White Bean & Spinach Hummus
A creamy Greek-style dip made from white beans, olive oil and lemon, with spinach blended in for a mild, green sweetness, extra iron and calcium. Perfect for little fingers to scoop with soft pita or soft veggie sticks.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Wilt the spinach
Put the spinach and a splash of water in a bowl and microwave on high (800 W) for 60–90 seconds, or steam over simmering water, until just wilted and bright green. Let it cool for a minute, then squeeze out the extra water with your hands.
- 60 g baby spinach
- 2 tbsp water
✅ Done when: spinach is wilted, bright green, and cool enough to handle
Drain and rinse the beans
Tip the beans into a sieve and rinse well under cold running water until no more foam or thick canning liquid washes out.
- 400 g canned white beans
✅ Done when: beans look clean with no cloudy liquid left
Blend everything
Put the rinsed beans, wilted spinach, , olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, dill and cumin in a blender or food processor. Blend on high for 1–2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides, until completely smooth with no lumps of bean or garlic.
- 400 g rinsed beans from step 2
- 60 g wilted spinach from step 1
- 1 tbsp
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp dill (optional)
- 1 pinch cumin (optional)
✅ Done when: mixture is completely smooth with no visible lumps
Loosen and taste
With the blender running, add water a tablespoon at a time until the hummus is soft and spreadable, like a thick yoghurt. Taste and stir in the tiny pinch of salt only if the child is over 2 years old.
- 2–4 tbsp water
- 1 small pinch salt (optional, over 2 years)
✅ Done when: hummus is soft and spreadable like thick yoghurt
Make it fun
Spread the hummus onto a small plate with a spoon and swirl the back of the spoon to make a shallow pattern, then arrange the cherry tomatoes (quartered lengthways to avoid choking) and sliced cucumber on top like a face. Serve with soft pita strips, toast fingers or steamed vegetable sticks for dipping.
- all finished hummus from step 4
- 4 cherry tomatoes, quartered lengthways
- 1/4 cucumber, sliced
- to serve pita, toast fingers or vegetable sticks
✅ Done when: tomatoes and cucumber are arranged in a face pattern on the swirled hummus
Store it well
Keep leftover hummus in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze in small portions (an ice cube tray works well) for up to 1 month; thaw in the fridge overnight.
- all remaining hummus from step 5
Wilt the spinach
Put the spinach and a splash of water in a bowl and microwave on high (800 W) for 60–90 seconds, or steam over simmering water, until just wilted and bright green. Let it cool for a minute, then squeeze out the extra water with your hands.
- 60 g baby spinach
- 2 tbsp water
✅ Done when: spinach is wilted, bright green, and cool enough to handle
Drain and rinse the beans
Tip the beans into a sieve and rinse well under cold running water until no more foam or thick canning liquid washes out.
- 400 g canned white beans
✅ Done when: beans look clean with no cloudy liquid left
Blend everything
Put the rinsed beans, wilted spinach, , olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, dill and cumin in a blender or food processor. Blend on high for 1–2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides, until completely smooth with no lumps of bean or garlic.
- 400 g rinsed beans from step 2
- 60 g wilted spinach from step 1
- 1 tbsp
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp dill (optional)
- 1 pinch cumin (optional)
✅ Done when: mixture is completely smooth with no visible lumps
Loosen and taste
With the blender running, add water a tablespoon at a time until the hummus is soft and spreadable, like a thick yoghurt. Taste and stir in the tiny pinch of salt only if the child is over 2 years old.
- 2–4 tbsp water
- 1 small pinch salt (optional, over 2 years)
✅ Done when: hummus is soft and spreadable like thick yoghurt
Make it fun
Spread the hummus onto a small plate with a spoon and swirl the back of the spoon to make a shallow pattern, then arrange the cherry tomatoes (quartered lengthways to avoid choking) and sliced cucumber on top like a face. Serve with soft pita strips, toast fingers or steamed vegetable sticks for dipping.
- all finished hummus from step 4
- 4 cherry tomatoes, quartered lengthways
- 1/4 cucumber, sliced
- to serve pita, toast fingers or vegetable sticks
✅ Done when: tomatoes and cucumber are arranged in a face pattern on the swirled hummus
Store it well
Keep leftover hummus in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze in small portions (an ice cube tray works well) for up to 1 month; thaw in the fridge overnight.
- all remaining hummus from step 5
The Story Behind the Dish
Long before chickpea hummus became famous worldwide, Greek cooks were blending cooked white beans with olive oil, lemon and garlic as a simple mezze, served alongside olives, bread and raw vegetables. Beans like gigantes and fasolia have been a backbone of Greek cooking for generations, cheap, filling and full of fibre.
Adding greens such as spinach to a bean dish is a very Greek habit: wild and cultivated greens, or horta, are stirred into soups, pies and purées all over the country for extra nutrition and colour. This spinach version brings that same instinct into a smooth, toddler-friendly dip.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It's loved for being simple, cheap and deeply savoury, a proper taste of Greek home cooking rather than a trend, and it happens to be an easy way to get beans and greens into small children.
💡 Fun Fact
In Greece, bean dips and purées are often eaten with just bread and raw vegetables, no crackers needed, which makes them a naturally good first dip for little hands.
Greece, Mediterranean mezze tradition
37.98°N, 23.73°E
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