homemade hummus recipe

Homemade hummus recipe from scratch

Hummus is soft, creamy and silky spread made of chickpeas and sesame. It has been a part of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine for centuries. Hummus originates from the Middle East, more precisely from the Levant region. Actually the word “hummus” means “chickpea” in Arabic. Thanks to its main ingredient- chickpeas- hummus is very rich in protein and fibre. It is a very nutritious dish with a lot of health benefits. If you’ve got bored with store bought hummus, or you simply want to try to make your own hummus, you are not the only one. After testing a lot of different hummus homemade recipes, I have found my perfect combination. Now every time I make hummus with this authentic recipe it turns out fluffy and creamy, a bit tangy because of tahini sauce but with some notes of garlic and lemon.

I prefer to eat hummus with pita bread but you can eat it with other types of breads or even veggies. Hummus is easy to make and even easier to eat. You can serve it as a lunch or dinner appetizer or side dish, and also eat it as an afternoon snack.

The difference between hummus homemade and store bought

Probably every country in the Middle East and North Africa has its own version of hummus and the ratio of ingredients can vary. Also, there are a lot of different brands of hummus you can buy at the stores that offer a wide range of hummus flavors. With so many different spices and additional ingredients everyone can find his/her favorite hummus flavor.  

The difference between the hummus you can buy at the store and homemade hummus is that the one you buy at the store is of perfect texture. But homemade hummus can have a much better flavor and you can always make it smoother after some practice, right?

Tips for making the best hummus

Before I share with you my homemade hummus recipe, let’s see what you should have in mind when preparing hummus at home:

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How to cook chickpeas

The choice of chickpeas is very important but even more important is the cooking method. Even though the quicker method is to use canned chickpeas, it is always better to use dried chickpeas. Hummus tastes better and its texture is more silky. If you organize well, you don’t need to spend hours in the kitchen to cook dried chickpeas.

A night before you plan to make hummus, soak dried chickpeas in cold water for 12 to 24 hours. Next day, just change the water and cook chickpeas with baking soda on the stovetop for one or two hours.

Thanks to baking soda, chickpeas will get softer and easier to peel so it will save you a lot of time. If you have time to cook chickpeas for two hours, you will see how the skins will fall apart and you will just need to remove them. Hummus will be smoother because it won’t have the skins of the chickpeas. Plus, baking soda reduces bloating and gases.

If you don’t have time to soak chickpeas overnight or simply forgot to do that, you can cook them the same day by using this baking soda trick and the skins of the chickpeas will fall off easier. I run an experiment- one portion of chickpeas was soaked overnight and then cooked with baking soda. Other was just cooked with baking soda. These are the results:

I didn’t have to peel chickpeas, the skins fall apart completely, so I only had to remove the skins. It was a bit easier to remove the skins from the chickpeas that didn’t stay overnight, because there were firmer. It took me around 10 minutes to remove the skins.

The batch of hummus I made with overnight chickpeas was creamier and smoother. But on the other hand, the other batch of hummus had that authentic rough texture. I had to blend that other batch of hummus a few minutes longer than the first batch.

chickpeas cooking without overnight resting
chickpeas cooked 2 hours, no overnight resting
chickpeas cooked for 2 hours after overnight resting
chickpeas cooked for 2 hours after overnight resting

Don’t use instant pot or pressure cooker to cook chickpeas, you won’t be satisfied with the results.

Fresh Chickpeas vs Canned Chickpeas

If you don’t have time to cook chickpeas you can use canned ones, that is definitely quicker. Some people say that there is no big difference, but that depends on your personal taste and expectations. I personally don’t like canned food and would rather choose fresh. What is the point of making hummus homemade when you will use an instant solution? In that case, I would just buy hummus at the store.

Tahini with cold water makes hummus fluffy

Tahini sauce is equally important as the way you cook and prepare chickpeas. You need to buy tahini of good quality and you shouldn’t skimp on it. The better tahini you use the tastier hummus you will get. You can also make tahini at home.

An authentic hummus recipe requires tahini but if you don’t like tahini, you should know that you can make hummus without tahini. Check out my instructions below for hummus without tahini.

