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.
My hummus was quite tasty but not creamy, unfortunately. The only different thing was my tahini, which I bought from Turkish store and it was quite good quality. Or I am not sure if this was about my food processor.
I’ve never made my own hummus but wanted to try it and found this recipe. So good and easy to make! I don’t think I’ll buy it again in the store.
Another winning recipe!!! I just finished making the hummus. I will never buy hummus again. This is smooth as silk. I added extra garlic and salt but next batch I am adding even more. I am a garlic fanatic. Thank you Kate for your wonderful recipes. When I finish my tahini. I am going to try the one you recommend (Soom). Oh, and Merlin, my Papillon, says hi to Cookie.
Best recipe ever, I loved the little tips and the hummus turned out better than the other times I’ve made it!
This is truly the best recipe for hummus. I’ve made so many different recipes and was always a little disappointed. I was looking for the really creamy, whipped kind, like this one. Your secret of cooking the chic peas first was spot on! I was spending so much time peeling the skins, it was too time consuming to make. This is my new staple! Thank you!
The tip re boiling the chick peas is a winner !!!! So creamy and delicious
So fantastic and creamy! I’ve made this over and over. Once you’ve had this, you’ll never purchase store bought again!
This is pure magic! Thank you for doing the research and perfecting this recipe!
This recipe was amazing! Very easy to make. Thank you for so many tips, such as boiling the chickpeas with baking soda and letting the garlic sit in lemon juice for short time. It got rave reviews & I will definitely add it to my favorites list!
I cannot go back to regular hummus!!!!
Excellent recipe, love the creamy flavor and tip on boiling the canned chickpeas with baking soda to crack the hulls and to soften the texture of beans.
This hummus is sooo good! Word to newbies…I almost burned up my blender, my nutribullet and small food processor trying to fit this in there and mix well. This requires a large food processor (especially if you want to make double…because…hummus ). Extra liquid was required for sure to mix properly and I added as needed.
I’ve made this hummus recipe probably three times now and I’ve loved it every time! It’s light and airy and creamy and has good flavor. I always add a little more garlic, salt, lemon, and cumin than the recipe calls for for my tastes. I’ve made it in my food processor twice and my NutriBullet once and I still can’t get mine looking as smooth as the pictures which is only a very minor qualm because it’s not gritty or anything. The next time I might just have to peel the skins off the chickpeas after boiling them to see if that will help.
Hi Kate,
I’ve made this hummus countless times for my family and for guests and everyone loves it. I could eat it every day. I’m making hummus for a friend who doesn’t like chick peas, but does like hummus made with other beans. Although I’m tempted to try to slip them by her (!), I’m wondering if I can use this recipe with pinto or white beans. If so, should I still overcook them?
Thanks!
Hi Luana! I’m so happy you’re enjoying this recipe. I would be so curious to know if your friend would enjoy the recipe with chickpeas! Otherwise, I’d try white beans, and I think I’d still overcook them—since they are so thin-skinned, they may be done sooner than the chickpeas, though.
Hello there, I’m new to Hummus. I’ve had good and bad. This recipe and the incredible tips was an intense activity for me. I had 8 cans of chickpeas ready to freeze dry but instead I prepared them per your instructions. After separating them into more manageable portions I started cooking! Removing the skins was not fun but totally necessary and worth it. The ice water seemed to elevate the mixture to a cloud-like substance. It was so fluffy, not like any I’d ever had or made before. I will make this always, but only for myself, I’m the only one who can appreciate its perfection! (And you) thanks
I love hummus, and have made it infrequently, but have never been satisfied with my own efforts. This hummus is hands down the best homemade recipe I’ve attempted. This hummus is AWESOME. I would be confident to take this to any potluck. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Vicky! I’m glad you loved it.
I never really understood the allure of hummus. It has always been kind of tasteless to me. BUT other people seem to love the stuff. And it seems pretty healthy…so I decided to find the best recipe for homemade hummus and follow it exactly with the finest ingredients I could source, including a $25 bottle of special reserve olive oil (which by the way made for a great bread dipping oil with Parmesan and spices), and the recommended best tahini. I made it. Followed the recipe in minute detail. Frankly, it is better than other hummus concoctions I have tried. Really creamy. But honestly, I still don’t get it.
Has anyone used fresh basil? Any portion recommendation?
Or Adobo Canned chipotle peppers?
I think either could be a nice addition. For the basil, maybe just some fresh torn on top for your tastes. Be mindful of the adobo peppers as they can be quite spicy! Maybe just some of the sauce and adjust per taste.
This is the most incredible hummus I’ve made. I never knew that the canned chickpeas needed cooking, and it made all the difference. Silky smooth hummus, just like the ones I had whilst in Israel! This is also so super easy and no crazy ingredients (slightly more time consuming than what I used to do but absolutely worth it)
I followed the recipe exactly, and it was delicious! Wonderful flavor and texture. Thanks, Kate!
Thank you for your review, Margaret! I’m happy you loved it.
I have never made hummus before. Last night a friend from the MIddle East came over for dinner & I thought to surprise her with homemade hummus. She loved it! Asked to take some home. Said it was the best hummus she has had since in Egypt some 10 years ago. Wow!
ps. I made it again tonight. This time added more garlic, more cumin, more salt, and some fresh cilantro. Even more delicious for my taste buds. Thnx for all the great tips Kate!
I love to hear that, Jade! Thank you for taking the time to share.
There are a few hummus recipes which claim to the the “best”. But this one really is! So creamy without all the fuss of peeling. I absolutely love it! Thanks for doing all the research, it was worth it!
Wow – You cracked the hummus code. Phenomenal!!!
