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Home » Vegan Lebanese Recipes

The Best Hummus Balila (Lebanese Warm Chickpeas)

Published: Jun 7, 2022· By: Janelle Hama

Jump to Recipe

The best hummus Balila is a mouthwatering dish of tender warm chickpeas, topped with spices and copious amounts of cumin and olive oil. A typical Lebanese breakfast food (or brunch). Naturally gluten-free and vegan.

a brown bowl of cooked chips with radish on the side
A warm bowl of the best balila

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Jump to:
  • What is Balila?
  • 😋Why You’ll Love This Recipe
  • ✔️Ingredients You’ll Need
  • 🔪How to Make Balila
  • 🥗Serving Suggestion
  • 🌟Pro Tips
  • 🥄Variations
  • ❓FAQ
  • 🥘Related Recipes
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Community

What is Balila?

Balila is a Levantine dish made of cooked tender warm chickpeas dressed in olive oil, cumin, red hot chilli, sweet paprika spices and salt. 

It is a popular Lebanese breakfast food (and across the Middle East) and is generally enjoyed alongside ful mudammas and a plate of pickled and fresh vegetables. 

There are small food shops scattered across Lebanon that just specialize in hummus balila and similar foods. Hummus and ful are always coupled together in this type of recipe.

Hummus Balila in English

Balila in English is pronounced as ba·lee·lah. It is the Arabic word for cooked chickpeas. The Arabic word "hummus" is chickpeas in English.

😋Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • The best way to enjoy chickpeas, they are unbelievably tasty and creamy
  • Easy to prepare 
  • Minimal and simple ingredients
  • Dietary friendly - gluten-free and vegan, soy and corn-free.

✔️Ingredients You’ll Need

cooked chickpeas, olive oil, red chili, cumin, paprika and salt on a white plate

Notes on some of the ingredients, the full list of ingredients and their measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Chickpeas - dry or canned can be used.  If using canned chickpeas, go for the organic variety.

Dry chickpeas are my preference as the water of the cooked chickpeas will be used which is always better on flavor in comparison to canned.

Cumin is the hero spice used in this recipe. It is applied in copious amounts.

Sweet paprika and hot chili pepper are also two important spices to use in this meal. However, you can omit the chili if required.

Olive oil - use a high-quality extra virgin olive oil. Generally, a copious amount of it is used to dress the chickpeas. I have however limited to one tablespoon in this recipe - personal preference.

🔪How to Make Balila

Using Dry Chickpeas

Step 1 - Remove any unwanted chickpea pieces and then soak overnight in water (1 cup of chickpeas to 5 cups of water). The next morning, add the chickpeas and their water to a pot, bring to a soft boil over high heat and then turn down to low heat and cook with the lid partially open for approximately 40 minutes. Skim off any froth.

Using Canned Chickpeas

Step 1 - Add chickpeas with their brine to a pot and cook them until they are warmed and tender.

Step 2 - In a bowl, combine warm chickpeas with some of their brine (I generally add 3-5 tablespoons of brine to 1 ½ cups of chickpeas) and all the spices and salt. Top with olive (you can mix it through too) and serve warm with an additional sprinkle of cumin. 

a female hand scooping chickpeas using flat bread

🥗Serving Suggestion

Balila is always eaten with fresh Lebanese flatbread, also known as pita bread. Rip off a piece to use as a scoop with your hands. 

Hummus balila is always coupled with foul mudammas, another Lebanese breakfast food of cooked warm fava beans, however when at home, it doesn't have to be so.

In addition to the above, a generous side serving of pickled and fresh vegetables is served, this normally includes fresh mint, radish, tomato, olives, pickled green chili, pickled turnip known as lifit (affiliate link) and pickled Armenian cucumbers (affiliate link).

🌟Pro Tips

The ratios of ingredients can be altered to suit your taste.

Hummus balila should not be dry and the brine of the chickpeas should be added in. This adds to the flavor and is generally mopped up using Lebanese flat bread or any type of pita bread will do.

a hand holding garbanzo beans in a piece of bread over a brown bowl

🥄Variations

A spin-off from this recipe is my delicious balela salad, vegetables are tossed through it and dressed in a lemon dressing.

A spoonful of tahini can be added, this variation is another dish called Musabaha.

❓FAQ

Are the chickpeas in balila warm or cold?

Balila always uses warm/hot chickpeas and not cold. They are generally cooked in a pot and taken directly from the pot and mixed with the other ingredients to make the dish which is served immediately. Any unused leftover chickpeas can be placed in a sealed container in the fridge which can be warmed later on when needed.

How can I store balila?

Although balila is best eaten fresh, it can be stored. Once it has cooled down, any leftovers can be placed in an air-tight sealed container in the fridge for up to five days. It is best reheated before consumption.

cooked garbanzo beans topped with spices in a brown bowl

🥘Related Recipes

Other Lebanese recipes you might enjoy include my creamy baba ghanouj, fresh oregano scrolls, fresh oregano salad (I love this on toast), or vegan herbed omelet called ejjeh.

