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.
I was taught to make Hummus by the chef of the Tel Aviv Hilton, he is Lebanese, and he said to sprout the chick peas first as the energy and nutritional value are highest when they begin to sprout. Then reserve a third of the quantity of peas and keep them raw. Make as you suggest and then add the raw peas with the others and process. Also, add a handful of Italian Parsley finely chopped to the recipe whilst blending. This gives the Hummus a mixed texture of smooth and lightly crunchy. Thin with the water from boiling the peas as required. Yes to the added olive oil and fresh lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne pepper for a distant background bite.
Thank you for sharing, Bob.
This recipe is BY FAR the best hummus I have ever tasted or made! It’s definitely a keeper!
Thanks so much.
Absolutely the best hummus I’ve EVER tasted–and I’ve eaten it for over 30 years, in different ways and places!
My compliments to you, and thanks sooo much, my family and friends love it, too!
(Ps. The bicarbonate of soda is a great trick :-D)
Wonderful to hear, Ruth! Thank you for your review.
I love Hummus and this is the best one I have ever made. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
OMG it is the best hummus ever!
So simple to make. Makes loads. So smooth.
Took it to a party and everyone raved about it.
Love your recipes :D
Thank you for your review, Caitlin!
I’ve made hummus from other recipes with little success, this is a game changer!
Delicious recipe. I followed it exactly, and it’s the best hummus I’ve made after years of making hummus. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Trish!
This is a simple recipe that produces outstanding results! I’ve made it there times now, varying the degrees of garlic (more for my taste) and lemon (more for my wife’s taste). No matter how I tweak it, though, it’s always a hit. Thanks very much for sharing this!
I doubled the recipe and used half tuscan flavored olive oil and half plain extra-virgin olive oil. Haven’t had hummus this good since I was in the Holy Land!
This truly is the best hummus I have ever made, and I followed the recipe precisely as written. I took it to a potluck and had a friend from North Africa take the leftovers home because she liked it so much and said it was the tastiest she’d ever had. Thank you for another amazing recipe.
You’re welcome, Lydia!
Tried this recipe and it was so creamy and delicious. Gave a batch to my famuly and now have to make triple batches to keep up with demand!
This huge amount of tahini makes the hummus too bitter/umami. Reduce it to 45ml instead.. 1/2 cup is insane.
This hummus never fails. Last night had to soak chickpeas for another dish. Next morning Pressure cooked 1cup of soaked chickpeas covered in a couple of inches of water with onion studded with a few cloves, 5-6 whole unpeeled garlic cloves, bayleaf, peppercorns, freshly Ground pepper and a little smoked Himalayan sea salt for about a 1/2 hour and let pressure release naturally. Made the leftover chickpeas (full cup) into your hummus recipe, delightful. Plus as an added benefit stock from beans makes great vegetable soup base.
I’m excited you love it, Carol! I appreciate your review.
I can’t believe how well it turned out. This is the best hummus I’ve ever had and I made it for a fraction of the cost of what I purchase it for.
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Mel!
The instructions do not seem to scale when you select 2x or 3x. Only the ingredients scale. Is this a bug in the website or recipe?
How should the instructions change for 2x and 3x for this recipe?
Hi! Yes, only the ingredients. I hope you enjoy this recipe!
I did this recipe and just added a little more salt and lemon, it was delicious and super creamy! This will be my go to recipe!!
Great to hear, Manon!
Hi
Why do you want to mellow the flavour of the garlic?
Is that step necessary? I like garlic flavour.
Thanks! :)
I find it helps give a better flavor. Let me know if you try it, Will!
I hope this isn’t a dumb question: do you omit the chickpeas peels when you add them to the food processor, or do you add the whole pot? Thanks! I am super excited to try this- I had to go on a pretty strict food elimination diet and this will be my reintroduction to chickpeas (everything else is already approved)!
No need to omit! I hope you love it.
Tried the basic hummus recipe… turned out delicious
Thank you for your review, Georgia!
I live in KC and have enjoyed and wondered how Aladdin’s make their hummus so darn good. Honestly I think you not only cracked the code but have taught people to make an even better version. I made a double batch but probably should have made a triple batch. So good!
Delicious! Thank you for this recipe. So smooth and creamy. Very similar to Hummus my Israeli mother-in-law used to make.
The consistency of this hummus is amazing! I followed the directions exactly as written but the only flavor I’m tasting is the tahini. I’m not sure how to tweak the recipe to lessen the tahini taste.
So good! Ordered tahini from Soom because my local Trader Joe’s was out of theirs. Followed recipe exactly. Creamy and delicious! Will never go back to store bought again.
I’m glad you tried it! Thank you for sharing, Jill.
Does anyone else find that the garlic becomes overpowering after a day or 2 in the fridge? Any way to get around that?
I’m Italian so I love garlic! But this is eye watering my strong.
You can reduce the garlic if you prefer. I hope you try it again!
Excellent easy to follow recipe. Come out perfect!
Now looking to try variations of this health foolproof recipe.
Thank you!
You’re welcome, Carolee! I appreciate your review.
I’ve made this twice now, exactly as written, and it’s delicious with carrots, celery, cucumbers, peppers, and warm naan bread. Even my picky kids like it. I didn’t actually think that I liked hummus before I made this. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Lisa!
Creamiest hummus I’ve made so far, it’s definitely worth the extra effort.
