This is my favorite hummus recipe! With a few simple tricks, you can make the best creamy, smooth homemade hummus that’s way better than store-bought.
Hummus is a delicious spread (or dip) made from chickpeas, tahini, lemon, and spices. It is a popular dish in the Middle East and the Mediterranean. You can find it in most grocery stores, but trust me, you’ll want to skip those and make your own. Homemade hummus is just so much better!
This hummus recipe is a keeper (our family’s been making it for years!). So many of our readers swear it’s their forever hummus recipe, too. I’ve also shared our recipe for roasted red pepper hummus, which I bet you’ll also love!
Key Ingredients
- Chickpeas (or Garbanzo Beans): These are the base for hummus, and they can be canned or cooked from scratch. I use both, but homemade chickpeas have a slightly better flavor. Here’s how to cook chickpeas.
- Tahini: This sesame seed paste makes it so delicious. You can buy it at the store or make your own. I prefer homemade because it allows me to make my hummus 100% from scratch. Here’s my homemade tahini recipe. To make hummus without tahini, see my tips below the recipe.
- Lemon juice: Skip the bottled stuff! Fresh lemon juice makes all the difference in this recipe.
- Garlic: I use one small clove for just the right amount of flavor, but you can add more for a stronger garlic flavor or use roasted garlic instead. Here’s how to roast garlic.
- Cumin and Salt: Both improve the flavor of our hummus, and the cumin adds a little extra richness and spice. In our video, I sprinkle Za’atar seasoning on top for serving, which I love!
- Olive Oil: This guarantees a luxuriously smooth texture. I also like to drizzle a little extra on top when serving. Fruity, light-flavored olive oils are my favorite for making hummus.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Hummus from Scratch
The secret to the best hummus is all about the order in which you blend your ingredients! Seriously, this simple trick makes a huge difference.
Tip 1: Whip the tahini and lemon juice first. Add the tahini and lemon juice to your food processor, then, before you add anything else, turn it on and let it run for a minute or two.
See the photos below. In the first photo, I’m pouring tahini into a clean food processor. After a minute of being whirled, whipped, and creamed in the food processor, it turns into the paste you see in the next photo. It’s lighter in color and much thicker.
Tip 2: Add the chickpeas in two batches. Once you have the whipped tahini and lemon, you can add the remaining hummus ingredients. I like adding the chickpeas in two batches, processing the first batch for a minute before adding the rest. Then, I stand back and let my food processor run.
Tip 3: Add a little liquid at the end. When it looks close to done, I add a splash of cold water while the processor is still running. After a few tablespoons of water, the mixture transforms into fluffy, creamy, whipped hummus.
I use cold water, but aquafaba (chickpea liquid) works incredibly well, too. If you want to learn more about it, here’s our ultimate guide to aquafaba. Some of our readers have also suggested using ice cubes instead of water.
Tip 4: Do you need to peel the chickpeas? I usually skip peeling my chickpeas when making hummus, but it’s totally up to you! If you have some extra time and want the absolute smoothest texture, go ahead and peel them. It takes about 10 minutes to peel a can of chickpeas, and it does make a subtle difference.
The photo below shows slightly smoother hummus made with peeled chickpeas on the left. Even though the peeled chickpeas make a slightly smoother hummus, the difference isn’t huge. So, if you’re short on time, skip peeling. Your hummus will still be delicious!
What to Serve with Hummus
There are so many delicious ways to enjoy hummus! I love dipping this easy fluffy flatbread, homemade pita bread, or fresh, crunchy veggies in it. It’s also delicious, next to other spreads and dips, like baba ganoush (roasted eggplant dip), tzatziki sauce, homemade labneh, and our incredible tahini sauce.
Hummus is also great on sandwiches and wraps, alongside homemade falafel, or as a healthy, flavorful filling for lettuce wraps. I’ve even got a recipe for hummus cups with cucumber and tomato if you want something quick and easy.
More Recipes with Chickpeas
- Hummus with Spiced Ground Beef
- Easy Chickpea Salad
- Smashed Chickpea Salad
- Curried Chickpea Bowls
- Or, see all of our chickpea recipes!
Easy Hummus (Better than Store-Bought)
- PREP
- TOTAL
How to make hummus with chickpeas, garlic, tahini and olive oil. This is the best hummus recipe, just read all the happy reviews. Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds. Buy it or make it yourself. Here’s our tahini recipe, which I highly recommend for this recipe! To leave it out, add more olive oil.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas (250g)
¼ cup fresh lemon juice, from 1 large lemon (60ml)
¼ cup well-stirred tahini, try our tahini recipe (60ml)
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving (30ml)
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Salt to taste
2 to 3 tablespoons cold water or aquafaba (45ml)
Dash ground paprika, sumac, or Za’atar for serving
Directions
1Whip the tahini and lemon juice: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the tahini and lemon juice and process for 1 minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then process for 30 seconds more. This extra time helps “whip” or “cream” the tahini, making the hummus smooth and creamy.
2Add olive oil and spices: Add the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin, and ½ teaspoon of salt to the whipped tahini and lemon juice. Process for 30 seconds, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and then process for another 30 seconds or until well blended.
3Add the chickpeas: Drain the chickpeas. Then add half of the chickpeas to the food processor and process for 1 minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add the remaining chickpeas and process them until thick and relatively smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.
4Thin with water: The hummus will likely be too thick and still have tiny bits of chickpea. To fix this, slowly add 2 to 3 tablespoons of cold water or aquafaba with the food processor turned on until you reach the perfect consistency.
