Sabra Classic Hummus: Nutrition & Labelgrade B- (72/100)
B- 72 / 100 — A real-food dip: chickpeas, tahini, oil, garlic, salt. The fat is mostly the heart-healthy unsaturated fat of sesame and soybean oil, sugar is effectively zero, and 3g of fiber per 2 oz is genuinely useful. But protein is modest (4g), the calories are dense (150 per 2 oz, most of it fat), and sodium runs high. A good fiber-and-fat snack — not a protein play.
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Sabra Classic Hummus delivers 4 g of protein and 3 g of fiber per 2 oz (57 g) cup, at 150 calories (USDA FDC 2055018) — roughly 7 g of protein per 100 g. The honest headline: hummus reads as a health food, but it’s a fat-and-fiber dip, not a protein source. About two-thirds of those 150 calories come from fat (11 g, mostly the unsaturated fat of sesame tahini and soybean oil); only ~11% come from protein. The ingredient list is genuinely real-food — cooked chickpeas, tahini, oil, garlic, salt, a little citric acid, and one preservative — with effectively no added sugar. The Labelgrade is B- (72 / 100): clean ingredients and useful fiber, held back by modest protein, dense calories, and high-ish sodium (260 mg, the weakest line on the card). Best use: a fiber-rich, satisfying swap for ranch or cheese dip — paired with vegetables or whole-grain pita. If you came here for protein, this isn’t the product.
Why the B-
| Dimension | Grade | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein density | C | 61 / 100 | 7 g per 100 g — and only 4 g in the 2 oz you actually eat. The protein (chickpeas + sesame) is real, but oil and tahini dominate the macros |
| Ingredient quality | B | 75 / 100 | Chickpeas, tahini, soybean oil, garlic, salt, citric acid, potassium sorbate — nearly all real food; the lone preservative and the refined soybean oil keep it off an A |
| Saturated fat load | B+ | 83 / 100 | 1.5 g per serving — low. The 11 g of total fat is mostly unsaturated (sesame + soybean), the better kind |
| Sodium load | D | 51 / 100 | 260 mg per 2 oz — the real weak point. Fine in one cup, but it climbs fast if you dip from a tub |
| Sugar load | A+ | 98 / 100 | ~1 g, all naturally occurring, no added sweetener — a non-issue here |
| Fiber | C+ | 67 / 100 | 3 g per serving — genuinely useful, and one of hummus’s real edges over creamy dips |
| Overall | B- | 71 / 100 | A clean, real-food dip — strong on fiber and ingredient honesty, weak on protein density, calorie load, and sodium. A fat-and-fiber snack, not a protein source |
The grade tells a coherent story: nothing here is bad (no junk ingredients, no added sugar, low saturated fat), but nothing pushes it into A territory either. Two scores carry the most weight. The D on sodium is the genuine knock — 260 mg in two tablespoons is easy to triple without noticing. The C on protein density isn’t a flaw so much as a category truth: a dip built on oil and tahini will never out-protein the bean it’s made from.
The “it’s mostly chickpeas” trap
The intuition that hummus is basically blended chickpeas — and therefore a lean, high-protein health food — is where most people misread this label. Cooked chickpeas are indeed lean and high-fiber. But Sabra’s recipe blends in soybean oil and sesame tahini (tahini is ~60% fat) to get the signature creamy texture, and that’s what reshapes the nutrition: the 11 g of fat in a 2 oz cup is the single largest contributor to its 150 calories. The chickpea’s protein and fiber survive the blend; its leanness does not. So the food that feels like “just chickpeas” eats like a chickpea with a generous spoon of oil stirred in — which is exactly what it is, and why the protein-density grade sits at C while the bean itself would score higher.
It’s a dip — portion is the whole story
Almost everything that’s right or wrong about hummus comes back to the serving size. At 2 oz (two tablespoons), the macros are genuinely friendly: 150 calories, 1.5 g saturated fat, 3 g fiber, no added sugar. The single-serve cup is, in effect, free portion control — it caps the fat and sodium at a sensible snack-sized dose. The trouble starts at the tub. Hummus is easy to eat in a way grilled chicken isn’t; double or triple the scoop and the modest 4 g of protein stays modest while the 11 g of fat and 260 mg of sodium climb in lockstep. The practical move is to keep the dip honest and put the substance on the other side of it — dip vegetables or whole-grain pita, and lean on a real protein elsewhere in the meal rather than expecting the hummus to carry it.
Where hummus genuinely wins
None of this makes hummus a food to avoid — it makes it a flavor-and-fiber upgrade, not a protein one. Against the creamy dips it actually competes with — ranch, sour-cream-based, cheese — Sabra brings two real advantages: 3 g of fiber (most creamy dips have none) and a fat profile that’s mostly unsaturated (sesame + soybean) rather than the saturated dairy fat of sour cream or cheese. Add effectively zero sugar and a short, recognizable ingredient list, and as a swap for ranch on a veggie tray it’s a clear nutritional step up. The honest frame is the Mediterranean one: a good-for-you dip whose job is to make vegetables and whole grains more appealing — judged on that job, it does it well.
