The Best Hummus
Learn how to make the best homemade hummus! It's ultra creamy, dreamy and light. This hummus recipe is easy to make, too—no need to peel your chickpeas!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
The best hummus is lusciously creamy, yet somehow light and fluffy. It’s beautifully smooth and swirled, and begging to be scooped up onto a wedge of pita bread. It’s nutty and tangy, thanks to the tahini, with notes of bright, fresh lemon and mellow garlic.
I encountered the most delicious hummus at Aladdin Cafe, a local Mediterranean restaurant. That hummus met all of the above characteristics, and I was hoping the owner might enlighten me with his techniques. When I asked, though, he replied, “It’s a secret,” with a sly smile and walked away.
I went home determined to learn how to make magnificently creamy hummus. First, I took the fancy flavorings out of my other hummus recipes to make plain hummus. It was dense, a little gritty, and harshly garlicky. I was so disappointed.
Next, I went to Google and opened up a million tabs to learn everything about hummus. You know me. Ten hummus attempts later, I’m ready to share all of my hummus tips and tricks with you. Get ready to make the best hummus of your life!
The internet at large raves that an Israeli chef named Michael Solomonov makes the very best hummus. It’s so good that Bon Appetit named his hummus their 2015 Dish of the Year. That’s some serious hummus.
Solomonov’s secret? He uses chickpeas that have been cooked until they’re so tender, they’re mushy.
He cooks his chickpeas with some baking soda, too. According to Bon Appetit, baking soda “raises the pH of the water and helps the little guys break down to a soft, pulpy mass… perfect for an ultra-smooth purée.”
Overcooked chickpeas seemed like a promising idea to me. You see, I once tried to make hummus with canned chickpeas that were oddly undercooked, and they made terrible hummus. No matter how long I blended the hummus, those undercooked chickpeas never blended into creamy oblivion.
Plus, baking soda helps break down the chickpea skins, which means you do not need to peel off the skins individually. Who has time for that?! I bet you don’t have time to soak your chickpeas overnight and cook them from scratch like Solomonov, either.
Here’s my time-saving solution: Just boil canned or leftover cooked chickpeas with baking soda for twenty minutes.
You can see the difference that baking soda makes in the photo below. See how the chickpeas on the right are popping open more? They are significantly softer in texture as well.
The chickpeas are ready to go after a quick rinse under cool running water, which rinses off the baking soda flavor and cools the chickpeas so your hummus doesn’t develop a weird outer film.
Are you as excited about this as I am? You can have this incredible hummus now-ish, not tomorrow! No chickpea peeling required.
I have a few more tips and techniques to making great hummus, so read on or scroll down for the full recipe and variations.
How to Make the Best Hummus
1) Mushy chickpeas
Cook canned or leftover cooked chickpeas according to step 1 below. This only adds 20 minutes to your hummus-making time, and it’s my number one tip for making perfect hummus at home.
Want to cook your chickpeas from scratch? You sure can—see the recipe notes.
Can you over-cook your chickpeas in an Instant Pot? I don’t recommend it—you’ll end up with a mess of chickpea mash clogging your vent and a puddle of chickpea cooking water surrounding your Instant Pot. I speak from experience.
2) Great tahini
All tahini is not created equally. When I was in Israel, Israelis’s spoke of tahini, or “t’hina,” with reverence. I learned that the best tahini comes from Ethiopia. Store-bought tahini in the U.S. varies widely in flavor, with some of them so bad that they’ve ruined my hummus.
My favorite brands of tahini? I had to try Solomonov’s favorite, Soom. I found it on Amazon (affiliate link) and I have to say that it is worth it. Second favorite? Trader Joe’s organic tahini, which is made from Ethiopian sesame seeds like Soom’s. Whole Foods 365 used to be my go-to, but I encountered a few bad jars that tasted so bad, I’m afraid to try again.
Don’t skimp on the tahini, either—you need to use 1/2 cup tahini per can of chickpeas for rich and irresistible hummus. I once toured an enormous hummus production facility and learned that they often reduce the cost of producing store-bought hummus by using less tahini. Sneaky!
