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.
The best hummus recipe I have ever tried. Thanks
I’m glad you loved it! Thank you for your review.
I have never made hummus that I was satisfied with before and this recipe was AMAZING.
I’m happy you loved it!
I make an amazing hummus, but your idea of boiling the can beans with baking soda took my hummus to a whole new level. Thanks for the hint.
Hi, how long is the humus good for when stored in the refrigerator?
Hi Pantea, see the last step in the instructions.
Too salty so I had to add about 1/2 cup of chickpeas to balance it out. Otherwise, this is a great recipe.
Excited to try the recipe! Do you have a favorite brand or canned chick peas??
Hi Janet, you can use any brand. I try to buy organic or even jarred chickpeas when I can.
1/2 cup of tahini is too much for 1 can of chickpeas
Really great recipe! I doubled the cumin (pestle ground) and added 1/3 of an avocado as I had 14 ounces of chickpeas. Also mixed in the paprika and topped it all off with sumac. Well worth it!
Thank you for sharing your variation, Izabela!
Thank you!
Cooking the canned beans made such a difference!
So creamy and so flavorful.
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Lori!
I love this recipe and make it all the time! Thank you for it. I wanted to tell you something I’ve started doing. Since I make chickpeas from dried, when it is time to use the ice water, I use the water I used to cook the chickpeas! Sometimes I use aquafaba I’ve frozen from previous batches. Other times I put some ice cubes in with the slightly cooled-off water. If I put in enough ice it doesn’t dilute it. I’ve loved the way the hummus tastes doing this!
Thank you for sharing, Deborah! I’m glad you found a fun method that works well for you.
So good and super easy. I like it with more lemon juice too
This recipe is awesome! I tried making hummus at home before and that was the last time until now. The texture is perfect, it’s easy to put together, and this made my day knowing I can throw together some homemade hummus so easily. Thank you!!!
You’re welcome, Kelly!
Do you use hulled or unhulled tahini for this recipe? Does it make much of a difference taste/texture wise depending on what one you use?
Cheers,
Briar
Hi Briar, I used hulled for this recipe.
Made it three times now and love it!!! Thank you for the work you did in developing this recipe!
Do you still add the baking soda is you’re using canned chick peas??
Hi Rosann, yes you will want to still follow the directions and add it. It helps make it extra creamy. I hope you love it!
Thanks for getting back to me. I went ahead and followed the recipe without the baking soda, and it’s still the best humus recipe I’ve ever made! Can’t wait to make it again and add the baking soda this time.
That’s great to hear, Rosann! I appreciate your review.
OMG!
Every time I want hummus my daughter goes to a Turkish restaurant to buy it for me and it is out of her way so I decided I would try making it. Yours sounded perfect so today I made it and I have to say that it is delicious. So creamy. I definitely will be making this often.
Thank you for sharing. Your research paid off.
That’s wonderful, Helga! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
I’ve made this four times now. This last batch was a quadruple batch (strain that food processor!) so that I could fill up my freezer with eight ounce blocks of frozen perfection. This is by FAR the best hummus I’ve ever had. Thank you for presenting this recipe in a way that helped me to see why to bother with the extra steps. I learned something as a cook by following this recipe, and thank you for taking the time to take the helpful photos and write the detailed explanations. Cookieandkate are the bomb! BTW, this freezes beautifully!
Love it! Thank you for commenting, Jean.
Absolute winner. You HAVE cracked the code. The texture is spot. Better than a lot of hummus I have had in restaurants. Great job.
The best to date. You cracked the code! Many thanks for sharing your tips. 20 years of trying to figure out how to make it creamy and light. You nailed it.
You have broken me – I can’t eat store bought hummus anymore! This is amazing and the whole family loves it. It took me a while to find ground sumac, but that was an awesome addition.
Thank you for making our taste buds so happy!
You’re welcome, Nancy! I’m delighted you love it.
I have made this recipe several times and it’s the best! I have told numerous people about this recipe. The secret ingredient is baking soda and boiling. I used the recommended tahini , so smooth. Just like you’d get at a restaurant. Thank you Kate for a fabulous recipe!
You are spot on – with your recipe I did indeed make literally the best hummus of my life! Thanks for the research and the tips that made my hummus out of this world good at last … prior to following your tips the result was always vaguely disappointing and not truly smooth, fluffy and creamy all at once, which your recipe absolutely is.
My tip for a yummy alternative Beetroot Hummus is to blend fresh cooked beetroot (250G) with a handful of fresh coriander leaves, 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts and a grind of black pepper. Mix as much of the mix as you feel to into this amazing hummus for another best ever blend. Thanks Kate, from the Northern Rivers NSW.
I boiled the canned garbanzo beans that I had for about 15 mins with the baking soda, and they were quite mushy. I didn’t have any regular olive oil, so I added the rosemary infused olive oil I had(1 tbsp), and less cumin, and some paprika, and man oh man, it’s is so smooth, creamy and delicious!! Thank you for this recipe, it will be my go-to base recipe for hummus.
Deliciousness! I’ve made this hummus several times, and it is always delicious. There such a fresh taste of the lemon, and cooking the garbanzo beans really makes the difference. This hummus is soooo smooth and creamy.
Hi Kate, can your humus recipe be kept in the freezer?
Thank you.
Hi Helen, I have tried to freeze it myself so I can’t say for sure. Sorry!
