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.
Hi, this looks delicious. Can’t wait to try it. I will be using dried chickpeas and cooking them from scratch. Can you suggest how much dried chickpeas should I soak to get 1.5 cups of cooked chickpeas?
I would recommend roughly 3/4 cup dried. Hope this helps!
When the store bought hummus got discontinued, I was devasted. I knew I could make hummus myself, but I was lazy.
I’m so glad to have stumbled upon your recipe. It’s so super easy, and have made it multiple times, and it has not disappointed.
I’ve added this recipe to my 18 Recipes for 2018 collection. Thank you again!
I’m glad you stumbled too and that you love this recipe! Hummus back in your life, hooray!
This was the creamiest hummus I have ever made. Taking the skin off the chick peas as a great tip. I got lots of compliments.
I’m happy to hear that, Donna! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and review.
Ok I read this recipe and decided to try it. My technique is generally the fail photo on a pinterest article. I was over the moon when this recipe turned out just as light and creamy as the article shows. I will never make hummus any other way. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Zelina!!
Thank you so much for doing the leg work so we can all enjoy this incredible recipe. I have made several attempts at home-made hummus after committing to -and purchasing- a 5 kg!!! bag of raw chickpeas a few months ago. So glad to have stumbled across your recipe because it is by far the best I’ve tried (and believe me – I have tried a few). Everyone in my house is LOVING this hummus
I’m glad everyone is loving this one! It’s so amazing. Thanks for sharing, Alexia!
fantastic. best hummus I have tasted and so easy to make. I am going camping and so I wondered if its possible to dehydrate the hummus and take it along
I’m not sure about dehydrating it. But that sounds interesting, Jane. Thanks for your review!
I’ve never made hummus before but I’m trying to feed my family more vegetarian meals. I made your recipe for my 18 year old son for lunch and he loved it. A better option for him than greasy chips. Thank you Kate for your comprehensive instructions. Trish, Christchurch New Zealand.
Love hearing this, Trish! Thanks for commenting!
To die for!
Thank you, ever so much, for this, our favourite make-it-at-home-and-pretend-we’re-out-with-the-cool-kids-for-tapas-and-wine-night dish. It’s also a big hit with guests, and we never seem to make enough, even though we triple the recipe.
Muah❤️
You’re so funny, Jade! I love it. Thanks for letting me know what you thought.
First time I have made Hummus, really happy with the result. Thanks for a wonderful recipe and tips. Now I’m trying not to eat it all.
Amanda
You’re so welcome, Amanda! It’s so hard not to eat all of it immediately, I know!
This is AMAZING hummus. Can’t wait to try some variations!
Thank you, Gabrielle!
Your hummus recipe is the BEST!! I’ve made a lot of hummus in my time and have a reputation amongst my friends of making the best, but yours is heavenly!!!
I’m glad you agree with me, Julia! Thanks so much for your review.
I did not cook my canned chick peas in soda. My beans were organic, though, which might have made a difference. I do, however and did blend for a long time which made it all light and fluffy and delicious. Next time I’ll use the Somali tahini from TJs
Thank you for sharing, Julia!
I reduced the tahini to 1/4 cup, and thought it still had too much. The creaminess in the photo is due to the significant amount of tahini the recipe calls for…1/2 cup , which imho is way too much. Without the extra tahini, the lemon is too strong.
I tried to adjust the seasonings, but this recipe didn’t work for me.
Hi Dee! I’m sorry you were disappointed by this one! To really get the best hummus, the ratios here are really important. Thanks for sharing!
I have been trying to make hummus for years and not been getting it right. Finally I came upon this recipe, tried it today and it worked really well! Only trouble is I like hummus so much I could be eating too much of this – but on the plus side it is quite good for you.
Thanks for this! This has probably made my day.
I love that this made your day! It is that good. Thanks for sharing, Marie.
Wow, this is the best hummus I’ve ever made! I think my kids might like it better with a little less tahini.
Thank you or sharing, Amy!
This recipe is great! One question though – if I’m using canned chickpeas is there any reason to not take the liquid I drain from the chickpea can and reserve some of it in the fridge while the chickpeas are cooking further? Couldn’t I then use this ice-cold “chickpea water” instead of the normal ice-cold water and achieve an even richer flavor? With the 20 minutes of cook time I would think 2-4 tbsps would easily get cold enough, right? Thanks!
Hi Sally, good question! I haven’t tried but that might work well!
This really was the best hummus I’ve ever made! Thank you!
I’m glad you agree it’s the best, Desiree!