3) Ice-cold water
Why do you always want to mix ice-cold water with tahini? This is another trick that I learned on my trip. I can’t find a scientific explanation, but it seems to help make the hummus light and fluffy, and lightens the color of the tahini to a pale ivory color.
4) Fresh-squeezed lemon juice
Store-bought lemon juice always tastes stale and sad, and it will make your hummus taste stale and sad. Buy lemons and your humus will taste fresh and delicious. I almost always add another tablespoon of lemon juice to my hummus for extra flavor before I plate it, but I’ll leave the tang factor up to you.
5) Garlic, mellowed in lemon juice
This is another trick from Solomonov—if you mince the garlic in the food processor or blender with the lemon juice and let that mixture rest for a few minutes, the garlic will lose its harsh, raw bite and mellow out. I tried it before and after, and he’s right! Here’s Serious Eats’ scientific explanation for why this works.
6) Olive oil, blended into the hummus and drizzled on top
Solomonov doesn’t blend any olive oil into his hummus, but I think that one tablespoon makes the hummus taste even more luxurious and creamy. I recommend it!
7) Ground cumin
The cumin is subtle and offers some “Je ne sais quoi,” if you will. It’s a common ingredient in plain hummus recipes, and makes the hummus taste a little more special.
Hummus Variations
This hummus recipe is plain (and by plain, I mean delicious), but you can blend any of the following in with the chickpeas to make variations.
- Green goddess hummus: 3/4 cup loosely packed fresh, leafy herbs
- Kalamata olive hummus: 3/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives
- Roasted garlic hummus: Cloves from 1 to 2 heads of roasted garlic
- Roasted red pepper hummus: 3/4 cup roasted red peppers, drained and sliced into strips
- Sun-dried tomato hummus: 3/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and drained (from one 6.7-ounce jar)
- Toasted sesame hummus: 1/2 teaspoon in the hummus, plus 1 teaspoon drizzled on top
Hummus Garnishes
- Drizzle of olive oil
- Sprinkle of ground sumac, which is gloriously sour and deep pink, or paprika, which is basically flavorless but offers a splash of color
- Sesame seeds or seeded spice blend, such as dukkah
- Middle Eastern hot sauce, such as zhoug or shatta
- Chopped fresh parsley
Ok, let’s make some hummus! I’m dying to hear how this hummus turns out for you. Please let me know in the comments and tell me if overcooking your chickpeas makes all the difference!
You can also share a photo of your results on Instagram with the hashtag #cookieandkate so we can all see your results.
Watch How to Make Hummus
Best Hummus
Learn how to make the best homemade hummus! It’s creamy, dreamy and light. This hummus recipe is easy to make—no peeling chickpeas or overnight soak required. Recipe yields about 2 cups.
Ingredients
- 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
- ½ teaspoon baking soda (if you’re using canned chickpeas)
- ¼ cup lemon juice (from 1 ½ to 2 lemons), more to taste
- 1 medium-to-large clove garlic, roughly chopped
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
- ½ cup tahini
- 2 to 4 tablespoons ice water, more as needed
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- Any of the following garnishes: drizzle of olive oil or zhoug sauce, sprinkle of ground sumac or paprika, chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Place the chickpeas in a medium saucepan and add the baking soda. Cover the chickpeas by several inches of water, then bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Continue boiling, reducing heat if necessary to prevent overflow, for about 20 minutes, or until the chickpeas look bloated, their skins are falling off, and they’re quite soft. In a fine-mesh strainer, drain the chickpeas and run cool water over them for about 30 seconds. Set aside (no need to peel the chickpeas for this recipe!).
- Meanwhile, in a food processor or high-powered blender, combine the lemon juice, garlic and salt. Process until the garlic is very finely chopped, then let the mixture rest so the garlic flavor can mellow, ideally 10 minutes or longer.
- Add the tahini to the food processor and blend until the mixture is thick and creamy, stopping to scrape down any tahini stuck to the sides and bottom of the processor as necessary.
- While running the food processor, drizzle in 2 tablespoons ice water. Scrape down the food processor, and blend until the mixture is ultra smooth, pale and creamy. (If your tahini was extra-thick to begin with, you might need to add 1 to 2 tablespoons more ice water.)
