This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my privacy policy.
Discover the secret to making smooth and creamy restaurant-quality hummus at home in just 5 minutes, using only basic pantry ingredients!
Chickpeas are great!
Chickpeas are so versatile, aren't they? As well as being fantastic for hummus and falafel, or as an ingredient in burgers, they're so good when smashed and mixed with some veganaise* and a bit of ketchup in a sandwich. Chickpeas are especially good in casserole-type dishes, such as in shakshuka.
*Made using aquafaba from chickpeas, or other beans!
The key to smooth and creamy hummus
For me, a good hummus has to be smooth and creamy, with a balance of smoky tahini, lemon juice, and salt. It doesn't need to have oil added to it, except a little on top, to be mixed in - or not - as desired. But it does have to be excellent extra virgin olive oil.
I'm not a fan of coarse hummus, and very often I find that when commercially-produced, it is bland and lacking in tahini. And that is the key - tahini! This sesame seed paste is everything, so don't be skimping on it. 😉
Great hummus needs a decent amount of tahini. Not just a tablespoon or two but lots. It's the difference between cheap supermarket hummus and the really, really good stuff you get in Levantine eateries, both at home and overseas.
Do you need to remove chickpea skins to make smooth hummus?
Some people advocate removing the skins of chickpeas in order to make silky smooth hummus, and while it's easy to do**, it's really not necessary unless you're going to be making hummus by hand.
(**Just agitate the cooked chickpeas in a bowl of cold water for a bit, and leave to settle, the skins will float to the top.)
If you're using a blender or food processor, it makes no difference whether you leave the skins on or remove them. Most tinned chickpeas have already been skinned though, and to be perfectly honest, for hummus, I do prefer to use tinned rather than cooking dried ones because it's so much quicker, and I don't have to plan ahead.
Making hummus at home
Making hummus at home is stupidly simple. Even if you don't have a blender or food processor, it's easy to make by hand - after all, this is how it's traditionally done.
When we lived in Taroudant, I didn't have any kitchen appliances, other than a cooker and a fridge, so I made hummus in the dish of my tagine, which is basically a mortar, and used the bottom of a tea glass as a pestle! This method does however, take a bit of time to get the hummus really smooth.
If you do have a blender or food processor, it can be made in just a few minutes. Just place all the ingredients into the jug (or bowl), and blend until smooth. My Froothie VAC2 blender is brilliant for this!
Does it need garlic?
I don't always use garlic because I don't feel it needs it, TBH. Traditional hummus doesn't always contain garlic, so if I do add it, it's as a flavouring in its own right. Roasted garlic works really well, as it too is rich and creamy, with a deep, almost smoky, flavour.
How to remove the heat from garlic
When I do use raw garlic, I smash up a clove, and soak it in the lemon juice for 30 minutes before making the hummus. Why? Because the acid in the lemon juice removes the hot bitterness, leaving behind nothing but the sweet garlicky flavour. The whole lot can then be added to the blender with the other ingredients.
Ingredients
- cooked chickpeas
- aquafaba
- tahini
- lemon juice
- salt
- olive oil
How to make hummus
- Place the drained chickpeas, aquafaba, tahini, lemon juice, and salt into a food processor or blender, and blend for 2-3 minutes, until smooth. If necessary, add more aquafaba to loosen the hummus.
- Taste, and add more salt if required.
- Decant into a bowl, make a well in the centre, pour in the olive oil. Enjoy!
Tips
- If using US measurements for this recipe, 150ml is about ½ cup + 2 tbsp.
- A 50g serving is approximately 3 tablespoon or ¼ cup.
- If not serving immediately, this hummus will keep for up to 10 days if stored in an airtight container in the 'fridge. It can also be frozen for up to three months (omit the oil from the top, though).
- Serve this hummus as part of a traditional meze platter, in wraps, sandwiches, on crackers, baked potatoes, as part of a salad, or even on pizza!
The Secret To Smooth and Creamy Hummus
Ingredients
To finish:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (plus extra if desired)
Instructions
- Place the drained chickpeas (reserving a few for decoration), aquafaba, tahini, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon sea salt into a food processor or blender, and blend for 2-3 minutes, until smooth. If necessary, add more aquafaba (or water) to loosen the hummus.
- Taste, and add more salt if required.
- Decant into a bowl, make a well in the centre, pour in the olive oil, and decorate with the remaining chickpeas.