I have been searching for a non-gritty hummus for years. I’d tried removing skins (hours of my life I’ll bever get back, thank-you-very-much), straining the limits of my food processor motor to whip the hummus into a frenzy, and even cooking my own beans, however I’d never cooked them long enough or with baking soda.
But I had to laugh when I pulled out my tahini, only to discover it was the 365! My batch today was awesome, but I’ll be getting the Soom to try. Thanks for all the tips!
You’re welcome, Terri! I’m so happy you are excited about this recipe like I am!
Thank you! I love your site! So lucky to have chanced upon it! Hummus turned out great!
I’m glad you found it too! Thanks for sharing your experience, Arby!
Just made this. So good!
That’s great!
Thank you so much for sharing your hummus recipe! No more store-bought for me, this really is THE BEST hummus! I made a basic recipe this morning following your recipe/tips and it turned out so good! This will forever be my “go to” recipe – thanks again!!
Happy to hear that! Thanks for the review.
Fabulous recipe … smooth, velvety texture, just as promised in your description. It’s a keeper!
Hooray! Thanks, Barbara for sharing.
Thanks for this recipe, especially the tips. Can I use fresh lime juice instead?
Hi Rebecca, lemon juice is classic and I’m not sure how lime would taste. You could try it if you’d like to take the gamble!
OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!! This is the smoothiest smooth that ever smoothed!!!!! I did not know that homemade hummus could feel creamy. Thank you for all of your labor and research that you painstakingly endured to give me this gift. <3
I know, right?! I’m glad you love this one, Shawna.
I am not American, I live in the UK. What is a cup measurement, which cup do I use, 240ml 250ml, 300ml, do I fill the cup to the brim, how much is 1/2 a cup, so many questions. The rest of the world uses ml ltrs and grams kg or fluid oz and oz. This is a website accessable by the whole world, so please spare a thought for people outside the USA and include actual definable quantities.
Hi Gordon! I know that can be frustrating. I have found this conversion table helpful in the past! https://www.myrecipes.com/how-to/metric-conversion-charts
Dear Kate,
Just found this article while trying to find out what a cup measurement is. I am cooking the chick peas now, the comments about this hummus look promising so I am looking forward to it. BTY in the UK cans are in 400g tins or 240g, about 8 1/2oz drained weight.
Im glad you found something that helped you, Gordon!
Kate,
Finished making it, exquisite,
Great to hear! Thanks for the review, Gordon!
OK! I tried this today using dried chickpeas that I soaked and over cooked, with baking soda… Removing most of the skins by rinsing in a large bowl… . I used 1.5 cup of dried for 3 cups cooked. I doubled the recipe and added a little too much ice water giving the hummus a lighter texture which I ended up liking. I would recommend finding a good tahini as I imagine mine wasn’t the best. Over all I achieved the light fresh taste and creamy texture. I will definitely make this hummus again.
Thanks for sharing!
This hummus is insanely delicious! It is exactly like the hummus from my favorite restaurant. Thank you so much for everything you did that went into this recipe and for sharing it!
You’re welcome, Reanna! Thanks for letting me know you love it.
I have always wanted to make hummus but felt that I sucked at it, even after following so many different recipes over the years. These little tricks are GAME CHANGERS!! I just make it and it’s forking delicious ;) THANK YOU!
Love that, Adrienne! Thanks so much for sharing your experience.
The best hummus ive tasted thanks for the recipe..
You’re welcome, Lisa! Thanks for commenting.
I didn’t exactly follow your recipe as I didn’t have tahini or cumin at home, but I had soaked and boiled some chickpeas for hummus 2 days ago so I wanted to just get it made. The tip about boiling them with a little baking soda is AMAZING. That right there made my super plain hummus actually really good. I haven’t made home made hummus in so long because it never seems as good, but now I’m a convert. I actually have a reason to buy a jar of tahini. See that’s why I didn’t have any, I never feel like it’s worth it to have if I hardly ever use it.
Thank you for sharing, Kate! I’m glad you tried it.
Made this hummus today & it is excellent! As good as some of the best I’ve had in middle eastern restaurants! Super smooth,absolutely delicious! I agree the trick is fresh ingredients, good tahini ( I used Trader Joe’s) & mushy garbanzo beans! Highly recommend this recipe!
Hooray! I’m so glad you think so, Bob. Thanks so much for your review!
I grew up in a family of amazing cooks who lived and died by tried and true recipes. My point is, I’m picky. This recipe is ON POINT and is getting added to my collection of those that are perfection. (My only change was that I added a little more garlic than the recipe called for. I do believe curing the garlic in the lemon juice is key.)
So glad this met your expectation and love it! I really appreciate the review, Jessica.