  • Sahlab Middle Eastern Sweetened Milk Drink (سحلب)
  • Tender Lebanese Squash With Burghul
  • Delicious Zucchini Insides Dip (Lib Koosa)
  • Easy Lentils and Pasta Soup (Rishta)

Did you enjoy making hummus balila? I would love to hear from you, leave me a comment below and give me a rating. This will help me sustain Plant Based Folk. 

Alternatively, did you happen to take a photo? Tag me @plantbasedfolk on Instagram to be featured via stories.

📖 Recipe

a brown bowl of cooked chips with radish on the side

The Best Hummus Balila (Lebanese Warm Chickpeas)

Hummus Balila is a mouthwatering dish of tender warm chickpeas, topped with spices and copious amounts of cumin and olive oil. A typical Lebanese breakfast food (or brunch). Naturally gluten free and vegan.
Print Pin Rate Save Recipe Saved Recipe
Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, side
Cuisine: Lebanese, Middle Eastern
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 42 minutes
Servings: 2 people
Author: Janelle Hama

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups Chickpeas cooked and warm (hot)
  • ½ teaspoon Cumin powder
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • ¼ teaspoon Sweet paprika powder
  • ¼ teaspoon Red hot chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon Olive oil extra virgin
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Instructions

  • Using Dry Chickpeas - Remove any unwanted chickpea pieces and then soak overnight in water (1 cup of chickpeas to 5 cups of water). The next morning, add the chickpeas and their water to a pot, bring to a soft boil over high heat and then turn down to low heat and cook with lid partially open for approximately 40 minutes. Skim off any froth.
    Using Canned Chickpeas - Add chickpeas with their brine to a pot and cook them until they are warmed and tender.
    1½ cups Chickpeas
  • In a bowl, combine warm chickpeas with some of their brine (I generally add 3-4 tablespoons of brine to 1 ½ cups of chickpeas) and all the spices and salt. Top with olive (you can mix it through too) and serve warm with an additional sprinkle of cumin. 
    ½ teaspoon Cumin, ½ teaspoon Salt, ¼ teaspoon Sweet paprika, ¼ teaspoon Red hot chili, 1 tablespoon Olive oil

Video

Notes

The time indicated doesn't include the time it takes to soak dry chickpeas.
Balila should not be dry and is served warm.
Generally, copious amounts of olive oil are served on top, you can adjust the amount used to your liking
Copious amounts of cumin is also used, you can adjust this and all other seasoning/spices to suit
A variation of this meal Balela salad

Nutrition

Calories: 267kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 595mg | Potassium: 378mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 237IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 4mg

N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.

Tried this recipe?Mention @Plantbasedfolk or tag #plantbasedfolk
« Rice Cake with Peanut Butter and Chocolate
Easy Creamy Lebanese Musabaha (Chickpeas Breakfast) »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Odette

    July 21, 2022 at 5:39 pm

    5 stars
    What a wonderful chickpeas recipes! Love it, Lebanese food never dissapoints! Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
  2. Genevieve

    July 16, 2022 at 9:26 am

    5 stars
    I love hummus, but I've never tried making my own, let alone this version and now I have the perfect recipe to do so! tasted incredible!

    Reply
  3. Layla

    July 12, 2022 at 12:19 am

    5 stars
    This balelat hummus recipe was so easy to follow, I ate this when I was in Lebanon, I made a note to find it online to replicate at home. Thank you for this recupe

    Reply
  4. Leith

    June 27, 2022 at 7:06 pm

    5 stars
    Best chickpeas recipe I made lately. It's healthy and delicious and easy for someone like me who can't cook, thanks!

    Reply
  5. Yahye

    June 26, 2022 at 3:47 pm

    5 stars
    Such a great way to serve chickpeas! I get a bit bored of ship-bought hummus, so this recipe was just a revelation!

    Reply
  6. Nikki

    June 18, 2022 at 1:56 am

    5 stars
    Thanks for introducing me to warm chickpeas. This type of hummus was extra creamy and flavourful

    Reply
  7. Rebecca

    June 17, 2022 at 6:23 pm

    5 stars
    This dish was delicious, we served it with fresh warm bread as a starter.

    Reply
  8. Deanna

    June 01, 2022 at 1:13 pm

    5 stars
    This balila is the absolute best! so creamy and delicious! I never knew about this way of eating chickpeas. I used canned chickpeas.

    Reply

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Heya, I'm Janelle! I've been a messy but delicious cook for a couple of decades now.

In the last few years, I've converted to a vegan diet and have fallen in love with the flavors that can be created from plants.

I specialize in vegan Lebanese food and I'm excited to share these amazing recipes with you.

Let's cook together!

More about me →

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