With just a few simple tricks, you really can make creamy smooth hummus at home and yes, we really do think it’s better than store-bought. Jump to the Easy Hummus Recipe or watch this quick video showing you how we make it.
In the past, if we were in the grocery store you could almost bet that one of us would throw a tub of hummus into our cart. That was until we figured out this simple hummus recipe that we honestly believe is better than anything we could have found at the store.
How To Make Smooth Hummus from Scratch
First, let us mention that this hummus recipe uses tahini. In the hummus-loving world, there are two camps. Some love the zest and deep flavor of tahini added, others could really go without it. We like it both ways, but for the best hummus rivaling our favorite brands in the store, we use this recipe and include tahini.
If you want to make hummus without tahini, simply leave it out. A chickpea purée without it is still quite delicious. Just add more olive oil. Another option is to use a natural unsweetened creamy peanut butter in its place.
You May Also Like This: We love our Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Recipe – it’s so simple and is just as smooth and creamy as this recipe.
So, what’s the secret?
It’s simple really. It’s the order in which you add ingredients to your food processor. Seriously, it’s that easy. Tahini and lemon juice go in first. Then before you add anything else, turn on the food processor and let it run for a minute or so.
Did you know you can make tahini at home? It’s very simple and lasts up to a month in your refrigerator. Here’s our recipe for making enough tahini for two batches of our hummus: Quick and Easy Tahini Recipe.
See the photos below? In the first one, we’re pouring tahini into a clean food processor. After a minute of being whirled, whipped and creamed in the food processor it turns into the paste you see on the right. It’s lighter in color and much thicker.
From here, you can add ingredients as you will, but make sure you stand back and let that food processor run — we’re talking a minute of running after adding each ingredient.
To Skin or Not to Skin The Chickpeas?
Another trick is to remove the skins of each chickpea. We’ve done it. For one can of chickpeas, you’re looking at about ten minutes. We really didn’t want to add the extra time to our hummus, but just to make sure, we tried it both ways — skinless chickpeas and chickpeas right out of the can.
In the photo below, the spoon of hummus on the left used skinless chickpeas. The right came from chickpeas straight out the can.
You can see, even from this photo that the skinless chickpeas made for a slightly smoother hummus, but in our opinion it really wasn’t enough of a difference to warrant ten minutes of skinning chickpeas.
You can use canned or home-cooked chickpeas for this recipe. To see how we cook dried chickpeas, see our simple tutorial here. We have included three methods including how to do it in a slow cooker.
Did you enjoy our easy hummus recipe? Might we suggest you take a look at more of our easy appetizer recipes. Or, take a peek at some of our favorite and easy snack recipes:
- These Spicy Maple Bacon Wrapped Shrimp are divine — so easy to make and they fly off the plate!
- Lightly Roasted Tomatoes with Ricotta and Mint is perfect to serve a crowd. All you need is a big plate of bread so everyone can dig in.
- Try our Easy Hummus Recipe with Spiced Beef
- If you’re serving many, these adorable Chili Lime Shrimp Cups use wonton wrappers to make the cups. They are always a hit!
- Or, try making this Dreamy Tahini Sauce which can be used on just about anything — salads, vegetables, meats, falafel and much more!
Recipe updated, originally posted October 2012. Since posting this in 2012, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear and added a quick recipe video. – Adam and Joanne
Easy Hummus Recipe – Better Than Store-bought
- PREP
Homemade hummus is very easy to make and it tastes much better than anything you can buy at the store. If you don’t have any tahini, a paste made from sesame seeds, you can try making it yourself (see our Easy Homemade Tahini Recipe) or leave it out. A chickpea purée without it is still quite delicious. Just add more olive oil. Another option is to use a natural unsweetened creamy peanut butter in its place. We love serving this with flatbread — here’s our easy flatbread recipe from scratch.
