Hummus
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This is the best homemade hummus recipe — and it’s easy to whip up with very few ingredients.
Hummus is a Middle Eastern spread made from chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and spices. It is usually served as an appetizer or mezze with pita bread or as an accompaniment to accompaniment to falafel or grilled meats. I learned how to make authentic hummus from a cook in a kebab and hummus shop in the Old City of Jerusalem. With a few shortcuts, it’s easy to replicate at home, and it’s a world apart from the store-bought variety, which is typically made with soybean oil (as opposed to olive oil), citric acid (as opposed to lemon juice), and preservatives.
What You’ll Need To Make Hummus
- Chickpeas are the main ingredient in hummus. I use canned, which may come as a surprise since many hummus aficionados insist on using dried chickpeas. I assure you, it’s not necessary. I’ve made it both ways and there’s virtually no difference. I have also seen recipes that call for peeling the chickpeas. Supposedly, the skins prevent the hummus from getting super creamy. Again, I tried it; it took forever and I could not tell the difference. Keep it simple!
- The other key ingredient in hummus is tahini, a condiment made from toasted ground sesame seeds. Frequently used in Middle East cooking, tahini is also used in baba ghanoush and halva. You can find it in most supermarkets near the other nut butters.
- When you open a can of tahini, you will notice that the solids settle in the bottom the can, similar to natural peanut butter. It is very difficult to stir tahini in the can (the solids on the bottom are quite stiff) so I suggest scraping the entire contents of the can into a bowl, then using a whisk or hand-held electric mixer to blend. Place whatever tahini you don’t use back in the can and refrigerate until needed.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by draining the chickpeas in a colander (no need to rinse them). You’ll need to save the canning liquid for the recipe and set aside a few whole chickpeas for serving.
Next, combine the drained chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, spices and 1/3 cup of the canning liquid in the bowl of a food processor.
Blitz for a few minutes until smooth and creamy, adding more of the reserved liquid to thin the hummus if desired. The hummus should just hold its shape when you drag a spoon through it.
Transfer the dip to a bowl and use a spoon to form a shallow well in the center. Drizzle a bit of olive oil in the well, sprinkle with paprika and parsley, and top with the reserved whole chick peas. Serve with pita wedges, pita chips or crudités. Enjoy!
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Hummus
This is the best homemade hummus recipe — and it’s easy to whip up with very few ingredients.
Ingredients
- 2 (15½ oz.) cans chickpeas
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, from 2 lemons
- ¼ cup sesame tahini, well stirred (preferably Joyva Sesame Tahini)
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- Heaping ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley, for serving (optional)
- Paprika, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Reserving the liquid from the cans, drain the chickpeas in a colander (no need to rinse them). Set a few chickpeas aside for garnishing the hummus.
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with metal blade, combine the chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, olive oil, and ⅓ cup of the reserved canning liquid. Process for several minutes until smooth and creamy. The hummus should hold its shape when you drag a spoon through it; add more liquid and process again if it seems too thick. Taste and add adjust seasoning, if necessary.
- Transfer the hummus to a serving bowl. Use the back of a spoon to swirl a shallow well in the center. Drizzle a little olive oil in the well; sprinkle with parsley and paprika, then garnish with the reserved chickpeas. Serve at room temperature with pita bread, pita chips or crudités.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: Hummus can be made and stored in a covered container in the refrigerator up to two days ahead of time. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1/4 cup
- Calories: 98
- Fat: 4 g
- Saturated fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Sugar: 0
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Sodium: 225 mg
- Cholesterol: 0
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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This is the best. Thank you again for another great recipe.
Wow, delicious! On par with restaurant quality. I don’t think it’s necessary to take the tahini out to whisk and place in another container– I placed the jar upside down in the cabinet (similar to peanut butter), and since it’s being blended in a food processor anyway, found skipping that step to be just fine!
Jenn,
Just made this. Best Hummus I have made. Thank you. David K
AGAIN!!! Another fabulous recipe and so easy to make. This is for company on XMas Eve and I know everyone will be impressed. You never disappoint. 😉
Another Delicious recipe!
This is a fabulous recipe. Seriously, who the heck wants to peel chickpeas? I cannot be bothered with cooking in baking soda, either. I followed the recipe except I accidentally used 1/2 cup of tahini. Also 2 lemons gave me more than a 1/4 cup and I just used it all. It was terrific. I’ll use this recipe from now on. It’s delicious. Thanks!!
Hi Jenn! I absolutely love your recipes, thank you so much. I am half Lebanese and a huge fan of your hummus. My 2 year old however is allergic to sesame (so sad). Do you have any suggestions as a sub for the tahini? I know it won’t be the same, but I’m interested in getting a professional’s recommendation. Thank-you!
So glad you like the recipes, Meredith! Though I haven’t tried it, I think you could replace the tahini with cashew or almond butter. Please LMK how it turns out if you use one of these alternatives!
Sadly, she’s also allergic to treenuts! 🙁
Oops — If she is able to eat sunflower seeds, you could try it with sunflower butter. If not, I’d just omit that ingredient. It won’t taste quite like hummus but should still be good.
Holy moley! I will never use another recipe again for hummus – smooth, fluffy, so flavourful and easy – thank you for once again providing an amazing recipe. 🙂 The tip on smoothing out the tahini was spot on as well.
Once again, Jenn, you have an amazing recipe. The BEST hummus I’ve ever had. And so easy. I can’t wait to impress all of my friends at our next get together.
Great recipe! I have made hummus recipes in the past that were good but this recipe is very good and easier to make! I did use dried chickpeas in the insta pot–50 min with natural release resulted in a nice soft chickpea. Love the balanced flavor—don’t hesitate to run the food processor for several minutes– great fluffy texture—thanks again Jenn!
I never thought hummus could be this easy and delicious at home. Wow, it was terrific. Hubby fought me to lick the bowl clean. Going to make sure I keep two cans of chick peas and tahini on hand at all times so I can make this when the mood strikes. Another one out of the park, Jenn! Thank you!
My husband is the hummus maker in our house so when he asked me to make it i froze…..Then I thought once upon a chef would surely have a recipe, so I found it and made it and YAY…It was wonderful….Creamy, so tasty and wonderful. I’ll never be afraid to make hummus again,,,,Thank You…Thank You…
Honestly, this is the best hummus I’ve ever made!
This is on frequent rotation at our house and gets five-star reviews wherever I make it. In fact, I brought it as an appetizer for Thanksgiving last week at a good friend’s house. Her husband raved about it nonstop while she was putting the finishing touches on dinner, then finally realized he had better distribute the kudos a little bit more – ahem – evenly lol. He quickly blurted out a sheepish “And dinner smells great, honey!” This recipe even gets two thumbs up from my Lebanese coworker, who has his own recipe and is notoriously picky about the authenticity of Middle Eastern recipes!
LOVE this recipe. Made this many times and all enjoy it ! Simple. Thank you