It is essential to use cold water because it gives hummus that fluffy texture and light color. Mix ice cold water with tahini before you blend it into chickpeas paste.

Lemon kills garlic harshness but keeps the flavor

The way you mince garlic is also very important. The thing is, if you do it wrong your hummus may have that harsh garlic flavor. Even if you like garlic so much, it shouldn’t be the first predominant ingredient in hummus. The secret is in lemon juice. Squeeze the fresh lemon and mix it with garlic. A few minutes will be enough for lemon to neutralize garlic perfectly.

Should You Make Hummus in a Food Processor or Blender?

A blender is definitely a better choice for preparing hummus than a food processor. It is so strong that it can remove the skins of the chickpeas. So if you want to use canned chickpeas, you should definitely do it in a blender. In case you use a food processor, than you should soak chickpeas overnight or at least cook them with baking soda. Even if you use dried chickpeas like me, you can use a blender. You may not remove the skins of all the chickpeas, so the blender will do the job for you.

Israeli style hummus or Lebanese hummus recipe

The main difference between Isreali style hummus and Lebanese hummus is the way you use garlic. According to chef Solomonov, you should put the cloves of one unpeeled garlic in a blender,  add fresh lemon and some salt. Once you blend that mixture you should leave it to rest for 10 minutes. I already explained how lemon kills the garlic harshness.

In most Lebanese hummus recipes, you can see they use peeled, chopped garlic and it is not necessarily mixed with lemon. Most recipes advise that you just put all the ingredients into the blender.

I wasn’t brave enough to put unpeeled garlic so I chose the Lebanese version for that. But, I liked how Isreali style hummus requires that you combine garlic with lemon first, then you mix it with tahini and water, some salt and cumin and finally add it to pureed chickpeas. So I used that trick in my hummus recipe.  

Hummus ingredients

Chickpeas – There are four different ways to prepare chickpeas (dried or canned):

  1. Soak dried chickpeas overnight and cook them with baking soda the other day.
  2. Cook dried chickpeas with baking soda for about an hour and a half or until the skins start to fall apart.
  3. Buy canned chickpeas but make sure they are of good quality. Cook them for about 20 minutes with baking soda or soak them in water with baking soda.
  4. Use canned chickpeas straight without cooking.

Since I wanted to help you make hummus that is homemade from scratch, I chose dried chickpeas.

Aquafaba–  It is chickpeas broth often used as an egg alternative. When you cook chickpeas with fresh water, they will release nutrients in the water like any other vegetable. You need that liquid for preparing hummus, when you blend chickpeas in a blender. If you forgot and toss that liquid, use water instead.

Tahini- I used homemade tahini for this recipe, but store bought tahini is equally good.

Ice cold water brings that fluffy moment in your hummus. Combine it with tahini first and then add it to chickpea puree. You can add more water in the end, if hummus texture is not creamy enough.

Garlic (fresh or roasted)- If you want to go for a gourmet hummus recipe, you can experiment and use roasted garlic instead of fresh. I prefer fresh garlic. Also, if you are looking for a garlic hummus recipe, you can add an extra clove of garlic.

Fresh lemon juice– Please don’t use bottled lemon juice, it’s uncomparable. Just squeeze one fresh lemon for the best results.

Olive oil– You can use other vegetable oils but if you can, use olive oil. It gives hummus that silky texture. If you like you can drizzle some olive oil on top.

Salt

Cumin (optional) – if you are looking for an authentic hummus recipe, add some cumin in it.

Authentic homemade hummus recipe

Ingredients:

  •     12 oz dried chickpeas (about 2 cups)
  •     1 tsp baking soda
  •    1 cup of chickpeas broth
  •     2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
  •     Fresh juice of 1 lemon
  •     1 1/2 tsp sea salt (or any other salt)
  •     1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
  •     1/3 cup tahini (add more if you like)
  •     ½  cup ice cold water
  •     2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