- 1 cup = US cup = 240 ml
- 1 tablespoon = US/UK = 15 ml
- 1 fl oz = US = 30 ml
Mary
The aquafaba do you whip it up or just use the can juice and blend in the Vita Mix or food processor. Which do you prefer - blender or food processor? I often find it gets really thick/pasty and have tremendously hard time processing/blending. LOL I have burned a motor out on a quality blender making hummus
Nico
No need to whip it first, Mary - just use it straight out of the can, and into the blender. I prefer my blender for hummus because it's very powerful, and makes it lovely and smooth. I gave my son my Magimix food processor because I bought a new one, and I wish I'd just given him the new one. My 40+ Magimix was far better, and coped very well with hummus! Unlike my new (Kenwood) one, which honestly, is a bit rubbish! If I only want to make a small amount of hummus though, I have a food processor attachment for my stick blender (Dualit), and that works very well, as long as I a) don't overload it, and b) use the turbo charge! 😉 xx
Vicky
I've been looking for a really good creamy hummus recipe and this is it! The other ones were so complicated. This is easy and really tasty! Thanks so much for the great recipe. This one is my go-to from now on.
Nico
Thank you so much Vicky - I am really happy you like this. It's definitely my favourite too! xx
Cara
Wow this was good! I had to do a few substitutions tp personalize it a bit and it still turned out great! I accidentally rinsed away all the aquafaba before I fully read the recipe so instead used 6 tbsps water and 6 tbsps olive oil! Also was quite low on tahini so could only scrape enough up for 3 tbsps and was still good! Lemon is always a great addition to anything in my book! Thank you for the recipe!!
Nico
Awww, I'm really happy you liked it, Cara - thanks so much for letting me know! xx
JACENDA
hello NICO, I really appreciate your efforts, the way you research a recipe and then share it with us. I tried in my kitchen the same procedure you discussed for creamy hummus in your blog, the taste is simply amazing.
Nico
So happy you enjoyed it, Jacenda! xx
izzie
i’ve been making hummus for years and i recently decided it wasn’t smooth or creamy enough for my liking so i tried this and WOW phenomenal i added a bit of garlic to mine and some paprika and cumin on top. so yummy! so creamy! SO SMOOTH! thank you!!!
Nico
I am so happy you like my hummus, Izzie - thank you for letting me know! The paprika and cumin combo sounds great... must try it! xx
Nancy
Thank you! Ive been “winging” hummus for years. Sane ingredients as above sans the juice from the beans. Mine never tasted like this.... like a pro! Thank you for recommending adding the juice and most important tip... whip it... whip it good. Turn that mixer on and walk away. I doubled the recipe. Thank goodness because I can’t stop eating it. I made a second batch and added Kalamata olives and a teaspoon of Cumin. Creamiest hummus I have ever made.
Nico
I'm really pleased you're so happy with it, Nancy. Olives and cumin sounds wonderful - I'll try that combo, thank you for the suggestion! xx
Rob
OMG, this is the longest written - most boring - recipe ever for such a simple hummus recipe you find anywhere. What a waste of my time.
Nico
And yet here you are, wasting even more of your no-doubt precious time, telling me what a crap post I've written. Oh, the irony.
lodu
hummus without tahini is not a hummus.
bell pepper is not an ingridient of hummus.
a bit of lemon, just a bit!
this is still quite coarse! you need to remove all the skins!
oh no wait! you dont because you always use dried skinless ones.
never can chickpeas!
Nico
Ummm... did you leave this comment on the wrong blog? Ha ha!
1. I agree, hummus needs tahini, which is why this recipe has plenty!
2. There are no peppers in my hummus, bell or otherwise.
3. Yes, there is lemon - just enough.
4. No it isn't! You can clearly see from the photos that my hummus is completely smooth. And no, you don't need to remove the skins if using a high-powered blender or food processor. Why am I having to repeat myself here?
5. Dude, go easy on the drugs! Skinless dried chickpeas? Really?
6. If you don't want to use canned chickpeas, then don't. I really don't care. You do you, boo.
Amy
I love the smoothness of this recipe but I think I will have chcange to teaspoons with the tahini instead of tablespoons, I’m just not that big of a tahini fan! Ended up putting heaps of extra lemon juice in to balance out, everyone’s preferences are different ?
Nico
Thanks for the feedback, Amy, and I'm sorry there was too much tahini for you... I'm definitely the other end of the tahini spectrum to you (I'm not averse to eating it straight from the jar)! xx
kathy roosa
Your serving size is 50g. How many tablespoons or fraction of a cup would that be? Thanks!
Nico
Hi Kathy! It's approximately 3 tbsp or ¼ cup. Hope that helps! (It's in the recipe notes, and the nutrition label!) xx
Choclette
If I used canned pulses, I always rinse them really well and throw away the water. Cooking them from dried after a 24 hour soak might be better. Make sure they are very well rinsed and cook them with either a bay leaf or some kelp - both of these is meant to take the bloating effect of pulses away.
Nico
Thanks so much for your input, Choclette, I really appreciate it.
