Homemade Hummus

Our homemade hummus recipe is simple, classic, super smooth, and creamy. The secret to a great and easy hummus is simply great quality tahini and chickpeas and freshly squeezed lemon juice. It only takes 5 minutes to make, once you've tried our homemade hummus you won't go back to store-bought.

If you’ve ever shopped for hummus at the grocery store you know how many different brands and varieties there are. There are so many flavor combinations and options it’s a little overwhelming! Wanna know a secret, though? Hummus is actually really simple to make at home. We’re talking 5 minutes, a couple of ingredients, and just like that, you have the creamiest, dreamiest hummus ready for serving with your favorite pita, tacos, veggies, or crackers!

Watch Our Homemade Hummus Recipe Video

What is Hummus?

Hummus is a creamy Mediterranean dip made from chickpeas (garbanzo beans) pureed with tahini (sesame paste), lemon ( Freshly squeezed), salt, garlic (optional). That's it! The word Hummus also means chickpeas in Hebrew as well as Arabic. Eat hummus as a delicious dip with pita bread, crackers, or raw veggies such as carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, bell peppers, etc. Add it to wraps, tacos, sandwiches, flatbread and even pizza.

Secrets the Best Homemade Hummus

Once you have a homemade hummus process down, it’s super simple! There are a few tips to keep in mind for the best-tasting version. Here’s what we’ve learned after years of making our own hummus!

• Use good quality chickpeas. The best hummus recipe is made from dry chickpeas that have been soaked overnight and cooked on the stop or Instant Pot. You can make an excellent hummus with canned chickpeas. Our favorite canned chickpea brand for hummus is GOYA. After trying other brands GOYA chickpeas always yield the best results. We are not getting paid to say that ( in case you were wondeding) 😉
• Use great quality Tahini. Our favorite brands are Soom, Al Arzi, Mighty Sesame and 365 Brand. Some people complain that their homemade hummus tastes bitter, that's probably because they are using a poor-quality tahini.
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice: we can enphasize enjough how important it is to use freshly squeezed lemon juice when making hummus at home. Please, please forget about the bottled stuff!
• Aquafaba. Aquafaba is the water found in a can of chickpeas or the water remaining after cooking dried and soaked chickpeas. Add aquafaba or water to acheive the desired hummus consistency.
• Food Processor. If you are after a really smooth and creamy hummus then you must process all the hummus ingredients in the food processor for a few minutes until silky. Altenatively, you may use a mortar and pestle for a more rustic and chunkier hummus.

How to Plate Hummus

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Do You Need to Peel Chickpeas Before Making Hummus?

You may have noticed that some chefs and bloggers suggest peeling chickpeas before making hummus. We don't think it is necessary at all, plus who has time for that? I don't have a sous chef helping me in the kitchen, do you? You can make a really creamy and smooth hummus without having to remove the skins of the chickpeas. The secret to the creamiest hummus is simple, just process the chickpeas, tahini, and lemon for a few minutes in the food processor with a little aquafaba (water from the can of chickpeas) or water.

However, if you are inclined to peel or remove the skins of canned chickpeas, this is how to peel chickpeas:

• Rinse chickpeas
• Pat them dry
• Place chickpeas on a clean kitchen towel and gently rub them
• Most of the skins should come off, but few may remain and you will need to remove them manually one by one. Chickpeas have thin skin that can be easily peeled off.

Other Middle Eastern Food Recipes

• Fattoush Salad
• Watermelon Feta salad
• Tabbouleh (Tabouli) Salad
• Deconstructed Hummus
• Cheese Sambusek
• Maamoul
• Semolina borekas
• Knafeh

Other Hummus Recipes

• 5-Minute Hummus
• Roasted Beet Hummus
• Chocolate Hummus
• Hummus and Grilled Vegetable Pizza
• Red Pepper and Harissa Hummus
• Chipotle Hummus and Roasted VegetableTacos
• Cauliflower Hummus
• Warm Deconstructed Hummus
• Shawarma Mushroom Hummus Recipe

The Story Behind this Hummus Recipe

A few year back our parents came to visit us and we went food shopping. Our dad was, as he usually likes to do, browsing the aisles, looking at every shelf and every product. As we get to the refrigerated section, he stops and stares at an entire wall of humus containers. He picks up a roasted red pepper one, looks at it, makes a face, puts it down. Picks up a black bean one, does the same. A couple of minutes later, he looks at me and says: “Why do they call this hummus? This isn’t hummus”. Shakes his head, turns around and walks away.

Most of you probably think he was overreacting, right? Well, not really.

See, when it comes to food (especially food he grew up eating), my dad is a purist. He’s been making humus himself, by hand, since he was a kid. No fancy ingredients. Just chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, salt and a mortar and pestle. That’s it. Anything other than that, as far as he’s concerned, is not called humus.

So to stay true to our roots, we are sharing the traditional hummus recipe we grew up with. Unadulterated... minus the mortar and pestle!

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• Quinoa, Chickpea and Beet Burger
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This post was originally published on April 17, 2012. We have updated the post with new images and more useful information.