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.
Perfectly smooth! Next time I make it I will reduce the tahini from 1/2cup to 1/3cup, as the tahini gives a raw sesame flavour that is a little strong for my tastes.
Wonderful! Thank you for your review, Angela.
This is THE BEST hummus I’ve EVER eaten….super smooth and creamy and the PERFECT balance of flavours.
I make a fresh batch every 3 days…..and have to portion it out or risk eating the entire container. ❤️
I love that! Thank you for sharing, Dee.
This turned out great! So creamy and delicious!
I’m glad you loved it!
So incredible! I actually didn’t have any tahini on hand (I know,. I know…) So I used toasted sesame oil instead. It turned out delicious! I loved the tip about boiling the chickpeas with some baking soda. That worked wonderfully! Thank you for the recipe!
Best hummus recipe I’ve ever made. This tasted sooo much better than any store-bought version I’ve had before. I was super reluctant to try to made hummus again because the last time, it ended up being quite hard and bland. The extra steps here were SO incredibly helpful. Following the directions and allowing the chickpeas to boil/soften, and letting the garlic/lemon juice rest truly elevated the flavours. Already enjoying this recipe and thinking about making it very soon again!
I love this recipe. Because I keep roasted garlic and preserved lemons on hand all the time I tweaked the recipe using those ingredients. But you’re right. Mushy peas are the key!
I’ve tried making many hummus recipes in the past with mediocre results. Thank you for your research and time for making the perfect hummus. That’s what this recipe is! Boiling the chickpeas in baking soda and mellowing the garlic with the lemon juice are two tricks that really upped my hummus game. I have never had a bad recipe from Cookie & Kate! Stellar recipes all around and help us eat less meat than we used to!
Hooray! I’m glad you love it, Christi.
My first time making hummus and wow!!! Extra creamy and flavorful. I’m in love. I also used a blender instead of a food processor and it is still smooth.
I’m glad you love it, Jo! Thank you for your review.
I have never made hummus before nor commented on a recipe I have used online but I could not let this one go! This is the best hummus I have ever tasted and I have been quite fussy about my hummus! I followed the recipe to the “T” – so easy, so good, so creamy. No more store bought hummus for me! Thanks so much for sharing this.
Ah-mazing!!!
One word – Yum!
Thank you!
absolutely delicious recipe….I have made the recipe 6 times in the last 3 months.
absolutely delicious recipe….I have made the recipe 6 times in the last 3 months.
I love it! Thank you for sharing, Liz.
This isn’t too far off what I do, but I have a few modifications that I’ve incorporated over a few years.
I go up to about 10 cloves of garlic, but I roast it first. If you don’t have time for that, go 50 seconds in a microwave, reposition and 30 seconds more. The acridity is gone, but the additional roast of the garlic adds another level of flavor.
Add a half tsp of chipotle powder, and a half tsp of liquid or powdered smoke. Gives it a mild bacon flavor, but most people don’t pick that out per se..
One tsp of onion powder
About 10 dashes of tabasco sauce and a half tsp of black pepper.
[Yes, this is getting a bit spicy, but even my wife who doesn’t care for heat says this is more about flavor than heat and quite amazing on chips or a piece of pita.]
And le pièce de résistance, add about 2 fire roasted red peppers into the food processor. I also reserve about half another pepper and dice that up to add to the completed hummus, so that it’s a bit chunky and interesting to look at.
Gotta let it rest for at least an hour before serving, but don’t refrigerate. Slightly warm hummus just melts into your mouth. And because you boiled the chickpeas, this really doesn’t need to go to the fridge for several hours.
I am going to try this! When I saw you mention the Aladdin Cafe, I was like ‘YES’. You must live in KC! Aladdin Cafe hummus is what I’m aiming for and since you know what I’m talking about I’m going to try your tricks
I hope you love it, Gena!
Thank you so much!!! Do you have paypal? I want to tip you for this
This reminds me of the hummus my Lebanese neighbor used to make during the holidays when I was a kid. Thanks so much for your recipe!
You know…. when I find recipes online that tout being “the best” at something, certain expectations are made….
I was not disappointed. This is arguably the best f’ing hummus I’ve ever made
I’m happy it didn’t disappoint! Thank you for your review, Sarah.
THE BEST hummus recipe. Ever. I added sun-dried tomatoes, took this over the top!
This is hands-down the best hummus I’ve ever tasted. I can’t stop eating it! I will be making this frequently. Thank you for sharing!
OMG, thank you for sharing this recipe best I’ve ever had. Unbelievably creamy!! I’ll never be able to eat store-bought ever again. My daughter said I should bottle it up and sell it No way, this stays in my kitchen, but not for very long. Sandi
You’re welcome, Sandi! Thank you for your review.
I’ve been making hummus for years, with chick peas straight out of the can . . . and apparently I’ve been doing it all wrong all these years! This recipe really kicked up my hummus game and I’ll never go back!
I used garlic confit, about five cloves, and added a couple of dashes of cayenne . . . other than that I followed your recipe exactly. It’s delicious! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
This recipe is dangerously delicious. OMG–addictive, smooth, better than stuff from stores. Amazon Tahini works really well. I used black pepper as the spice flavor–really good. The boiling of chickpeas from the can I think is the trick. Wow! Thanks very much. Now, how about falafel?
Just finished making hummus and it certainly is creamier.Next time I will had a little less salt and cumin. I also add a good heaped teaspoon of caramelised onion chutney, it’s scrumptious
I’ve been chasing a creamy, rich, restaurant-quality hummus and this without a doubt nails it. I followed this recipe exactly and it produced the creamiest humus with a delicious depth of flavor. I will be making this weekly, as my family (including my 4 year old) can not eat it fast enough.
