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
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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.
This is the best creamiest delicious hummus recipe.So good! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Michelle!
My go-to hummus recipe. I no longer like store bought, agh!
Great to hear, Christine!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE your hummus and have been making it for years. I forget where this idea showed up, but I reserve a couple of ounces of chickpea fluid, and put it in the freezer. I add it in lieu of the last cold water I was using after adding the chickpeas. Apparently it keeps a “skin” from forming, and the creaminess is celestial. Thank You! Jean
I love to hear that, Jean! Thank you for your review.
I have made hummus many times, but this is by far the very best I have ever made! I followed the recipe as written and it is amazing. Great balanced flavor and very silky. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome, Anna!
So so much better than store-bought hummus. Made it exactly to the recipe, except I did skim off a lot of the skins that were floating around during soaking and boiling. Garnished with olive oil and za’atar. Will make again and again.
That’s great to hear, Noel!
This hommus recipe is devine! Have been trying to find one for a while and this one is just perfect. Wow! Thank you!
What is the purpose of boil the chickpeas with baking soda? Thanks!
Excellent tips. I’ve made hummus for dozens of years. This was the best. The ice water trick is magic.
I cooked brined (overnight in water and salt) chickpeas in the insta-pot for 20 minutes and they came out super soft.
I’ve made hummus for decades. This is the best. The ice water is magic!
I brined raw chickpeas overnight, then pressure cooked them for 20 minutes in an instapot. They were nice and squishy.
Thanks so much!
Awesomely delicious hummus. Wonderful flavour and texture, a true hit with our guest. Loved the addition of zhataar (it includes cumin) with sprinkle of olive oil and sumac on one batch and smoked paprika on the other . Was gone much too soon.
Excellent recipe, just how I imagined it.
I used the juice of two lemons and could have used more: I like a lemony hummus.
Best hummus I’ve ever made. I’ve tried to recreate the one from my favorite restaurant – this has the same taste and texture. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Dawn!
If I make roasted garlic hummus do I add it when initial mixing or later?
This is an old recipe, but will help provide guidance. Roasted Garlic and White Bean Hummus, Served Warm
This was wonderful hummus. I was fortunate enough to have Michael Solomonov’s some time ago in Philly. This compares very favorably.
Thanks so much for the tips about boiling the canned chick peas and Tahini selection. They did make a big difference.
I make this all the time and it’s my favorite hummus. I just finished a batch but I had no fresh garlic, so I substituted it with garlic powder. I also removed the skin and it was the best batch ever!
I made this tonight exactly as written and followed instructions. It has to be the most delicious, creamiest hummus I’ve ever eaten: )
This will be my go to recipe from now on.
Absolutely delish! So smooth and flavorful. Thanks again Kate for another delicious recipe. :)
You’re welcome, Lisa!
Can you use roasted garlic in recipe instead of raw, I’ve never tried hummus before so going too try make myself as can’t bring myself too try store bought
Can you use roasted garlic in recipe instead of raw, I’ve never tried hummus before so going too try make myself as can’t bring myself too try store bought, can’t wait too try this
I recommend this best as written. If you try it, let me know!
The baking soda is brilliant- really speeds up getting to the perfectly mushy pea, even when starting with dried beans. The use of the ice water completely made a HUGE difference to the hummus I’ve been making, to very fluffy and fabulous!
I have done this several times now. It’s so easy to make and tastes much better than store-bought.
That’s great to hear, Tracey!
I tried this in my new nutribullet blender. It turned out really well, very smooth and tasty. I’ve added this to my favourite recipe list. Thanks!
Can you freeze hummus? Also this recipe is amazing. I’ve made so many recipes before and this one by far is the best for both flavour and texture. Thank you for sharing this with us!
I don’t see why not. Let me know if you try it!
Very very good. I made the recipe from dried beans and I made far too much hummus and I’m going to try to freeze it. I’ll let you know how that works. Thanks so much!
Finally! A recipe to make ultra creamy hummus! I followed your recipe to the “T” and it came out super creamy and delicious. I will probably add another clove of garlic the next time, and experiment with some of your suggestions for toppings. Thanks for a great recipe!
This is my absolute favourite hummus recipe. It has become my signature dish that I always bring to gatherings. I add a generous tablespoon of Chiptole in Abodo sauce, and smoked paprika to make it chipotle hummus, and honestly, its amazing.
Thanks for sharing such an awesome recipe!
Seriously the best hummus! Make it weekly!
This is the best Hummus I have ever made. It’s a 10/10 recipe. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Donna!
Great recipe. I don’t make it often enough to buy tahini but have found organic almond butter from Aldi is a good (acceptable) substitute. Make it for myself and for company. Wonderful flavor and texture.
I have been making humus since I learned to cook, and thought I had tried every trick in the book – adding aquafaba, peeling, different blending methods, etc. This was my first time trying this recipe, and oh my word. This is not only the best hummus I’ve ever made, but the best I’ve ever eaten. I’m hooked. I’ll never use another recipe! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Christy! I appreciate your review.
This was fantastic!! Way better than the already made stuff!
That’s great to hear, Judith!