My friend is a genius.
I have a new friend from America that recently moved to our city and she has been such a gift to me. She makes me laugh as much as my sister does–and that’s saying a lot. She also loves to watch movies, drink boba tea, experiment in the kitchen, eat vegan food, etc.
Plus, she’s a soy milk drinker.
Yay for creamy, dreamy soy milk!
Not long after she moved to China I helped her buy a soy milk maker like the one I’ve been using for over a year. Soy milk makers (I don’t know what else to call them) really are a brilliant invention and I’ve definitely gotten my money’s worth out of mine, considering a bag of soy beans costs less than a dollar and I make about 1-2 liters of soy milk a week. I also love that, unlike the soy milk you buy in cartons in America, this soy milk is made with just two ingredients: soy beans and water. No need for any of those weird additives and thickeners!
My friend had never tried Okara before until she bought her own soy milk maker. Okara is the pulp left over after you make and strain soy milk. It’s basically watery soy bean pulp and it’s delicious. My friend has been eating it by itself with her fingers and mixing into her oatmeal ever since she discovered it.
But she also had the brilliant idea that, since it’s basically beans, we should try to make hummus out of it.
Now why didn’t I think of that?!
When I first started making my own soy milk I tried to make use of the leftover okara for a while. I would always save it in a tupperware in our fridge in hopes that I would add it into baked goods or make vegetable “crab” cakes with it. Sadly, it usually just sat there until I would throw it away. However, now that I make hummus with it, it doesn’t get wasted and I can also use my oh, so, cherished chickpeas to make other things. It’s a win win really!
I know there’s a lot of controversy over soy products and whether or not they’re harmful to our bodies, but I’m okay with eating soy at the moment and am going to fully embrace this creamy, zesty, super-cheap-to-make Okara (Soy Milk Pulp) Hummus!
We’ll be spreading it on veggie sandwiches and burgers, eating it with my Homemade Whole Grain Sesame Crackers, and dipping all kinds of vegetables into it. I know this recipe isn’t for everyone (considering there are very few people who actually make their own soy milk) but for the rare person out there that does, I hope you enjoy this Okara (Soy Milk Pulp) Hummus!
Please let me know if you give this recipe a try and what you think! Leave a comment down below or take a picture and tag #theconscientiouseater on Instagram so I can see your creation!
- 1¾ cups Okara
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup tahini
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 3-5 tablespoon water*
- Place all the ingredients, starting with just 3 tablespoons of water, into your food processor or high speed blender and blend until smooth.
- Add more water if the hummus is too thick or until you reach your desired consistency.
- Add more spices to taste.
- Store in an airtight container in your fridge.
Eat Consciously,
Faith
Based on 1 Review(s)
Is your okara cooked or raw? My soy milk method leaves the okara raw/uncooked — will this be a problem? The taste seems fine, just worried about the longevity in the fridge.
Hi! Good question. I’m guessing mine is cooked because I use a soy milk maker which heats up the milk after blending the beans and water together. I’m not sure how this would work with raw okara! I would love to know how it works out for you!
Oh we just had a little taste of the okara hummus and it’s simply delicious. I never afraid to do my own thing. This time I added quite a bit more. I used half of the water and half soy milk from the milk we made. I also added 2 tablespoons of olive oil. I had mint and basil pesto leftover from a batch I made yesterday- about 2 tablespoon full and a pinch of lemon pepper (1/8 tsp), and the same amount of black pepper. Spread on whole-wheat and flax crackers, we had to control ourselves. Thank you Nichola for the inspiration and so easy to make.
I am so glad you liked this recipe Ian! Thanks so much for sharing and for including all the fun add-ins you experimented with!
Thank you for this recipe! I usually make “chicken” nuggets out of them but this looks really good.
Hi Nichola! First of all, you have a beautiful name. Also, that’s such a fun idea to make “chicken” nuggets out of okara. I’m hoping to come up with more creative ideas like that for the future too. I hope you can try out this hummus though. It’s delicious and so easy to make!
I make soybean milk and also eat the okara at the end adding some chocolate powder or honey. It is much convenient. I have searched a lot if any bad effect in eating okara like this but could not find any. Does anyone have the idea.
That sounds like a delicious way to use up leftover okara to me! And I haven’t studied the nutritional benefits (or concerns) of eating lots of okara. Hopefully someone else can speak into this question. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much for this recipe. Finally have a way to use up the okara.
So glad it was helpful Ruth! And you have my sister’s name:) Beautiful!
Hi Faith,
thank you for sharing this recipe. I followed Karissa’s example and only stirred the ingredients; that works quite well (and spares you having to clean a blender). I used a bit less garlic and a bit more tahini, and replaced the water with olive oil – there’s enough water in the okara, I think, and it adds tastiness. Me and my husband really enjoyed this hummus.
As we both drink the homemade soy milk, there’s plenty of okara left. Your hummus is a great way of using it – maybe you have more ingenious ideas what to do with it, if there is no appetite for hummus?
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for letting me know and for sharing your tweaks. I hope to come up with more ways to use okara in the future. I hate to throw it away! Thanks again!