Best. Humus. Ever. I have been making homemade hummus for years, and while light-years ahead of store bought, never reached the best in restaurants. This is it! Question, after you boil the beans, lots of the skins have removed themselves and are sitting in the strainer. Should I just pick these off or leave them. Thank you for this amazing recipe.
I’m so glad you love it! No need to remove the skins. I explain it all in the post, if that helps! Thank you for taking the time to review, Kate.
This was the best hummus recipe. I so appreciate all the details because it made all the difference. Thank you for going through all that trouble to produce an amazing staple.
This is the best hummus I’ve ever made! Your recipe came out perfectly right from my first attempt. Your instructions were so easy to follow too. I’ll be making my own hummus using this recipe from now on for sure. Thank you Kate!
Simply the best! The tip about lemon soaking garlic is worth the price of commission. Thank you for sharing your great insights. It’s a treat and great gift to eat way better than I could buy.
First time making hummus. Made the recipe exactly as instructed and it was delicious!
My go-to hummus recipe. I also add celery salt.
Best hummus I’ve ever made by a long-shot!
Great explanations and wonderful end result
Highly recommend!
I love to hear that! I appreciate you reporting back, Erin.
Great recipe, silky smooth texture as described, and didn’t need to do much other tweaking for flavour.
Best hummus recipe, and I’ve tried so many.
Your tips are what made the difference, especially the cooking down of the chick peas with baking soda.
I’ll tweek some of the ingredients for our taste but this is a keeper!
Thank you!
So delicious! I love the recipe! While I do love the texture of hummus made with baking soda, it makes me feel bloated as well, so I omitted that step and it’s still a delicious wonderful recipe. Thank you for this!
I’m glad it still was a good end result for you!
Came out really smooth on the first try. I would probably use less Tahini next time (because I only cooked 1 cup of chickpeas, rather than 1.5. In any event, thank you so much for this recipe. I wish I could post a photo. I really am proud of myself. I will add some cooked peppers (finely chopped) as a garnish, next time.
Made this today and it turned out really good. Keeping this recipe for further use :) I also had some nice Harissa chilli paste that I added in one batch and that was pretty awesome too.
Hey hello, I tried the recipe and it became runny I added more chickpeas n now its gritty and runny how can i fix that??
Hi Mariam! I’m sorry to hear that. Did you add the ice water per instructions through out? It may have been you added too much water. I would try to blend again, if you can. But it sounds like your chickpeas didn’t break down enough. Did you follow the baking soda boil for all your chickpeas?
The finest hummus I ever tasted.
When you told me I was about to make the best hummus ever, you weren’t kidding! This is a really good recipe! I did, however, cut back on the lemon juice; only using one lemon. Thank you so much for sharing. It was perfection!
This is so delicious. I am about to make my second batch. Also very adaptable for adding other flavours. Thank you Kate. Love your site.
Best hummus thank you for such a great recipe.
Delicious! Super smooth and creamy. My son who is a hummus oficianado. He loved this recipe. Thank you.
A job well done. It was delicious. Appreciate all your effort.
This IS the best hummus I have ever made. It is close to my favorite restaurant hummus.
This recipe is perfection! I thought all you did was dump a can of chickpeas into a food processor with garlic to make hummus – thank goodness I found your post before trying my hand at my first batch! Boiling in baking soda works like a charm (because no one wants to pinch off the skin of a gazillion chickpeas), and I used the Artisan Organics Tahini, doubled the garlic and added some lime juice to loosen at the end (bc I ran out of lemon), and it was delicious! My husband doesn’t want to buy the hummus at the farmer’s market anymore because mine is even better. I also love knowing that everything I put into the hummus is clean & organic with no weird store bought fillers. THANK YOU for this comprehensively researched and delicious recipe!
Kate, we’ve never had a bad recipe from you! This was delicious and worth the couple of extra steps. Hope you’re doing well :)
Best recipe for hummus I’ve ever found! It’s a bit more steps than usual but SO worth it. Came out creamy and delicious. Took it to a friend’s house and everyone wanted this recipe. The only tweak I made was a little extra lemon since I love a lemony hummus. I also don’t usually measure the olive oil so potentially put in a bit extra, but I like my hummus somewhat thin as well.
I just made this hummus and it is sooo good! Thank you!
Omg, so many great tips! Finally made a hummus that I like!!! :) It’s really on par with hummus at good hummus places! The chances of me buying hummus at the grocery store are now about 0.0000
Yes! I love it. Thanks for commenting, Karolina.
Made this today. So good!! I also used homemade Tahini (so easy to make and so few ingredients). I had made another Hummus recipe a week ago and this one was so much smoother. I do think boiling the chickpeas is the answer to smooth Hummus. I did add some Paprika also. This recipe I will make over and over.
Thank you for your feedback! I’m excited you liked it with your homemade tahini.
Five Stars! My hat’s off to you. This was one of the most satisfying recipes I’ve ever followed. The instructions were amazing, with the perfect advice at each step. I prepared everything exactly as instructed. When the humus was not behaving perfectly in the cuisenart, there was a note to slowly increase the water. I did so until it mixed perfectly and was no longer stuck in the side. It was a teeny amount of water but without this tip I would have felt like I failed.
The proof however was in the eating. The hummus was not quite perfect, but again the recipe provided notes on how to tweak it.
This was not a simple recipe. In fact it was the the most difficult I’ve followed in the past two weeks (has given me the daily opportunity to plan new meals I would never have tried before).
It is however the most satisfying recipe I have followed. We love hummus in our family and eat it daily. We have our favorite brands at the store and have friends from Morroco that make it themselves. My first attempt equals anything I’ve had elsewhere. I expect my next attempt to surpass them all.
Thank for such an amazing recipe.
Nathaniel