This hummus was very close to the Hummus from my favorite Mediterranean restaurant. Next time, I will add more garlic and I’m curious to try different varieties such as the roasted red pepper one. I will never buy Hummus again, homemade going forward.
Thanks
This recipe is so easily to follow and the tip for boiling the canned chick peas really does achieve a fantastically creamy and smooth dip
Great recipe! I ordered the Soom tahini and it is amazingly good! Extra lemon is good also. I used my Vitamix blender and it was very difficult to make smooth, but the hummus was VERY smooth and tasty. Next time I’ll use my food processor.
I love that! Thank you for sharing, Lorna.
I thought I left a comment the day I made this but looks like I didn’t. Anyway, this is fantastic! I did however order the recommended tahini as the tahini I had added a bit to much bitterness.To overcome the bitterness I split the batch in half and made 2 flavors, jalapeño and beet. Its only been four days and I am going to make more today with my new tahini. Thank you Kate for this delicious and easy recipe for pure hummus bliss!
This was my first time making hummus and it was fabulous! My question is, next time I would like to make it with roasted red peppers from a jar. How would incorporate them into your base recipe? Thank you for this smooth and creamy recipe, it is the best!
Hi! You could follow Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus and Roasted Broccoli Crostini as a base. Or, you could just chop the roasted peppers up and add it on top. Not sure how many/how much to add to get the store bought roasted red pepper hummus without trying it.
Cooking the chickpeas was a huge addition! The whole family loved it! Should bring the extra ‘wow’ to tomorrow’s Super Bowl party! This might get us invited back next year!
So yummy! Made a HUGE batch by multiplying everything by 5 and it came out great.
Kate – you are a genius! This is the best hummus I have ever made. It’s so smooth and creamy. I didn’t think that was possible with canned chickpeas and my little 3 cup chopper but all your tricks worked!! I am so thrilled! After cooking from your blog for a while I decided to treat myself to your cookbook. I LOVE it! As usual everything I have tried is delicious. Thank you for all the great recipes, fantastic inspiration and the many dances around my kitchen you have caused. I always dance when I get great results in the kitchen!
I don’t know about that, Joanne. But I’m happy you are enjoying this recipe.
First time making Hummus, and wow. Great recipe. thanks for the clear descriptions and insights.
Holy cow! This IS the best hummus I have ever made. I could eat this everyday until my last day.
Superb. I’ve been making hummus for years. I followed this recipe to the T ..the order of ingredients, cold water ..and got the fluffier tastier hummus I’ve made
That’s great to hear, Menon! I’m happy you loved this hummus.
I froze half the batch and defrosted it recently- came out perfect, even when defrosted :)
Best hummus recipe I’ve tried!! Super creamy and delicious!! About to make another batch!!
Thank you so much for this comprehensive guide and stellar recipe! This is the first homemade hummus I’ve ever actually liked. I used half the amount of tahini and skipped the olive oil, but it still turned out super smooth and fluffy.
This is THE one and only hummus recipe you will ever need – wow! I love that you can prepare it and eat it the same day and not have to take the time to soak and cook dried chickpeas. What a game changer! The texture is so silky! I added the extra 1/4 tsp salt as suggested but otherwise loved it as is. I usually keep roasted garlic cloves in my freezer so I was wondering (since they are milder than raw garlic), how many would you suggest I use in place of the raw garlic the next time I make the recipe?
Yes! I’m happy you agree, Mindi. I haven’t tried it with roasted garlic so I can’t say for sure. I do love roasted garlic!
I made this exactly as written above and it is fantastic!!!
Great but use less tahini it tasted like pure sesame
Hi, I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love this one. What brand of tahini did you use?
Hey Kate ….never tried making humus before…..a tad thin but delicious….used 1/2 lime cause I only had one lemon….also loved your directions….really feeling good about my potential…..thanks my friend
This was terrific! Thank you!
Awesome recipe with exceptional results! Thanks for the research to perfect this recipe! We loved it!
Thank you, Cindy!
Great recipe!! Very creamy and balanced.
Thank you, Ali! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I am in love with this recipe!
I’ve never bought tahini before and my hummus has never been anything to write home about. So recently, when I finally got some, I thought to myself,why try a “proper” hummus this time?
I used fresh lemons from our garden and for the garlic? Well, I have never, not once followed guidelines for garlic in recipes and rather choose to us my heart. Letting it soak in the lemon juice is such an incredible idea, I never knew that was a thing!
Anyways, getting back to my review, a thousand marks for you, and I’m obviously bookmarking this recipe and will be telling all of my friends!
Thank you!
I’m glad you loved it, Ashleigh! I appreciate your review.
Hey Kate….second batch and raves from granddaughter….lm older than dirt and getting into cooking …..your directions very easy to follow….signed up for newsletter ….looking forward to more veg recipes….diabetic so trying beans and greens….keep Em coming….
Jack
Mine became a little runny. Do I add more chickpeas if this happens?
Hi! I’m sorry to hear that. How much water did you add? How is the flavor?
I subbed in smoked olive oil, really liked that little bit of smoky flavor. You could probably achieve the same by subbing in smoked salt for regular.
That sounds interesting! I would be interested to hear how it goes if you try it.
Wow…. I don’t know why I didn’t try to make my own hummus sooner. This recipe is better than any hummus I’ve ever bought in the store which I didn’t think was possible. It is fluffy, creamy and full of flavor. Five stars all the way!
My favorite hummus recipe – I make a batch on Sundays as part of my meal prep, and we use in wraps, dip for veggies, etc., for the whole week. (I like to use dried chickpeas with the method described in the recipe notes for a little more texture.) Highly recommend sprinkling with za’atar.
Very good! I made this for my wife’s birthday party and it was a hit. Thanks for the tips!