Best Homemade Hummus Recipe

This is the best homemade hummus recipe!  Hummus is a Middle Eastern dip made from mashed chickpeas blended with lemon juice, tahini, and garlic.

 I stopped buying hummus from the grocery stores. I didn’t love the taste which was weird because I liked it when I ordered it from a restaurant.  So I decided I  must try to make it at home.  I figured the store-bought hummus had some preservatives or ingredients that made it taste kind of blah.  Recipe testing began and I believe that the recipe I came up with is the best hummus recipe.  It only calls for a handful of ingredients, you can make it in under 10 minutes and its smooth texture combined with crunchy pita chips will have you hovering over the bowl until it’s gone!  

Hummus is a great snack served with pita bread, pita chips, or crunchy veggies.   I also like to spread the creamy hummus as a base for a sandwich or wrap.  

The simple ingredients you need for this classic recipe are canned chickpeas, fresh lemon juice, tahini, fresh garlic, cumin, salt & pepper, and olive oil. I recommend a high-powered blender, but my Ninja works just fine.  You could also use a food processor.  So grab all the ingredients the next time you’re at the grocery store and whip up a batch.  You won’t be disappointed.  The first time you make it and taste it you will ask yourself why did I ever buy this from the store?  

​Ingredients to make this easy hummus recipe:

Chickpeas or Garbanzo Beans– 1 can of chickpeas.  Drained and rinsed.  You do not need to remove the chickpea skins.  I don’t feel like it makes a huge difference in the end. 

Fresh lemon juice– 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice.  Please only use fresh lemon juice.  

Tahini– 1/4 cup tahini.  Which is made from toasted ground sesame seeds.  It’s like a sesame paste.  It has kind of a nutty flavor and makes this an authentic hummus recipe. I recommend buying the best tahini you can afford.  The cheap stuff is fine, but the higher the quality the better the flavor.  

Fresh garlic cloves– 1-2 cloves of fresh garlic. I like only using 1 clove of garlic because raw garlic has a much stronger taste than when it’s cooked.  Too much garlic can over power the flavor of the hummus. 

Olive Oil–  2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, plus a drizzle of olive oil over the top once hummus is in the bowl for serving. 

Spices– 1/2 teaspoon of cumin and 1/2 tsp kosher salt.

Cold water- 2-3 tablespoons of ice water as needed to smooth hummus out. 

For garnish– sprinkle of paprika over the top of the hummus for color.  Chopped Kalamata olives, fresh parsley and pine nuts are a great topping to add before serving.

How to make homemade hummus:

To begin with you need to open, drain, and rinse the chickpeas.  Set aside until ready to blend.  Next, add the whole peeled garlic cloves to the blender or bowl of a food processor.  Blend until garlic is minced.  Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender.  Add the tahini and lemon juice and blend for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides again and blend for another 30 seconds.  Now add the cumin, olive oil, and salt.  Blend for another 30 seconds, scrape down the sides and blend for another 30 seconds.  

Add the chick peas & finish with cold water

Add 1/2 the rinsed chickpeas and blend for 1 minute.  Finally add the rest of the chickpeas and blend for an additional 2 minutes until thick and smooth.  To achieve the creamiest hummus I think it is a good idea to add cold water to the mixture while it’s blending.  So remove the center cap of the blender and add 1 tablespoon at a time of very cold water.  I usually add 2-3 tablespoons of water.  Ice cubes are a great way to get the water really cold. 

Serve & eat

Once the hummus has reached the creamy texture you desire transfer the mixture to a bowl.  Using a spoon go back and forth across the top to create a swirl design.  Next, pour a little bit of extra-virgin olive oil over the top and a dash of paprika for color.  Serve with pita chips.  If I am serving a crowd I like to warm up store bought pita chips in the oven just before serving.  Added garnishes like, chopped olives or parsley add great color and texture.  A few pine nuts sprinkled over the top are also delicious. 

Leftovers

Any extra hummus should be stored in an airtight container and will keep in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days.  

Do you really need to blend for the specified times?

The short answer is yes!  I have found to get the best results it matters how long you blend each ingredient.  I don’t know why this is but I have tried tossing all the ingredients at once at it wasn’t as creamy and even a little grainy.  So then I slowed down, did a couple ingredients at a time and I found the final outcome was much closer to the restaurant quality I liked.  

MORE RECIPES TO TRY!

Homemade Guacamole

Homemade Ranch Dressing

Sheet Pan Quesadilla