Edamame Hummus

This Edamame Hummus recipe is a delicious spin on hummus! Besides being easy to make and tasting amazing, it is good for you too!

This post and my trip to Maryland was sponsored by Best Food Facts and the United Soybean Board, but as always all of my opinions are my own.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed my amazing trip to Maryland at the end of July. (Anyone else still in awe of those amazing sunrises that the beaches of Seaport have to offer??) I had the incredible opportunity to travel with Best Food Facts to visit the East Coast and learn all about soy bean farming and processing. It was an incredible eye opening experience, and once again, I was left feeling so grateful for this job and all the opportunities it affords me.

Learning About Soy Bean Farming

On my two day soy bean tour, I learned a TON. My head is still processing all the things that I learned about soy farming and the technology that is used to make it such a sustainable and healthy food source.

The first day we were there, we started with a visit to Lazy Day Farms, owned and operated by the Layton Family. This family run operation farms soy beans, corn, and winter wheat in an amazing and complex rotation that works best for the plants and their soil.  (They also have an amazing winery and literally the greatest dog I have ever met, Beau.)

As with other farms that I have visited, I was humbled by how hard this family works doing something that they absolutely love. Both William Layton (pictured above walking towards his soy bean fields with Beau) and his dad, Joseph Layton, spoke to us about the complexities of soy bean farming and what they do to make sure that they are doing the best they can, not only for consumers, but for the land that they are farming.

William and Joe talked to us at length of sustainability, a word that is new to the world but a thought system that is old in the world of farming. Farmers have always thought of how to take care of their ground so their family, generations to come, can still make a living.  This means that they continue to learn the newest technologies and strive to figure out the best combination of variables to disrupt the ground as little as possible, use as few chemicals as possible, and grow the best crop that they can.

Things You Might Not Know About Soy

Soy plants create their own fertilizer! As the soy bean plant decays, it releases nitrogen into the ground that it converted from the air while growing, back into the ground. The Laytons told us this makes it a really healthy plant for soil – another win for sustainability!

Soy beans are the only source of protein that is also heart healthy. There are more and more studies being done that show the health benefits of soy. Want to learn more? Check out this article.

Every part of the soy bean is used. This was maybe my favorite thing that I learned on the tour. There’s something about waste that breaks my heart a little. To hear how each and every part of the soybean is used, was amazing. We visited a soy crush plant to see exactly how this was done and I’ll share more about that in my next post about this amazing tour.

Incorporating Soy Into My Diet

Since going on this tour and learning so much, I am thinking more and more about how to incoroporate soy beans into my diet. Given their great health benefits, I am planning on buying soy milk and having that as a regular snack.

While I grew up vegetarian, my mom transitioned us back to eating meat when I was in my early teen years. I think in large part it was because at that time there was some talk that there might be a link between soy, estrogen and breast cancer. I learned in Maryland that there is no estrogen in soy, but rather a hormone that is structurally similar to estrogen and does not act like estrogen in the human body. Additionally, there is research to suggest that soy actually reduces the risk of breast cancer.

Besides soy milk, this Edamame Hummus is a GREAT and easy way to incorporate soy into my diet.

Easy to Make Edamame Hummus Recipe

I love edamame so much, and it perfectly replaces garbanzo beans in this hummus recipe to make a great spin on a classic that everyone loves.

This recipe comes together really quickly in a food processor, and is a delicious snack. It is also perfect on toast for breakfast as a great start to the day.

Tips for this Edamame Recipe

Make sure your soybeans are really soft. I used frozen, hulled soybeans and steamed them to make sure they were very soft. You can buy bags of frozen beans that allow you to microwave them (pick longest time to ensure they are soft), or you can steam them.

Fully process the soybeans before adding in the other ingredients.  This allows them to get really broken down and makes for a smoother edamame hummus dip.

If your dip is too thick at the end, add more liquid. I used lemon juice and tahini in this recipe. If you find your hummus is too thick, add a little more of each until you get the desired consistency.

Why Use Tahini?

I have made this edamame hummus recipe before without the tahini. I get why you might want to skip it – it is on the more pricey side and it’s not like you will use it in many other recipes. That said, I think it is essential to this recipe.  It provides a taste that takes this from an edamame dip to a smooth edamame hummus. Additionally, it helps smooth this out and make it the creamy edamame hummus you want it to be.

Other Great Recipes Using Soy

If you are looking for more ways to add soy to your diet, try some of these!

• Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe – This is a delicious easy dinner that uses soy sauce! One of my favorite forms of soy.
• Vegetable Stir Fry – This is such a great vegan recipe that gets great flavor from multiple soy products!