02/27/2026
Making my own legume base for dips, spreads and to add protein into home baked crackers, muffins and breads.
Begin with cleaning and sifting 2 pounds of dried peas or beans. Whichever kind you prefer these are sweet peas. Grind them up while still dry in a hand crank grinder or use a food processor in small batches. I cracked mine down from whole size to the consistency of chopped peanuts.
Cover in water with an extra 1/2-1” into a large crock pot. Soak with heat off over night. Cook on low until semi soft/semi crunchy, stirring every 2-3 hours. This part took me 2 days of cooking on low only during the hours I’m awake. Turned off overnight.
Now blend in a 1/2 tsp salt per cup of mixture as you scoop into a blender to puree and get it super smooth. It has very little flavor on its own so it may require more salt than you would normally
think. Return to rinsed crock pot with lid off turned on warm only. Allow to evaporate and thicken up to your desired consistency.
You can expiration with various flavors for your final products. Adding a tad of lemon zest, sesame or other neutral oil, cinnamon, bouillon, red peppers, or molasses are just a few flavor combinations I’ve come up with over the years. Keeping it plain allows it to be added into baked goods or main dishes as a meat extender. Can also just add a half cup or more depending on the volume, into soups and stir until fully incorporated.
Try taste testing tiny batches with sprinkle of this or pinch of that to see how well you like certain flavors and combinations.
To preserve it for later use you can freeze it into ice cube trays, or bowls you measured specific amounts into then remove from the mold and store in freezer. You can also spread a thin layer out to dehydrate and crumble or powder for shelf stable long term storage.
I’ll be making a sweet spread, a savory veggie dip, wheat-pea crackers, breakfast muffins, mock peanut butter cookies, veggie soup and much more with mine!