I am so grateful for this recipe! I followed it to the letter, adding sun-dried tomatoes. My wife instantly declared it “the best hummus ever!” and we know we will now be the favorite guest at every potluck. Thank you!
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing, Tom.
This was THE BEST hummus I ever ate. Hubby agreed; he couldn’t stop eating it. Luckily I made a double batch! LOL
Thanks for the recipe!!
I made the hummus. It was awesome! Boiling the chick peas with baking soda made them easy to blend. I used Once Again Tahini and it was very good. I used a lot of garlic soaked in the lemon juice which made it mellow. The ice water and a little extra olive oil added to the easy blending.
Such a great recipe to find first!
I’ve been making hummus for years but was intrigued with the technique of boiling the chick peas with baking soda as well as mulling the garlic in the lemon juice.
So creamy!
My old recipe only had 1/4 cup tahini and bringing that to 1/2 cup made a huge difference.
I like mine with a bit of heat 1/4 to 1/2 tsp hot paprika and garnish with smoked paprika.
Fairly easy recipe, but absolutely delicious!
Was very good, I have never used Tahini so I did buy the Trader Joes brand like you said. I tried to mix it in the jar but was hard to do. The water or whatever it is sits on top. I did my best and ended up using probably 6 tablespoons of ice water to make it creamy. Thank you for the recipe!
I had this at my sister’s. She followed the recipe exactly and it was delicious. This is so smooth and thick; it puts all purchased hummus to shame. I added a metric ton (actually 5 cloves) of garlic, doubled the lemons and added cayenne. The extra effort of boiling the chickpeas is a game changer and well worth it.
Great recipe! Does the water need to be ice cold? Could I use some of the chick pea liquid from the can instead?
Hi, yes you need it to be ice cold. I don’t know if you will have the same results with the chickpea liquid. The water helps to make it creamy.
Thank you for the tips towards a better hummus, definitely more creamy than my previous attempt. Could not eat commercially made hummus, so I went without; not any more, this one is a winner.
Great recipe! My hummus was super smooth. In addition, prior to seeing your recipe I put my chick peas in the food processor. It was a rough chop so decided to still cook with baking soda. There was a slight baking soda taste prior to blending into the other ingredients but still super impressed with the smoothness of my hummus. Next time I’ll cook the peas before I put them in the food processor.
This is by far the BEST hummus recipe I’ve ever made – and I’ve tried a lot of them. The spices were perfect and the texture was amazing. Thank you so much for sharing it online with all the detailed tips. I’m tossing out all the other hummus recipes I’ve collected over the years b/c it doesn’t get any better than this one.
Very good
I’ve made this recipe several times and it always gets raves. It’s every bit as good if not better than what I’ve had in the Middle East. I highly recommend it
Thank you for sharing, Charles!
can i make this once my cooked soaked chickpeas are cold? i don’t have time to make the hummus right now, so i’m going to put my chickpeas i just cooked into the fridge. is it a requirement for the recipe that they be warm when blending?
It may work. Let me know when you try it. I haven’t tried it, so I can’t say for sure.
Delish!
Is there no “print” button for this recipe? I swear I’ve looked everywhere, but can’t find one.
Hi Candy, I’m currently working to get that function fixed as it isn’t working. I hope to have it back soon. I appreciate your patience!
I had almost given up on making my own hummus because all the recipes I tried came out thick and some were dry too. I found this recipe and thought, “Okay, one last try. Then I’m giving up”. Well I’m so happy I gave it one last try. This is now my go to recipe for hummus. Everyone who has tried it loves it! I made 3 batches yesterday and tried a variation. I omitted the cumin and added a half teaspoon of ground ginger and about a tablespoon of wasabi paste (you can add more or less depending on how much kick you want). Wow! Going to make that again! I visit your site a lot because your recipes don’t use refined sugar. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Hooray! I’m glad you tried it, Alice. Thank you for your feedback. I like the idea of wasabi!
I love your hummus recipe and have sent your link to a dear friend in New Zealand. She has been making Pita bread, so she is thrilled to know about this wonderful recipe. Thank you for sharing !
Best wishes,
Sandy
Your’e welcome, Sandy!
Excellent!
Thank you.
You’re welcome, David!
I’ve been making hummus for many many years and doubted whether this recipe would make a big difference but indeed it does – best hummus I’ve made, ever. Wouldn’t change a thing.
I love this hummus recipe! Like the author, I have been searching for a good recipe. I’ve tried many recipes and have been disappointed with all of them but this one. I followed the basic recipe. It’s simple and perfect! My husband agrees that this recipe is a keeper.
Delicious! My 8 year old helped me whip together for an afternoon snack.
I love that! Thank you for sharing, B.
This the best humus I have ever made! Your hints: marinade lemon juice and garlic , whiz with salt!
Add 4 – 5 ice cubes to whip the tahini. Super results! Perfectly whipped! Cumin.
Thanks so much for all secret tips!
All the information was great but sometimes I got impatient to get to recipe!
My first try at making hummus and Sooooo glad I found your recipe! Creamy smooth and flavorful – love it! As good if not better than hummus served in the best restaurants. Thank you Kate!!
You’re welcome, Kim! Thank you for your review.
I have made this recipe a handful of times and it always turns out amazing. Smooth and rich in flavor I followed the recipe exactly and wouldn’t think of changing anything. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Jennie!