You Will Need
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas or 1 1/2 cups (250 grams) cooked chickpeas
1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice (1 large lemon)
1/4 cup (60 ml) well-stirred tahini, see our homemade tahini recipe
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt to taste
2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 ml) water
Dash ground paprika, for serving
Directions
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the tahini and lemon juice and process for 1 minute, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then process for 30 seconds more. This extra time helps “whip” or “cream” the tahini, making the hummus smooth and creamy.
Add the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin, and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the whipped tahini and lemon juice. Process for 30 seconds, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then process another 30 seconds or until well blended.
Open, drain, and rinse the chickpeas. Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor and process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl, then add remaining chickpeas and process until thick and quite smooth; 1 to 2 minutes.
Most likely the hummus will be too thick or still have tiny bits of chickpea. To fix this, with the food processor turned on, slowly add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water until you reach the perfect consistency.
Taste for salt and adjust as needed. Serve hummus with a drizzle of olive oil and dash of paprika. Store homemade hummus in an airtight container and refrigerate up to one week.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- How to Cook Chickpeas: You can use canned or home-cooked chickpeas for this recipe. To see how we cook dried chickpeas, see our simple tutorial here. We have included three methods including how to do it in a slow cooker.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA Supertracker recipe calculator to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
So easy to make. Smooth and wonderful!
Thanks for the recipe So easy and delicious!
Can’t wait to make this! Looks to be a keeper
I had to join the ranks & leave a positive review. This is exactly the hummus I was looking for! (Not an excessive amount of oil/tahini.) The steps as written really make this smooth, creamy, and delicious. I was even able to make this in a crappy 1 cup food processor in a couple of batches. Can’t wait to make again-thanks so much!
Great Recipe! To serve the Hummus, try olive oil and a dash of Aleppo pepper and cumin. That’s the traditional way, but it’s not a big difference.
Made this and it was delicious! Very good recipe. Tip: if you decide to make this and you haven’t soaked the chickpeas overnight you can do what I did and that is to put a teaspoon of baking soda in the water with the chickpeas and let them cook for ~30min. Then rinse the chickpeas, you will see that the skin comes off. And let them cook a little more in clean water till ready, another 20min or so and they will be ready for the hummus within the hour :). Cooking with baking soda works for any dried beans, it wil make them cook faster but always remember to rinse and cook them back in clean water. That way you don’t taste or smell the baking soda in your dish!
Delicious and so easy to make! I added a little less than 1/2 tsp. salt at the very end to taste. We LOVE it!
I have to say that this recipe is the only one I ever bother even making. It’s so simple yet taste so Incredibly, professionally made. Especially with the video to show you the procedure. I put lots of extra garlic in it more than what they say to make it spicier. I also add a bit more cumin. The higher quality cumin. Get it from the specialty spice stores. Trust me. Buying your spices, toasting and grinding them fresh, is worth the time and effort. If your a foodie, then you’ll go run to your spice rack when you’re finished reading this and contemplate, do you want to have good food or do you want to have incredible food. With as few ingredients in this recipe as there are using the finer quality, will definitely make you smile when you’re eating it. Don’t Forget to top it with a good olive oil. I happen to infuse my own oil with garlic and herbs you can make bottles of it and give them as gifts for the holidays, everybody loves cooking with it. It turns out smooth, spicey and perfect every time. My son will knock off the whole batch. He’s a 6ft tall 17 year old that can’t seem to get enough of it. As a matter fact I’m making it right now. Bon appétit!!!
The five stars rating is well deserved. Clear and simple instructions and very smooth product. I have been buying hummus from Costco with my monthly shop for as long as I have had a membership but now I have just purchased a flat of canned chick peas instead :-). I have Tahini from my local grocery store but also purchased some sesame seed to see if I can go all the way homemade on the next batch.
I see you also have baba ganoush recipe. Will be doing that too!
Alan
Second time making this recipe. Unbelievably smooth and delicious! I like to add a little more garlic and lemon- want to try adding different flavors next.