Scope
This page covers Sabra Classic Hummus in the 2 oz (57 g) single-serve cup (UPC 040822011112, USDA FDC 2055018). Sabra’s lineup is large and the numbers shift by flavor and format:
- Classic (this product) — the plain baseline
- Roasted Red Pepper, Roasted Garlic, Supremely Spicy, Olive Tapenade, etc. — flavored variants, similar macros with small differences
- Snackers (hummus + pretzels/pita chips) — adds the dipper’s carbs, calories, and sodium
- 10 oz and 17 oz tubs — same recipe, but no built-in portion control
Flavored and snack-pack variants change the fat, sodium, and calorie numbers. Always check the actual cup or tub.
Ingredients
Cooked chickpeas (chickpeas [garbanzos], water), tahini (ground sesame), soybean oil, garlic, salt, citric acid, and potassium sorbate (added to maintain freshness). In plain terms: blended chickpeas, sesame paste, and oil, seasoned with garlic and salt, with citric acid for tang and one preservative to hold a multi-week refrigerated shelf life. (Verbatim source: USDA Branded Foods entry, FDC 2055018.)
Where to buy
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Quick Facts
Per serving · 2 oz (57 g)
040822011112See how this fits your day — protein calculator · macro calculator
Full nutrition facts
| Nutrient | Per Serving (2 oz (57 g)) |
|---|---|
| Calories | 150 |
| Protein | 4g |
| Total Fat | 11g |
| Saturated Fat | 1.5g |
| Trans Fat | 0g |
| Total Carbohydrates | 9g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3g |
| Total Sugars | 1g |
| Sodium | 260mg |
| Cholesterol | 0mg |
| Calcium | 20mg |
| Iron | 1.08mg |
Scope: This page applies specifically to Sabra Classic Hummus (2 oz (57 g) single-serve cup) · UPC 040822011112. Other sizes, flavors, or formulations may differ.
How this fits each diet
Each score is computed from the same USDA nutrition + ingredient data, against the published rules of each diet. They tell you "does this food fit this diet" — not whether the diet is right for you.
contains no listed animal products
contains no listed meat or fish
no wheat, barley, rye, or malt detected in USDA ingredient list
Frequently Asked Questions
How much protein is in Sabra Classic Hummus?
4 g per 2 oz (57 g) cup — about 7 g per 100 g (USDA FDC 2055018). That nudges past the FDA 'good source' line but is nowhere near 'high in protein,' and the catch is the serving size: 2 oz is two tablespoons, so even on a per-gram basis the absolute protein you actually eat in one sitting is small. Hummus reads as healthy, but the calories come from oil and tahini, not from the chickpeas' protein.
Is hummus a good protein source?
Not really — it's a dip, and you eat it in dip-sized amounts. The chickpeas and sesame do contribute real plant protein, but a 2 oz serving lands at 4 g, and most people aren't eating a quarter-cup of hummus to chase protein. Treat it as a fiber-and-healthy-fat food that happens to carry a little protein, and get your actual protein from the thing you dip — grilled chicken, falafel, an egg — or from the plain chickpea itself.
Why is hummus so calorie-dense if it's mostly chickpeas?
The oil and tahini. Cooked chickpeas on their own are fairly lean, but Classic Hummus blends in soybean oil and sesame tahini (tahini is roughly 60% fat) for the creamy texture — which is why 2 oz reaches 150 calories with 11 g of fat. About two-thirds of the calories in this cup are fat. It's largely the heart-healthy unsaturated kind, but it's still dense, so the 2 oz single-serve cup doubles as built-in portion control versus dipping straight from a tub.
Does Sabra Classic Hummus have added sugar?
No. The ~1 g of sugar per serving is naturally occurring from the chickpeas; the ingredient list has no sweetener of any kind, which is why sugar scores A+ (98/100) on the card. Sugar is a non-issue here — the lines to watch are sodium and total fat.
How much sodium is in it, and is that a lot?
260 mg per 2 oz — about 11% of the 2,300 mg daily limit, and the weakest grade on the scorecard (D, 51/100). For a two-tablespoon portion that's meaningful, and it scales fast if you eat hummus by the tub rather than the cup. It isn't extreme for a savory dip, but sodium is the single biggest reason this lands at B- instead of higher.
Is it vegan, gluten-free, and what about allergens?
Vegan and gluten-free, yes — every ingredient is plant-based (chickpeas, sesame, soybean oil, garlic, salt, citric acid, potassium sorbate), and Sabra labels it gluten-free and Non-GMO Project Verified. The one allergen to flag is sesame (the tahini), which is now a major labeled allergen in the US, so this is not safe for a sesame allergy.
What's the potassium sorbate doing in there?
It's a mold-and-yeast preservative — the reason a refrigerated tub of hummus keeps for weeks instead of days. It's one of the more benign preservatives (widely used, generally recognized as safe, present in tiny amounts), but it's the only ingredient here you wouldn't keep in your own kitchen, and along with the refined soybean oil it's why ingredient quality lands at B rather than an A.