I've been doing some experimenting lately, and falafel are the worst culprits; I think it's because although they're soaked overnight, the chickpeas aren't cooked until the falafels go into the oil. This would be entirely in keeping with the reason some beans need to be thoroughly boiled before consumption.
It could be a build-up of over indulgence of chickpeas but TBH, I don't (or rather, didn't) eat that many. K eats a lot more hummus than me, so I'm not convinced that the odd hummus wrap here and there would be enough to warrant a build-up. And I don't tend to use chickpea aquafaba because butter beans yield a much better liquid! Plus, I don't actually use AF that much. I'll take on board your suggestion about using bay or kelp in the boiling water - it can't hurt, right?! xx
Kate | The Veg Space
I'm a hummus addict but also totally underwhelmed by most supermarket stuff. I'm always unsure about garlic as I do like the flavour but not the death-breath, but your tip about lemon juice sounds ideal - will definitely be giving that a try!
Nico
Death breath - not heard that for years! I don't mind the smell of fresh garlic on people (not that I'm actually keen on getting close enough to most to be able to smell their breath!) but processed garlic - e.g. garlic powder - smells gross! Enjoy the hummus! 😉 xx
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Hummus can just be a meal within itself. So good!
Nico
So true! xx
Corina Blum
This looks brilliant and so smooth. I really love smooth hummus but I have to admit that when I make it at home it's often not as smooth as I'd like it. I'll definitely have to add more tahini next time and try your recipe as I often make hummus as a last minute meal when I haven't planned anything.
Nico
It really is super-smooth, and no more complicated than making non-smooth hummus. We love it so much! xx
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food
OMG—I literally just yesterday prepped dried chickpeas for hummus using the method where you boil pre-soaked chickpeas in water with some baking soda. Yes, tons of the hulls came off, but there were so many left intact that I wondered if some chickpeas perhaps had 2 or 3 hulls! WHAT A PAIN. Even so, I'm with you: homemade hummus has it ALL OVER the store-bought variety. Given what I just experienced, I think I'm back to using the canned, hulled variety! I love the liberal amount of tahini you've used in this recipe, so I can't wait to try it!
Nico
The tahini is everything, Michelle - I can't be doing with hummus that's merely threatened by the very thought of it! But then, I can quite happily eat tahini from a spoon... although admittedly, I do then spend the next 24 hours downing water like it's going out of fashion, due to the tahini sucking every bit of moisture out of my face!
Although I'm an advocate of cooking from scratch, sometimes it's just not worth the time and frustration to do so, especially when there are such good, cost-effective alternatives in the shops. I no longer make my own passata, for example because it's so much cheaper and easier to buy ready-done, and the flavour is comparable to home-made. And chickpeas - yeah, go buy the ready skinned ones! LOL! xx
Jacqui Bellefontaine
oh my you have me wanting to go make some right now. I love hummus in all forms coarse and smooth,
Nico
Do it, Jacqui - you won't regret it! 😉 xx
Monika Dabrowski
This amazing blender makes the smoothest creamiest dips, doesn't it? This looks so creamy!
Nico
It does indeed, Monika! xx
Helen
oh my, that looks so good,especially with that olive oil on the top!
Nico
Thank you, Helen! My new go-to dipping and finishing EVOO is from Belazu - it's lovely! xx
Hanne
Nico,
Wow these photos perfectly capture the glow of good olive oil and creamy hummus. Gorgeous!
I will shed.a few tears for your inability to eat chickpeas while I make your dreamy-creamy hummus. Perhaps they will salt the dish nicely.
All kidding aside that fucking sucks that you have pain and suffering from digesting garbanzos. Perhaps you have been cursed.
xox
Hanne
Nico
I rather think I may have been, Hanne... although I did have some onion bhajis the other day, which were made with gram flour, and I was fine. Just a little bit of bloating, which I can live with (just don't stand behind me!). I'm hoping that this is just a temporary setback, and that one day I'll be able to eat falafel again.
I had a similar issue in 2007. After a couple of years of being vegan, and eating my bodyweight in tofu, anything with soy in it gave me crippling stomach pains, so I cut it all out for a year or so, then gradually reintroduced it, and (touch wood), I've been fine ever since. I'm hopeful that the chickpea dearth won't be forever! xx
Martina
Oh yum yum yum! I love chickpeas, even as the main part of the dish, and this reminds me that I haven't made houmous for ages. It sounds really delicious with roasted garlic - I'll be sure to add that next time! #brilliantblogposts
Nico
Roasted garlic is so gorgeous in hummus - I admit though, that it's usually one for the hummus, one for my mouth, as I'm making it! Ha ha! Hope you love it as much as I do! xx