Great looking recipe. I am allergic to tahini. I usually sub in almond butter but wondered if you ever tried cashew to see which is better and more similar to this recipe? I can’t try this recipe so I am hoping you (or someone else) has to see what variation would be closest. Thanks!
You could try cashew. Let me know if you try it!
This is amazing! It took me 6 tries to get the consistency right, but once I did, it was a huge hit in my house and we’re going through a doubled recipe every couple days! I was trying to re-create the incredible hummus I had in Syria, and this did it. Thank you so much for this and all the other amazing recipes you share. I’ve never left a comment or a star rating before, but I have made so many of your recipes and they are absolutely wonderful. So grateful for you!
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad you loved it, Jen.
This really is the best hummus I’ve ever made. The secret seems to be in the order that ingredients are combined. Using this recipe, my hummus turned out super smooth and creamy. I topped it with a bit of sesame seed oil and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
I’ve been making hummus the same way for 30 years now…THIS recipe is a life changer, and so simple too! I will be making hummus this way for my next 30 years!! Thank you.
Made recipe exactly as written, and it produced the most fabulous hummus! This was so easy, and the baking soda secret was the key. Cannot/will not ever buy store-bought again. Can you use the baking soda trick with other canned beans to make a “hummus”?
Made recipe exactly as written, and it produced the most fabulous hummus! This was so easy, and the baking soda secret was the key. Cannot/will not ever buy store-bought again. Can you use the baking soda trick with other canned beans to make a “hummus”?
Made this with 4 scapes instead of garlic – the mellowing in lemon juice works for them too :) Gotta love scapes in June!
Seriously delicious hummus, thank you for the recipe.
You’re welcome! Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Hi, love this recipe! It’s delicious! I especially like the garlic mellowed in lemon juice, it works! Also the cumin adds depth of flavor. I might suggest that you only need to boil for 2 minutes, the chickpeas with baking soda; I found this from another recipe and it works perfect! Hope this helps others save time too! Thanks again!
You’re welcome, Erin! I’m glad you loved it.
First, i have tried your recipe with food processor and it was delicious.
I also have a food mill. How would the recipe/instructions change? Recently, I used a different recipe, did not boil the chickpeas, and when I used the food mill it turned the chickpeas into this dry thin mush, and did not separate outer shell from bean. It was disappointing. If using a food mill, do I still boil for 20 minutes? How would the rest of the steps change?
Thanks
Hi Michael, I haven’t used a food mill so I can’t say for sure. I hope you can try this recipe as written.
I’ve tried several Israeli style hummus recipes and I like this one because you do not have to cook the chickpeas from scratch!
I got sick of being disappointed by different store-bought brands so I went out and bought a food processor to try this recipe — it sounded like you knew what you were talking about. And it’s fabulous hummus. I double the recipe and that works fine. Trying the kalamata olive version today …
This is my third Tim making this hummus. The very best recipe.
Hi! Your hummus recipe sounds amazing, will be trying it tonight and am sure 100% it’s gonna be the best hummus ever. I sent this review because I am confident of your recipe and the way to make it. However, will try my best to remember to put a review again after making it. Even though I know it’s gonna be deeeelicious
Thank you so much for this recipe. I always wanted to make my own hummus and it never came out as good as this recipe, it is the best! the baking soda really makes the trick in the chick peas, the hummus came smooth and creamy like never before. I roasted the garlic and tomatoes and add it to this recipe for a twist, thank you!
You’re welcome, Giselle!
This was amazing. I used a ninja that gets to 1600 watts, and it has a spread function. It did everything for me, no scrapping down, added 2 roasted garlic cloves, 3 tbsp of sesame oil instead of tahini, some water and bam! That was delicious.
I’m glad you loved it, Brittany! I appreciate your review.
This is the best hummus I’ve ever made! The texture is so smooth and creamy and it tastes delicious. It is fantastic as is, but would be the perfect base for other flavours. I look forward to experimenting with different add-ins. Thanks Kate!
I’m glad you loved it, Erica!
Great recipes but the website needs work. One’s viewing/reading experience is being perpetually interrupted by pop up ads and other subscription prompts. It gives one the impression of trying to read a book that is being purposely knocked out of one’s hand over and over again.
Oooooooo my! Thank you so much for this recipe! This was the best hummus ever.
Perfect recipe! I use lemon olive oil and zest the peel of the lemon for extra flavor. I love the cumin and the sumac is my new favorite topping for hummus. I just spoiled myself and bought a premium tahini and it was worth every penny because the hummus is now extraordinary. Thank you for the recipe. I use it every week!
What a great recipe! I like more lemon so I upped it to 1/3 cup on my second batch. I wish I would have read your insights on tahini before I made my purchase but I will find a better brand.
Thanks!
You’re welcome, Vicki! I appreciate your review.
This is probably one of the best Hummus dish I have made. I make Hummus quite often
Thanks
Sally
Great to hear, Sally! Thank you for your review.
Wow. This is the best hummus recipe! I made it in my nutrition bullet and it was simple. Fluffy, creamy and flavorful without the harsh garlic! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Meg! I appreciate your review.
Just made your recipe. I tried the Israeli warm style hummus at a place in Edmonton, AB and tried a few times to duplicate it. I got close…but this is the most solid recipe. I used a blend of some dried chickpeas that i soaked, boiled and then froze plus a can of chickpeas. Boiled the lot of them and man thats good eating!!