  1. Soak chickpeas overnight and cook them with baking soda next day for at least an hour or two. If you don’t have much time, just cook them straight ahead. Use fresh water and baking soda.
  2. While chickpeas are cooking, chop garlic and squeeze the lemon. Put chopped garlic and fresh lemon juice in a blender. Blend it for a minute or so. Leave it to rest for 5 minutes.
  3. Add tahini, salt, cumin and water. Blend it for a few minutes and pour it in a container so you can wash the blender.
  4. After you cook the chickpeas, pour them through a strainer and save 1 cup of chickpeas broth for later. Put chickpeas in fresh cold water.
    In that way, the skins of the chickpeas will appear on top so you can easily remove them.
  5. Transfer peeled chickpeas into a blender and add the broth. Blend everything nicely and add more broth if it is necessary. The mixture has to be smooth and thick.
  6. Add the tahini mixture you have already prepared. Blend everything at least five minutes. If your hummus is not creamy enough, blend it a few extra minutes.

Homemade hummus recipe easy

An authentic hummus recipe, combined Isralei and Lebanese style. Hummus turns out extra smooth and fluffy.
Prep Time25 mins
Cook Time2 hrs
Resting Time13 hrs
Course: Appetizer, dinner, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: Mediterranean, Middle Eastern
Keyword: chickpeas, hummus, tahini
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 166kcal

Ingredients

  • 12 oz dried chickpeas (about 2 cups)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup of chickpeas broth
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
  • Fresh juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 1/2 tsp sea salt (or any other salt)
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin (optional)
  • 1/3 cup tahini (add more if you like)
  • ½ cup ice cold water (divided in two)
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  • Soak chickpeas overnight and cook them with baking soda next day for at least an hour or two. If you don’t have much time, just cook them straight ahead. Use fresh water and baking soda.
  • While chickpeas are cooking, chop garlic and squeeze the lemon. Put chopped garlic and fresh lemon juice in a blender. Blend it for a minute or so. Leave it to rest for 5 minutes.
  • Add tahini, salt, cumin and water. Blend it for a few minutes and pour it in a container so you can wash the blender.
  • After you cook the chickpeas, pour them through a strainer and save 1 cup of chickpeas broth for later. Put chickpeas in fresh cold water. In that way, the skins of the chickpeas will appear on top so you could easily remove them.
  • Transfer peeled chickpeas into a blender and add the broth. Blend everything nicely and add more broth if it is necessary. The mixture has to be smooth and thick.
  • Add the tahini mixture you have already prepared. Blend everything at least five minutes. If your hummus is not creamy enough, blend it a few extra minutes.

Homemade hummus recipe without tahini

If you don’t like to eat tahini you can use peanut butter instead or leave it out completely. Hummus without tahini will still be soft and fluffy, but without tahini flavor. Other ingredients are the same and process is the same. Start by cooking chickpeas with baking soda, rinse them and put them in a blender. Add some liquid you got from cooking chickpeas, as much as it is necessary to make the chickpeas puree. Squeeze fresh lemon and combine it with fresh chopped garlic. Leave it to rest for a few minutes and add everything in the blender. Add some olive oil, cumin and salt. If hummus is not too fluffy, add some cold water. Blend at least 5 minutes.

How to garnish hummus

When your hummus is ready, you can leave it in the fridge for a few hours and then serve it at room temperature. Hummus usually tastes better than it looks, but if you garnish it with some of these ingredients, it will look rich and rustic.

  •     Drizzle of olive oil
  •     Sprinkle of paprika, chilli flakes or ground sumac
  •     Sesame seeds
  •     Chopped fresh parsley or basil
  •     A few grains of cooked chickpeas
  •     Roasted pine nuts
  •     Grilled red peppers

How to eat hummus

  • Dip toast, pita bread or any similar bread in it
  •  Use it as a pate for sandwiches or burgers.
  • Eat hummus with gyros, falafel or similar wraps.
  • Hummus can be an interesting salad dressing.
  • Put some hummus in deviled eggs.

Homemade hummus recipe no oil

If you want to prepare hummus without oil, the preparation process is the same as well as the ingredients. Instead of olive oil, just add more chickpeas broth (aquafaba) when you blend chickpeas. Also, when you blend lemon and garlic with tahini sauce, add more cold water if necessary. Once you mix everything together, blend it for at least 5 minutes and add more broth and lemon if you like.

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