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This Easy Hummus recipe is the best snack, dip, or spread! It’s made with just a few simple ingredients, is incredibly flavorful, and comes together in a matter of minutes!
All my best hummus homemade tips and tricks can be found below!
The Best Hummus Recipe
If you’ve never made your own hummus, then I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you’ve totally been missing out. It may seem easy to grab it in the store, but often the ingredients aren’t so simple, and good hummus can be expensive for the size! It really just doesn’t compare to some homemade hummus!
And this is just the best hummus recipe! This recipe is incredibly quick (I’m talking five minutes to whip up, post the boiling of the canned chickpeas), and made with the simplest of ingredients you probably already have in your refrigerator or pantry.
Hummus Ingredients
This easy hummus recipe is made with super simple ingredients that come together to form the most flavorful dip. Scroll down for the full recipe, but in short, here’s what you’ll need:
- Chickpeas: Also known as garbanzo beans are blended to create a creamy base for the hummus. Obviously, the star of the show here, though see below for a bean-free option!
- Lemon Juice: Fresh always! While sometimes you can get away with store-bought lemon juice, in a homemade hummus you really want fresh. Plus, this adds a bright, tangy flavor, and cuts the raw garlic flavor.
- Tahini: Adds smoothness to the texture, tons of flavor, along with bonus: a wide variety of vitamins and minerals!
- Garlic: use fresh garlic for the best flavor! But see my note on garlic below!
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: rounds out the brighter, tangier flavors from the lemon and garlic. Plus extra for a drizzle on top, for good measure!
- Salt: More to taste, of course!
- Cold Water: added as needed to thin the hummus for the perfect texture.
- Garnishes: I like to top mine off with an extra drizzle of good olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika for a pop, but see more ideas below.
Okay, First Of All, What is Hummus?
Hummus is a Middle Eastern dip or spread that’s made up of blended up chickpeas, lemon, tahini, oil, and traditionally with garlic, and spices. It’s so simple to make and a great source of plant-based protein. It’s vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, and incredibly delicious!
How to Make Hummus
This easy hummus recipe could not be simpler!
- First… Boil the canned chickpeas! If you’re using canned (hello, quick and easy) you don’t want to skip this step)!
- Next up: Combine garlic, lemon juice, and salt in your food processor. The lemon helps take the bite out of the garlic!
- Now combine: To your food processor, add tahini and cold water, mix, and then lastly, the chickpeas and olive oil.
- Blend, blend, blend: Process until smooth, taste and adjust your salt and lemon amounts as desired!
- Serve and devour: Create waves with a spoon and top as desired! Serve with crackers and veggies or use as a condiment, and enjoy!
Tips
- Boil Canned Chickpeas. If using canned chickpeas, give them a fast 20-minute boil in a pot of water! This will help soften them some more and get that super creamy texture more consistent with that of hummus made with dried beans.
- Try peeling them. Let me start by saying, I do not think you need to do this! But, while this is a bit annoying, and in my opinion, not fully needed, it does make slightly creamier hummus.
- Garlic is always the best (in any recipe!), but don’t overdo it! It’s raw so the flavor will build. I like using one garlic clove. Start small! You can always add more, right?
- Add cold water. As needed. We start with a little, and add more as needed until it’s smooth and creamy, as desired!
- Use good quality tahini! As with anything, quality matters, and that holds true with your tahini!
- Play with the flavor! Now you have your base recipe, so it’s easy and fun to season hummus. I love to follow this base recipe, then play around with seasonings to create fun hummus flavors. Pesto mixed in, why not?
Hummus Recipe FAQ’s
Canned vs Dry Beans
Here’s the deal: you can go either way, but let’s chat about it quick.
Let me start by saying, dried chickpeas have more natural flavor because they aren’t soaked in preservatives. They’re also more economical so you get more bang for your buck.
However… Soaking them overnight to use them in hummus definitely requires some planning ahead and honestly, 9 times out of 10, I don’t have the time or remember. Don’t worry! With our quick boil tip, you’ll have creamy hummus from canned chickpeas!
Canned chickpeas are already cooked and mostly ready to go.
It’s up to you to decide what works best for you! Don’t worry, though. No matter what you use, the hummus will be delicious!
Do I Need to Peel the Chickpeas?
Not necessarily, but peeling them does result in extra creamy and fluffy hummus. If you have the time, go for it. I have found I get great results just by boiling the can of chickpeas!
Do I Have to Use Tahini?
Well… yes. If you want to make the real dip using an authentic hummus recipe, you should definitely not substitute anything else for tahini. It’s one of the main ingredients!
