Easy Hummus (Better than Store-Bought)
- PREP 10min
- TOTAL 10min
Homemade hummus is easy to make and tastes much better than anything you can buy at the store. You will need tahini, a paste made from sesame seeds. Buy it or make it yourself — here’s our recipe for tahini. To leave it out, add more olive oil.
We love serving hummus with flatbread. Try our easy flatbread, sesame garlic flatbread, or this homemade pita recipe (coming soon).
You Will Need
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas or 1 ½ cups (250 grams) cooked chickpeas
1/4 cup (60ml) fresh lemon juice, 1 large lemon
1/4 cup (60ml) well-stirred tahini, see our homemade tahini recipe
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons (30ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt to taste
2 to 3 tablespoons (45ml) water or aquafaba, see notes
Dash ground paprika, sumac, or Za’atar 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, and then process for another 30 seconds or until well blended.
Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor and process for 1 minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add the remaining chickpeas and process them until thick and relatively smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.
The hummus will likely be too thick and still have tiny bits of chickpea. To fix this, slowly add 2 to 3 tablespoons of cold water or aquafaba with the food processor turned on until you reach the perfect consistency.
Taste and adjust as needed. Serve hummus with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika, sumac, or Za’atar.
Store homemade hummus in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to one week. Freeze, covered with a thin layer of olive oil, for up to one month.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- How to cook dried chickpeas: 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 in the slow cooker.
- If you like garlicky hummus, increase the garlic by a clove or use roasted garlic.
- Aquafaba is the starchy liquid in a can of beans (or the bean cooking liquid). You can use this instead of water in the last step of the recipe. Before using, taste it to see how salty it is. If it is salty, hold some of the salt in the ingredient list back, and then season to taste after adding the aquafaba.
- Tahini & lemon juice are not creaming: Depending on your food processor, the blade might not come into contact with the tahini and lemon juice. You need to increase the amount of liquid in the food processor, so add the olive oil. If they still do not cream, add a tablespoon of cold water.
- Blender: A food processor is best for making hummus, but a high-powered blender will work. Be sure to scrape the sides down a few extra times as you make it.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database calculator to calculate approximate values.