Hummus shelf life? How long you can keep hummus

One question that I am always asked is about the shelf life of hummus. Of course, hummus is best when fresh and is usually eaten very quickly. But sometimes you’ve either made too much or you want to prepare the delicious vegan dip made from chickpeas and tahini and serve it later. Here you can find out how long homemade hummus will keep and what you should bear in mind when storing it.

How long does hummus keep?

To answer the urgent question right at the beginning: homemade hummus can be kept in the fridge for approx. 4 – 5 days and can be enjoyed during this time without any problems. However, you can also influence the shelf life of hummus yourself by storing the chickpea dip correctly.

However, you can also freeze hummus wonderfully if you have a really large amount left over. I have described how to do this in a separate article here.

Storing hummus: How to do it right!

Fortunately, you don’t need any preservatives for homemade hummus. However, the shelf life of homemade hummus is shorter than that of store-bought hummus. However, you can influence and extend the shelf life if you store the dip correctly. Here are a few important tips:

• Clean containers: A clean container is very important for a good hummus shelf life! So make sure that the jar or fresh box is really clean. Sterile (e.g. boiled) containers are best.
• Olive oil: Once you have filled your hummus into the storage container, you can cover the cream with a thin layer of olive oil. This will ensure that hardly any air gets to the cream and it will therefore keep for longer.
• Store in an airtight container: Only use containers that can really be sealed airtight. Air causes the ingredients to oxidize and therefore start to go bad. The less air gets to the fresh hummus, the better.

If you want to portion hummus from the container, always use clean cutlery.

How to recognize spoiled hummus

The hummus shelf life of approx. 4 – 5 days is of course only an approximate indication. Depending on the conditions and how it is stored, this information may be shifted forward or backward by 1 – 2 days. It is therefore sometimes advisable to check whether the dip still has a shelf life. Spoiled hummus smells and tastes completely different – this is how you check whether the cream can still be kept:

• Smell test: Smell the hummus. If the smell has changed and smells more sour or even rotten, the hummus is spoiled.
• Eye test: spoiled hummus has a different consistency and appears slightly flaky. This is due to the carbon dioxide produced during fermentation. If you notice mold, the hummus is no longer durable and should be thrown away.
• Taste test: If the hummus still smells good and looks good, try some of it. If you feel a sour tingling sensation on your tongue, the hummus has fermented and can no longer be kept. Then please do not serve it again!