- Add the cumin and the drained, over-cooked chickpeas to the food processor. While blending, drizzle in the olive oil. Blend until the mixture is super smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor as necessary, about 2 minutes. Add more ice water by the tablespoon if necessary to achieve a super creamy texture.
- Taste, and adjust as necessary—I almost always add another ¼ teaspoon salt for more overall flavor and another tablespoon of lemon juice for extra zing.
- Scrape the hummus into a serving bowl or platter, and use a spoon to create nice swooshes on top. Top with garnishes of your choice, and serve. Leftover hummus keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 1 week.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Michael Solomonov, via The New York Times and Bon Appetit, and Yotam Ottolenghi.
How to cook dry chickpeas in a hurry for this recipe: In a large saucepan, combine 5 ounces (¾ cup) dried chickpeas and ½ teaspoon baking soda, and fill the pot with water. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat and skim off the surface foam as needed. Continue boiling over medium-high, adding more water if you start running out, until the chickpeas are very mushy and falling apart, about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Drain in a fine-mesh colander, rinse under cool running water, and drain well before using. Start the recipe at step 2.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
It came out slightly bitter, is there anything you can recommend to cut the bitterness ? I used Trader Joe’s tahini
You could increase the salt and/or add a little more lemon to taste.
Awesome recipe. I have made hummus many times but this was one of the best. I usually use the Zahav recipe but was looking for something quick and easy and this was perfect. I used tahini from the shuk market in Israel which is the best,
Thanks for sharing, Diana!
Just made this recipe for at least the 20th time. It is so perfect and your tips are wonderful. I was a seasoned hummus maker before but your recipe has elevated everything. Tonight I added some of my garlic scape pesto and also a sprinkle of sumac. It is so tasty I just can’t stop myself from eating it with a spoon. Thanks Kate.
This was the first recipe I made using my mom’s “vintage” food processor. It is delicious. I could (and did) eat it by the spoonfuls.
So tasty nice and smokey
I know it’s a staple, but any idea for a substitute for the tahini? I have a few clients with sesame allergies
Hi Samantha! You could try a sun butter? I haven’t tried it though.
has anyone tried freezing this hummus?
I wouldn’t recommend it.
I can tell by looking at your photos, this is a “creamy” hummus. I happened to see this recipe yesterday and was thrilled! I wanted to thank you for sharing this little secret for making creamy hummus.
Looks like I’m the 1,117th person to comment! Glad you have such a following. Thank you for your diligence in finding the answer and sharing!
stunning – best I have ever made. Thank you so much!
I used to live a block from Sahadis in Brooklyn, an Atlantic Avenue Middle Eastern foods mecca. They make a superb hummus that differs in taste from others. How? Not sure, but it is amazingly good! Charlie Sahadi refuses to divulge the recipe (of course!). Does anyone have thoughts or ideas about how to replicate his magic? Until then, this is a fabulous recipe – adjust cumin and lemon to taste – the technique – overcooking chickpeas – works so well!
Any luck figuring our Sahadi’s secret?
Im From chile i was looking for a great recipe this one came amazing thank u !
You’re welcome!
Best hummus I ever made. All the tips were very helpful as well. Cooking the chickpeas makes a huge difference. Thank you!
This is by far, the best hummus recipe I have tried. It’s the first time my hummus turned out the way it was in Israel. Thanks so much for sharing it.
You’re welcome, Margie!
I made this hummus (using my Instant-Pot-cooked chickpeas with garlic and bay), and the trick to using the Instant Pot without all the foam is olive oil. I wanted to tell you how pleased I am with how well your recipe turned out. Thank you for the post!
Thanks for sharing how you used your Instant Pot for this!
Kate, I don’t eat hummus, but some of my kids do and they are all coming to town plus friends. UGA game day! I’m banking on this recipe because you seemed to have worked out a lot of kinks in home-made hummus. I’ll let you know after everyone tries it! Thanks.
Yes, please let me know what you think!
Well HOT DAMN if this isn’t the best tastin’ Hummus EVER! I’m in HEAVEN and will not need to buy store bought Hummus again. Mmm Mmm GOOOD! I will never have to run out!