It’s absolutely perfect! Just what I was looking for! I’ve made it twice, once with canned and once following your instructions for cooking dried chickpeas in a hurry. Both were just what I was craving. Now I will always use this recipe. Actually I think in future I will double it since I really love hummus and go through it quickly. Thanks so much!
Love it! Thanks for letting me know. I appreciate the review, Selina.
This is absolutely delicious! I have tried several hummus recipes and this one wins, hands down. I just made a double batch because my family is coming in this weekend. I am sure they will enjoy it just as much as I do. If you’re looking for THE hummus recipe, this is it!
I’m glad you think this is the best, too! Thanks so much for your review, Anna!
Excellent recipe! I used all of your suggestions and I believe this is the best hummus I’ve ever had. Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Best hummus ever! I really enjoyed. Like lick the bowl clean, enjoyed. I think I will pass this recipe on to local greek place in town, they need help with the hummus. I’m taking to my book club tonight. Thank you! Kimberly
Thank you, Kimberly!
This is a game changer. Thank you!!!!
You’re welcome!! I’m glad you are so excited about it, Meghan!
Hi Kathryne!
I just wanna say THANKS A MILLION for sharing this recipe! My boyfriend and I just loved it! I decided to no add the olive oil just to make once more, and this time adding olive oil, and then compare the versions and see which one I like the most! =) I know that the real one hasn’t olive oil, and I think you also mentioned that here, so anyway, I just wanna see how it worked without, and I love it! Next time, with olive oil, and I will come here to tell you! Thanks again! Ah, just because almost everyone who left a comment mentioned what kind of tahini they used, I wanna share that too: I used Sebahat and it is a Turkish brand. I have no idea if it is good or not, but my hummus was really delicious!;-P
You’re so welcome, Marcela! Thanks so much for sharing your experience.
Wow! I think I attempted this recipe a couple months ago but took all the shortcuts and it turned out okay. This time I followed it almost exactly and I’ll never buy humus again! Only thing I did differently was I used a garlic press and let it sit in lemon juice the entire time the chickpeas cooked. Then I didn’t have to wait the 10 minutes after they were blended. And OMG this is amazing! The ice water makes absolutely no sense to me but it sure works!!
I’m glad you loved it, Kara! Thanks so much for your review.
I have tried this as my first ever hummus recipe. I’m so excited because it is simply delicious! I know my guests will devour it – I’m so confidant that my first batch is a double!!
Hooray! Enjoy your double batch, Lissa!
This IS the best hummus! I’ve tried making hummus with other recipes and the consistency was never smooth and fluffy like this. I followed all your tips and it turned out fantastic. I will definitely be making this one again. Thank you!
Thank you! I’m so happy to hear it turned out so well for you, Shanna.
This is the best hummus, and I have tried several recipes over the years. The soft chickpeas and the addition of cumin make for a really creamy texture. Thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome, Hilary! I’m glad you think it’s the best too!
Perfect!
I have made hummus a few times, and never has it come out better than your recipe.
Thank you!
You’re welcome, Alys! I’m glad you loved it.
Love the hummus I made with this recipe. Light and fluffy. I’ve been using it to make egg salad (with sriracha) and it is amazing! Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome, Michele!
I’m planning on doubling or tripling the amount of ingredients in this recipe to make enough of this hummus for a New Year’s eve gathering. Do I have to be concerned about any of the ingredients (e.g. lemon, garlic, or cumin) “taking over” flavor of hummus, or can I simply double or triple the amounts of all ingredients and still expect to get the same balance of flavors out of this recipe. Any feedback you can provide is greatly appreciate. Thank you.
This should double ok! I’m sorry for my delayed response. How did it turnout for you?
I think my hummus is pretty sharp, but I’m always ready for an upgrade! I’m definitely going to try overcooking the chickpeas, although I prefer not to use baking soda in beans as it destroys nutrients. I think you may have a typo in your variations suggestions: I suspect the word “oil” is missing from your toasted sesame variation as you mention drizzling. (I’m definitely going to try that one, typo or no typo!)
Excellent recipe and appreciated the little tips.
Thank you, Sophie!
What a great time-saver using the canned chickpeas. I have overcooked fresh garbanzo beans before in the PC and used the resulting flavored broth in p/o vegetable broth for one of your soups. The difference was amazing! I also used the rind from Parmesan cheese which imparts a real umami type flavor. It was for a dinner party and was a smashing success. I love the shortcut with the canned chickpeas and can’t wait to try it. Your recipes and helpful tips are great. I’ve always been happy with the results as I’m sure I will be with this hummus. I also love the idea of taming the garlic with lemon juice. Will let you know once I try it. Thank you!
Please let me know what you think, Carol!