucumber slices.
• Store leftover hummus bil lahme in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Alternatives:

• As mentioned above, you can substitute the ground lamb for another type of meat such as ground beef, turkey, or chicken.
• Want a vegetarian-friendly alternative? Use a meat substitute like Beyond Meat or Impossible Burger for this hummus bil lahme. 
• Want to add a little smoke flavor? Use our Smoked Hummus as the base and add the cooked lamb on top.

Hummus bil Lahme (Hummus with Spiced Lamb)

If you love hummus but want it to be a tad more flavorful, why not add some spiced meat as a topping. While hummus bil lahme indicates spiced lamb, you can also use ground beef, ground chicken, or heartier meat substitutes for this recipe.

Photo by: Sabrina Baksh/derrickriches.com

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Keyword: hummus bil lahme, hummus with meat, hummus with spiced lamb

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 439kcal

Author: Sabrina Baksh

Ingredients

• 1 15 oz can garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
• 1/3 cup tahini
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled (mince 2 cloves for the lamb topping)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil (and more as needed)
• 1-2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (plus extra as needed)
• 3/4 pound of ground lamb or protein of choice
• 1/2 sweet onion finely chopped
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
• 1 tablespoon baharat seasoning
• 1 medium tomato chopped garnish
• 3-4 mint leaves, finely chopped garnish

Instructions

• For Hummus:
• Place the garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, yogurt, 3 garlic cloves, cumin, water, salt, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a food processor.
• Process the mixture until smooth.
• Thin out the hummus with 1-2 tablespoons of water if it is too thick.
• Transfer hummus to a serving dish.
• With a spoon, create a shallow spiral well in the center.
• For Spiced Lamb:
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
• Add chopped onions and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Next, add the 2 cloves of minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
• Transfer the onions and garlic to a clean bowl.
• Add a little extra oil (about 1 teaspoon) to the skillet.
• Add ground meat, season with baharat, and cook for 6-8 minutes or until cooked through. Scoop away any rendered oil and discard. Stir in cooked onion, garlic, and toasted pine nuts to meat mixture. Taste and add salt if needed. Cook for 1 more minute and remove from heat.
• Scoop meat onto the hummus, garnish with tomato, mint leaves, and serve

Notes

*I recommend using a meat substitute that has the texture of cooked beef. Simply follow the above instructions above for preparing the meat topping, but adjust time for doneness.  

 

Nutrition

Calories: 439kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 550mg | Potassium: 528mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 139IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 106mg | Iron: 4mg