Made this today, followed your recipe exactly but the only other thing I did was sneak in a tbsp of dill weed. This is going in my recipe box for sure!!!! Thank you cookie!
You’re welcome, Rebecca!
So tomorrow I am going to try to make this recipe with no salt. I have a friend with heart failure and wanted to make a special treat for him and his daughter when they come to lunch.
Going to boil my own chickpeas and my friend has baking soda with no salt that she got somewhere. I’m going to do with roasted red peppers and I was planning on getting them in a jar until I found out the sodium content. So… going to roast my own peppers too. NOW.. here is my question to you Kate. What sort of herbs do you think would be good in this to bring out some flavor without using salt? Any ideas? Would be much appreciated! Basil maybe?
I’m sorry to hear about your friend. That’s so hard! How kind of you to make something special. Basil could be good. Or even better, swirl some pesto in it!
This is my go-to recipe for hummus. It’s perfect everytime and a family favourite. No adjustments are necessary. Awesome stuff!
Thank you, Kari!
I plan to make this recipe tomorrow but I only use Avocado Oil lately. Any thoughts on using this instead of Olive Oil?
I have made several batches of hummus in my new Vitamix but have been sorely disappointed looking for a creamier version. So glad I found your version. Thank you for all you do.
That sound work ok too. The flavor might differ some but worth trying it!
You know this already, but this recipe is simply wonderful. Thank you for sharing your tasty research results!!
I accidentally cooked my chickpeas to oblivion and almost aborted completely but I am so so glad I continued! This turned out AMAZING!! I used half the tahini and don’t even own any oil but make up for flavor with the fresh lemon. Cumin also was a great addition. Thank you for sharing all your great tips. Now I can quit spending $8 a tub and even more important have complete control of the fat and salt I add.
I’m glad it still turned out for you, AJ!
YUM!
I’ve made so many different hummus recipes. I’ll stop looking. Thank you!
I thought I commented the next day. Greatest hit! Everyone said best Hummus ever. I don’t eat it but I was confident that this was the way to make it. Now, I’m sending everyone your link. They love that it is home made and so easy to make. Excellent job! Now I’m looking at your other recipes as they look great. Thank-you!!!
Thank you, Cathy!
Thank you Kate, it was a winner!! I was the same re thick, bitter hummus and this is life changing. I made it for the first time today, but didn’t have any baking soda so i used a little salt. Also i only had limes, so i used lime juice and it was still really good!!
You’re welcome! Thanks for your review, Trudi.
Wow! Great hummus!!!
D-E-L-I-S-H. After soaking and boiling the chick-peas I put more lemon juice in and a little more salt, but stuck to the rest of the recipe.
The best I’ve tased. So much nicer with dried chick-peas, and the iced water makes a real difference (there is whitch-craft in that bit methinks!)
Thanks for your review! I’m glad you love it.
Love this recipe! Especially the tips and tricks. The TJs tahini was worth the trip, it tasted much better than the last brand I bought. And this hummus was very creamy following the tips with the canned chickpeas. The lemon juice is a bit strong but I’m guessing it will mellow in the fridge because I always say the same thing about the lime juice in guacamole and after a few hours in the fridge it’s perfect.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. This is now my go to.
I’m happy to hear that, Ahmi!
This is my go-to hummus recipe! But I have a couple questions! The first batch I made was perfect, but the second one was a little bitter. The only difference is the tahini.. could that make it bitter tasty? Also, my husband was wondering if there was a way to add jalapeno to this and make it a spicy hummus?
Hi Emily! I’m glad you loved this first batch. My assumption would be the tahini as they can vary by brand. To make is spicy, you can add a spicy sauce and swirl it in. My zhoug would be a nice choice!
great tips on the chick peas and mellowing the garlic. If you think paprika has no flavor you have misled yourself. There are many great Hungarian paprica out there. Toss away that old jug o paprica sitting in your spice cabinet and replace it today. Try smoked version as well. I am preparing this recipe as we speak !
