Hummus Chicken – What took us so long?

One of the best parts of being a food blogger is that I get to read a lot of fantastic, entertaining, and informative food blogs. A lot of them! And after the last few days of browsing, I’ve got one question. What’s with all the hummus among us? Apparently, pretty much every food blogger has put out a recipe for hummus chicken.

I’ve gotta admit – that thought never occurred to me. And it sounds kind of strange, doesn’t it? Smearing a chickpea paste over raw chicken and tossing it into the oven? But I – along with many other food bloggers – am now a fan of it! It’s got to be hands down one of the easiest dinners to whip out in a hurry. No muss. No fuss. It turns out that the rich, garlic-y, acid-y, chickpea paste we call hummus is the perfect way to ensure your boneless, skinless chicken comes out moist and flavorful every single time.

The first record of hummus comes from 13th century Egypt, found in a cookbook out of Cairo. Those early iterations of modern day hummus, however, lacked garlic and lemon. It wasn’t until fairly recently that cooks began to incorporate the punch of garlic and the tang of lemon into the hummus of today. Not all that long ago, hummus had to be made at home from scratch, but now there’s an almost infinite number of wonderfully addicting flavors – everything from the traditional lemon and garlic to spicy spinach to roasted red pepper – conveniently located at your nearest grocery store. Perhaps this new found convenience is the trigger for the sudden explosion of hummus chicken. Now that I think of it, it really does make perfect sense. A delightfully tasty, nutritious (lots of protein and fiber), convenient way to smother your everyday chicken to take it from ho-hum to hallelujah!

So now that we finally figured it out, let’s all be thankful for all of those hummus chicken recipes out there. I like to toss a little chopped Italian parsley and a handful of toasted pine nuts on mine to add a bit of crunch and finesse, but feel free to leave those off if you don’t have any. It will be tasty either way! And this little recipe couldn’t be easier. Just plop the raw chicken breasts in a baking dish, slather with your choice of hummus (I prefer roasted red pepper, but they’re all really great), and stick in the oven for about 30 minutes. So, while it took us all a few centuries to finally figure it out, it will only take you five minutes to prep and your delicious hummus chicken will be on your dinner table in half an hour. Not bad. Not bad at all.

What’s your favorite way to use hummus? I always love hearing new ideas! Post a comment!

[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Hummus Chicken – An incredibly easy, incredibly tasty, perfect for weeknight dinners hummus chicken recipe. – large chicken breasts (Boneless, skinless, cut in half), hummus, Italian parsley (chopped, optional), pine nuts (toasted, optional), , Turn on oven to 450 degrees. Pound each chicken breast half so they are all uniform in size. Place in a greased baking dish. If you're making the recipe for 12, you'll likely need two baking dishes. You want six breast pieces in each dish.; Spread the hummus over the chicken pieces tops and sides so they're completely covered. Put in oven until cooked through, approximately 25 minutes.; Sprinkle with chopped parsley and toasted pine nuts. Serve immediately. ; ; – – Main Course – Main Dish – American – Chicken – Cooking for a Crowd – Easy – Main Dish – baked chicken – chicken – easy dinner – hummus – hummus chicken[/wpurp-searchable-recipe]