However, if you want to turn your chickpeas into a dip but you don’t have tahini, you can get a similar result in consistency, but not in flavor, by using a nut butter such as cashew, almond, or Brazil nut butter. You can also use Greek yogurt.
Keep in mind that each will 100% give you a different flavor profile. So basically, In the absence of tahini, you can create a chickpea dip, not necessarily hummus.
Can’t Tolerate Legumes?
I have a bean-free paleo-friendly hummus recipe, too!
Have Bitter Hummus?
Likely a result of either too much tahini, too much garlic, or too much lemon juice, so start with the quantities listed here!
Homemade Hummus Variations and Toppings
My go-to: I always take a spoon and create nice dips and swooshes, then drizzle in olive oil and sprinkles of paprika!
While this might just be the best classic hummus recipe as-is, there are plenty of ways you can play around with it! Here are a few mix-in/variation ideas:
Toppings & Variations
- Roasted red pepper. Add a handful of diced and roasted red pepper when blending and on top!
- Olives. Give it a salty twist with chopped black olives, green olives, or Kalamata olives.
- Cheese. A sprinkle of feta is a great addition to hummus. Goat cheese would also be delicious.
- Roasted garlic. This hummus recipe already calls for garlic, but you can give it another layer of flavor by roasting the garlic first. Yum!
- Top with other spices. Like everything bagel seasoning or a za-atar blend.
Fun Hummus Recipes I Love Serving
- Southwestern Hummus Dip
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Hummus Dip
- Cauliflower Hummus
- Chocolate Hummus Dip
- Buffalo Chicken Baked Hummus Dip
What to Eat with Hummus
There are plenty of ways you can serve hummus. Here are some ideas:
- As a dip.
- Serve it in a bowl next to fresh, sliced veggies like bell peppers, carrots, broccoli, or cauliflower and/or with pita bread, crackers, toasted bread, or gluten-free crackers. Think of a charcuterie spread, but with hummus as the star of the show!
- On a sandwich or toast.
- Slather it onto a plain toasted bread, as a condiment for any sandwich, or serve it on Everything Bagel Hummus Breakfast Toast or a homemade lettuce wrap sandwich.
- With salad.
- Serve it up with my chopped Greek salad
- Everyday chopped salad
- Spread onto salad roll-ups.
- Other Ideas:
- Mixed into deviled eggs
- Along side chicken kebabs
- With some homemade falafel
How Long Does Homemade Hummus Last?
This homemade hummus recipe will last in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To enjoy again, serve straight from the fridge!
Can you freeze hummus?
You can. However, you should keep in mind that the texture of hummus when it’s frozen and thawed will change. It’s definitely best fresh and honestly, it’s easy to make so can I say just make it fresh?
To freeze, store in a freezer-safe container for up to 4 months. I recommend freezing with a drizzle of olive oil on top to help preserve the moisture. When you’re ready to serve the hummus again, simply thaw it in the fridge, stir it up, and serve.
More Easy Dip Recipes
Watch The Video
Quick & Easy Hummus Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 15- ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed (or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas)
- 1 lemon juiced (about 1/4 cup)
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt more to taste
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/3 cup tahini
- 2 to 3 tablespoons cold water see note
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil more for serving
- Optional: Drizzle of olive oil and a dash of paprika for serving
Instructions
- Place the drained chickpeas in a medium-sized pot. Cover the chickpeas with plenty of water, then over high-heat, bring to a boil and continue to boil for 20 minutes until chickpeas are soft and the skins are falling off. Drain the chickpeas and set aside (you do not need to peel them).
- While that's boiling combine lemon juice, garlic and salt in your food processor, and process until the garlic is finely chopped, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add in the tahini blend until the mixture is creamy. As needed, stop and scrape down tahini that has stuck to the sides and bottom. While blending, slowly add in 2 tablespoons ice water and blend until creamy and pale in color.
- Add in your chickpeas and blend until creamy. While blending them, pour in your olive oil. Blend for 2-3 minutes, or until hummus is creamy. If it's not getting super creamy, add one more tablespoon of the ice water, then more as needed until creamy!
- Taste, and adjust as salt and lemon as desired.
- Pour the hummus into a bowl and create dips in the top with a spoon. Top with garnishes (I like olive oil and paprika) and enjoy!
Notes
- Add more water as needed until creamy! Go slow to avoid too water-y.
- Store leftover hummus in an air-tight container for 5 days.
- If using canned chickpeas, give them a fast 20-minute boil in a pot of water! This will help soften them some more and get that super creamy texture more consistent with that of hummus made with dried beans.
- Garlic is always the best (in any recipe!), but don't overdo it! It's raw so the flavor will build. I like using one garlic clove. Start small! You can always add more, right?
