Homemade Hummus Recipe - Maureen Abood (2024)

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The best homemade hummus recipe you can make or eat is here! Follow my simple recipe for how to make smooth, excellent homemade hummus using just a few ingredients and tips to get there.

The best homemade hummus recipes are easy, with just a few simple ingredients. But to get truly great, creamy, smooth hummus takes a little something extra in the treatment of the chickpeas.

Hummus is an essential Middle Eastern dish that is part of “mezze” or small plates for appetizers or noshing. Once you make my easy hummus recipe, the store-bought versions will become a thing of the past. Or at least a less frequent appearance!

Keep in mind that authentic hummus always includes chickpeas. “Hummus” is the Arabic word for “chickpeas,” so chickpeas are the most important ingredient. Whenever hummus does not include chickpeas, it may be a delicious dip, but it is not authentic hummus!

Read on for all of the tips and info you need, and watch my quick video tutorial:

Hummus Ingredients

Chickpeas. You can use canned or dry chickpeas. Canned chickpeas should be drained and rinsed, while dry chickpeas must be soaked overnight before they’re drained and simmered for a couple of hours until tender. The key to excellent hummus is to peel the chickpeas! You can also substitute chickpeas with cannellini beans or black beans.

Tahini. Use high-quality tahini to avoid bitter hummus. I recommend Soom, Al Wadi, and Lebanon Valley Tahini. Shake the jar occasionally to keep it from separating. Your tahini will last more than a year in the pantry.

Fresh Lemon Juice. It’s important to use freshly squeezed lemon juice. Instead of lemon juice, use a small amount of rice vinegar, but not as much vinegar as lemon juice.

Garlic Cloves. Fresh, hard heads of garlic are best. Squeeze the head and watch for any hollow or soft sections. If it’s sprouting, cut the clove in half lengthwise and pull the green sprout out to avoid raw garlic burn. Try granulated garlic or roasted garlic instead of fresh garlic.

Chickpea Cooking Liquid or Water. Hummus needs some loosening up with a bit of liquid. If you are cooking chickpeas from dry, save some of the chickpea cooking liquid. If your chickpeas are canned, some of the canned liquid (aquafaba) works well. Water is also a fine option, though it won’t add the same body and flavor as the chickpea liquid. Either should be cold and add it sparingly so your hummus is thick enough to make a well in the center with the back of a spoon.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil. To drizzle over the top of the hummus, not blend into the mix. This keeps it light and easy. We love Lebanese Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Kosher Salt. A dash or two of salt is of course a must; add a little, then taste, and then add more if needed.

Sumac Spice or paprika sprinkled on top makes an authentic look with bright flavor. Other garnishes that adore hummus are sesame seeds, ground cumin, and fresh parsley.

How to make Hummus

Step 1: Prepare the Chickpeas. Start with canned or dry chickpeas. For canned, drain and rinse. For dry, soak overnight, then drain and simmer in lots of water for a couple of hours until tender. Warm the chickpeas in a sauté pan with a tablespoon of baking soda. Then immerse the chickpeas in a huge bowl of water in the sink. Agitate, popping the skins off every chickpea you can grab. Pour off the water with the skins. Repeat, and repeat. Know too that there’s another option here, what I call Smooth Hummus Chickpeas in my shop! The skins are off, so the chickpea need only be simmered until tender for about 90 minutes.

Step 2: Process the ingredients. Add the chickpeas and garlic to a food processor, and process them until they are pulverized. Although a blender would work in a pinch, the blades on a food processor are wide and make for a smooth and lush hummus. The blender requires more stopping and scraping down as you go, to keep everything near the blades.

Step 3: Add seasoning and liquids. Add the salt, lemon juice, tahini, and a touch of cold cooking liquid or cold water. Add the liquid slowly so as not to make it too thin.

Step 4: Stop and scrape it all down. Stop the food processor frequently and scrape down the sides of the bowl. You’ll get any little pieces of chickpea or garlic blended in this way. If you wait until the end to scrape down the bowl, your gorgeous smooth texture will get grainy from the pieces that weren’t blended in earlier.

Step 5: Adjust. Taste and see if you’d like it thinner or lighter. If so, slowly add cold cooking liquid or water, a tablespoon at a time until the texture is to your liking. Make sure it is thick enough to spoon up and hold its shape.

You can serve immediately with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of sumac, or top it with some spicy red peppers.

Storing Leftovers

Storing: Put any leftovers into an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. To serve, bring to room temperature and stir or whisk with a touch of lemon juice or water, if needed, to help smooth it out.

Hummus is not suitable for freezing because it can dry out and generally lose its texture. It also doesn’t maintain fresh flavor. I highly recommend making a fresh batch and storing it in the fridge.

FAQ and Tips for Making the Best Hummus

More hummus recipes to try

If you love the fresh flavors of mint and basil, you have to try my fresh herb hummus. The green color of the herbs is also beautiful!

My avocado hummus recipe is another pretty green one. Between the peeled chickpeas and the creamy avocado, the texture is magical.

Red beet hummus is another colorful one. The beets add a beautiful pink hue. You can use roasted, canned, jarred, or even pickled beets for this recipe.

If you need more hummus recommendations, here’s a list of all of my favorite Lebanese hummus recipes.

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