Thank you for sharing, Christine!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! Have you ever made your own Tahini? I live in very rural North Central Alabama, so unless I online order, some more “exotic” ingredients can be a rather long drive away. I found several highly rated Tahini recipes that call for toasted sesame seeds and olive or avocado oil. Super simple and only two ingredients. Plus very cost effective, vs store bought and on hand convenience. If you can buy Ethiopian sesame seed, then even better. I would love to know your experience and opinion.
I haven’t perfected it one yet, but have found a few brands I really like. If you find a homemade version you like, please share!
Just made this, OMG so creamy and so delicious! The rest time for garlic and the overcooked chickpeas def a game changer. Best hummus ever, thank you for sharing.
I doubled the recipe but worked in 2 separate batches, which was great because .5 cup tahini was very very bitter, i probably used bad tahini.. but luckily I had the other batch of ingredients so i used those to dilute the unpleasant taste. Anyway i love the creaminess of this recipe!! Thank you
THIS!!! Thank you so much for all your recipes, but this one…life changing!
My son in law works for the company that provides Sabra with their chickpeas, so I am fortunate to have chickpeas a plenty. I usually just used them in currys but then I found your hummus recipe.
I make a double batch(or 2) every week. I use Soom tahini from Amazon, not only because of the incredible taste, but it’s also women owned. I use more local garlic and a little less lemon juice. We either top it with homemade roasted red peppers, sundried tomatoes, or TJ’s zhoug sauce.
Thank you again ma’am!
Best hummus recipe-I’ve made this several times and everyone loves it!
I absolutely love this!!! I can’t thank you enough for this recipe. I love hummus and I’ve been trying to figure out how to make it light and fluffy like my favorite restaurant for so long. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Hi, please help! If I’m using canned chickpeas for this recipe do you still need to cook them??? Thanks in advance!!!!
Hi C! Yes, you will want to cook them. See the recipe as this calls for canned to start with. I hope this helps!
Delicious, will definitely make this hummus again.
This hummus was excellent. Thanks so much. I didn’t even have the necessary tools to make it i,e, a large food processor so I had to make it in shifts and it still came out nice and creamy still. It is Mediterranean night tonight.
EXCELLENT – I used homemade tahini, and it was absolutely wonderful! I, too, love garlic so I took another commenters advice and added four cloves. Thanks so much!
Wow soooooo creamy my new go to hummus recipe. Just need to try different tahina brands.
Thanks for your review!
This is the best recipe for hummus but you must follow the steps exactly. I think the key is processing the tahini and lemon juice until it is thick..muchas gracias from Costa Rica.
Thank you, Cheryl!
Fantastic! I made my own tahini to make this hummus. Came out stunning. Definitely pinning this recipe. Unfortunately no social media to share, sorry thank-you so much. Sylvia, South Africa
Your baking soda trick has been my lifesaver!! Nobody in my family has wanted to make chickpea recipes lately because the skins were so annoying to remove. Thanks for the tip!!
You’re welcome, Liz!
I am AMAZED! I’ve made hummus MANY, MANY times with little success. This recipe was inexpensive (I always cook a huge batch of chickpeas and leave them in the freezer), easy to follow and SUPER creamy! WOW! Game changer! Thanks so much… You’ve saved me so much time and money as I was traveling miles out of my way each week to the Arabic market to keep up with my hummus cravings :)
I’m glad this one worked so well for you and you loved it!
The best recipe ever, it’s just like the one we used to eat when travel to Palestine in summer. Every one like it.
A culinary triumph.
Thank you, Jon!
I give this recipe five stars! The flavor is wonderful. I used a real good extra virgin olive oil and the fresh ground cumin seeds made an amazing difference. I topped it with a Romesco sauce. Yum
Thank you, Ronnie! I’m glad you loved it so much.
Thanks Katie! I have been making hummis for about 5 years and have always tried to improve on my recipe. I won’t need to try anymore after finding this one. My favorite part was soaking the garlic in the Lemmon juice and not having to wash the hulls off is a real time saver.
I’m glad this holds up to your standards, Jim! I appreciate your review.
Just made and ate some Hummus from your recipe! Great and
yummy. I used canned beans and simmered them for 20 minutes, which worked very well. Also soaked the garlic in lemon as you suggested. added an extra tsp of salt and a little fresh cracked pepper. thank you, looking forward to trying more of your recipes.