Here's The Easy Way To Make Hummus At Home (2024)

For Bon Appetit, by Alex Beggs and Claire Saffitz.

Here's The Easy Way To Make Hummus At Home (1)

Alex Lau, Food Styling by Sue Li

If you’ve never made hummus at home, or tried and failed because why is this tahini I bought so bitter? Then today is the day that all changes. Senior food editor Claire Saffitz has the most basic, low-key hummus recipe and she’s here to show us how it’s done, one step at a time. You have a food processor, right?

Other things you’ll need: a can of chickpeas, ½ cup tahini (we like 365 brand, or Soom), 3 Tbsp. lemon juice (squeeze it fresh, you pioneer you!), 1 garlic clove (grated or mashed into a paste), ¾ teaspoon salt, 10 cranks freshly ground black pepper (or ¼ tsp), ¼ teaspoon ground cumin, and 2 Tbsp. water.

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Highly recommended: pita chips to “test” as you go.

Here's The Easy Way To Make Hummus At Home (2)

All of those go in the food processor.

Here's The Easy Way To Make Hummus At Home (3)

Alex Lau, Food Styling by Sue Li

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Let ‘er rip.

Alex Lau, Food Styling by Sue Li

To get that grocery-store-hummus-level of silkiness, pour 3 Tbsp. oil into the food processor slowly while it’s processing. Yes, while! In about a minute, the hummus will be light and creamy. Tip: you can’t overmix hummus, so be patient and stand there, thinking about things. It’s called mindfulness, and I’m pretty sure that only applies to hummus.

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Here's The Easy Way To Make Hummus At Home (5)

Alex Lau, Food Styling by Sue Li

Pita chip test. At this point, you might need to add more salt. Up to you! Then we like to serve it with za’atar, a Middle Eastern spice blend that usually has dried thyme, sumac, and sesame seeds. You’ll dig it (and use it on baked chickpeas and other snacks and yogurt dips). Drizzle a little more olive oil (the good stuff) on top, maybe a sprinkle of sesame seeds if you’re feeling fancy, or some favorite dried herbs, and definitely that flaky sea salt you keep in the special bowl.

Get the recipe: Classic Chickpea Hummus

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Here's The Easy Way To Make Hummus At Home (2024)

FAQs

How is hummus made from scratch? ›

Once you assemble your ingredients, you can make this recipe in one easy step! Just add the chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, water, garlic, and salt to a high-speed blender, and process until smooth. That's it! As you blend, add more water, as needed, to reach your desired consistency.

Is hummus made from chickpeas or garbanzo beans? ›

The base ingredient is of course garbanzo beans – also known as chickpeas, bengal grams, Egyptian peas, and ceci beans. While it derives much of its nutritional value and signature creamy texture from garbanzo beans, the other ingredients give hummus its unique and versatile flavor.

Is it better to make hummus with wet or dry chickpeas? ›

Dried chickpeas provide better flavor than canned. Overcooking the chickpeas in water with baking soda makes them easier to blend. Puréeing the chickpeas while they're still hot lets you use a blender instead of a food processor for smoother texture.

Why does hummus need tahini? ›

Does hummus need tahini? You bet! In fact, tahini is one of hummus' main ingredients, along with chickpeas and olive oil. That's why our favorite dip can be so rich and delicious—in hummus, tahini adds smoothness to the texture, as well as a wide variety of vitamins and minerals.

Why is my homemade hummus not creamy? ›

You might need more tahini, garlic, lemon and/or salt and very likely more chickpea water. Add a bit of each as you need, the recipe explains. "Blitz the hummus until very smooth, a few minutes at least. Don't worry about the hummus being too loose; it will thicken as it sits."

Is it worth making your own hummus? ›

Hummus is cheaper and more delicious when it's homemade—and you don't need a recipe (or chickpeas!) to make it. I've bought too many tubs of sub-par hummus and I've decided it's time to stop. Store-bought flavor and texture disappointments aside, the math in favor of making my own hummus is reason enough.

Why add baking soda to chickpeas for hummus? ›

Baking soda: Adding baking soda to the chickpeas helps make the legume easier to digest, softer, and makes them easy to peel. Don't skip this ingredient! Lemon juice: I never suggest using pre-bottled lemon juice, but I especially urge you not to in homemade hummus.

Why do you have to remove chickpea skins from hummus? ›

When we were developing our recipe for Restaurant-Style Hummus (see related content), we discovered that removing the tough skins from the garbanzo beans resulted in a far creamier end product.

Why boil chickpeas for hummus? ›

These wet chickpeas have been dried and then boiled already, so they are ready for making hummus. However, many stores offer them in dried form—and in that case, you do need to soak or cook chickpeas for hummus, in order to soften them enough for blending into hummus' signature creamy texture.

What is a good substitute for tahini in hummus? ›

Peanut Butter – We use peanut butter instead of tahini because it has a similar texture and nuttiness to it. Feel free to swap it out for almond butter, but note that you may need to add more liquid if it is on the denser side. Smooth peanut butter would be preferred, but chunky also works great!

What happens if you put too much tahini in hummus? ›

As I said earlier, tahini has a mildly bitter flavour, so if your hummus is bitter, you've most likely added too much tahini. Also make sure that the tahini you do have is hulled, as opposed to unhulled. Hulled tahini just means that the bitter husks on the outside of the sesame seed have been removed before blending.

What is authentic hummus made of? ›

Most everyone knows hummus. It's the quintessential Middle Eastern dip made by blending chickpeas with tahini, garlic, and citrus. I grew up on it, and I'm convinced that this simple beige dip is some of the best stuff on earth! Creamy, satisfying and packed with plant-based protein.

Is homemade hummus healthy for you? ›

Hummus is a great source of dietary fiber, which can improve digestive health. It provides nearly 2 g of dietary fiber per 2-tbsp (30-g) serving, which is about 6% of the DV for fiber ( 13 , 14 ). Thanks to its fiber content, hummus may help keep you regular.

Why does homemade hummus taste different? ›

By using freshly cooked chickpeas, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and top-notch tahini, you're guaranteed a hummus that bursts with flavor. On the other hand, store-bought hummus, while convenient, often lacks the same level of freshness.

How was hummus traditionally made? ›

hummus, paste originating in the Middle East that is traditionally made of pureed or mashed cooked chickpeas mixed with tahini—a toasted sesame condiment—and diced garlic, lemon juice, and salt.

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