5To finish: Taste and adjust as needed with more salt or lemon. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika, sumac, or Za’atar over the top.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Store hummus in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to one week. Freeze it, covered with a thin layer of olive oil, for up to one month.
- Chickpeas: Use canned chickpeas or home-cooked chickpeas for this recipe. Here is how we cook dried chickpeas.
- Hummus without tahini: For the best hummus, which rivals our favorite store brands, use tahini. However, a chickpea puree without it is still quite delicious. Just add more olive oil. Another option is to use natural, unsweetened, creamy peanut butter in its place.
- If you like garlicky hummus: Increase the garlic by a clove or use roasted garlic.
- Aquafaba for fluffy hummus: This is the thick, starchy liquid in a can of beans (or the bean cooking liquid). You can use this instead of water in the last step of the recipe. Instead of plain water, add a splash of aquafaba at the end. As it whips, it creates an incredibly light and airy texture. Taste your aquafaba first. If it’s too salty, use less salt when making the recipe above.
- Tahini and lemon juice are not creaming: Depending on your food processor, the blade might not come into contact with the tahini and lemon juice. You need to increase the amount of liquid in the food processor, so add the olive oil. If they still do not cream, add a tablespoon of cold water.
- Blender: A food processor is best for making hummus, but a high-powered blender will work. Be sure to scrape the sides down a few extra times as you make it.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Absolutely delicious recipe. However, I put everything in it once doubling the recipe and it works perfectly fine without all the other steps. I have a food processor which really really helps!! I also add a little extra cumin just because I love the flavor!! Thanks for the great recipe! 💗
Best Humus recipe. So simple but delicious!
I bought a huge can (12 cups) of garbanzo beans by mistake and needed to use them up. I froze 6 cups but still had 6 more to use. I love hummus so I thought I would try to make my own. Your recipe was so easy and I liked the way you first whipped the lemon juice and tahini. I added a little more lemon juice and an extra garlic clove. Sprinkled with sumac at serving. Definitly will make again.
I just threw all of these ingredients into the bullet, and it’s delicious, topped off with sumac and olive oil. 😋 Thanks, I shall bookmark your site. 🥰
First time I ever make hummus. Let me just say it will NOT be the last! You made this recipe very easy to follow and it came out MUCH tastier than store bought. The best part – you know what each ingredient is and they are not difficult to find or costly.
Nice, easy recipe. I liked the effect of creaming the tahini with the lemon juice first. It made for a very light and well incorporated hummus. The amount of lemon juice was too much for my personal taste, I probably will use 2 tblsp if I make it again. So adjust if you know how much tartness you’d prefer. Thats the nice thing of hummus – you can make it to your tastes. I added in more garlic and cumin. Topped it with a drizzle of oil, and sprinkled sesame seeds on one half and za’atar on the other.
Excellent. So much better than store bought. Simple ingredients. Love it!
Today, I’ve made this for the umpteenth time! This recipe never fails and I’ve been looking at your Babaganoush and other recipes. Thank you for sharing such delicious and accessible recipes that require only one or two exotic ingredients yet totally elevates the flavour. You guys are awesome.
You are so welcome. Thank you so much for leaving this kind review 🙂
Excellent recipe. I made homemade tahini too and it tastes much better than the store bought. God bless you 🙏🏼
Nice, basic recipe. I did think it was really sour, I added baking soda to remove some sour again (btw that made it fizzy, like sparkling water, it was super cool). Also the tahini was really present, next time I would go lighter on that and add some more olive oil instead.
This is THE BEST hummus recipe bar none. I like to max up the cumin (2 tsp) and add 1/2 tsp smoked paprika. So good. Then sprinkle sumac or z’tar on top.
Great recipe. Some recipes call for cooking the chickpeas. I never do. I rinse under cold water while rolling a handful between my hands to remove the skins. This takes about 5 minutes.
Wow. The reviews don’t lie. I wrestled with a different hummus recipe last week and about threw in the towel forever. Glad I went looking again- these instructions made it so much easier to blend and was so delicious! Only change is next time I’ll go a little lighter on the lemon. Doubled the recipe, left half as is and threw chopped fresh jalapeños from the garden in the other. Excited to try the home-cooked chickpeas and homemade tahini next time. Thanks!
This is sooo delicious!!! Am amazing recipe!!! Love this addition of boiling. The chickpea in baking powder and water!!! Absolute game changer.cant wait to serve this as my daughter’s birthday party!!
Mine needed more lemon juice, so I put about 2 TBS more. And I also added a 2 TBS more olive oil. But it was very very good. thank You
Really lovely & creamy. I have tried several recipes from various sites all claiming to be “the best” This recipe is the best one out of them all. Thank you
I’ve been making this for years. Every time I make it I come back to this delicious, creamy recipe. I cut the lemon juice in half and double up the cumin to suit my personal preference. The fun in any recipe is to explore and make it your best version
This is my third time making hummus with this recipe. It is so good and so easy that I will never buy hummus again nor will I ever need to look for another recipe. I made it with store bought tahini and using the tahini recipe in this web site. Hands down the tahini recipe provided here is both cheaper and better tasting than what I bought. My only modification is to cut doun on the amount of lemon, but that is only because I am not a big fan of lemon.
I have been making homemade hummus for a number of years now. I came across this recipe today and it is hands down the best texture of hummus I have ever made. Made amazing flatbread sandwiches for lunch today. I will be making this again and look forward to playing around with different seasonings.
This hummus is exceptional! Easy to follow instructions, just a few steps, and truly a light, fluffy, smooth, creamy, flavorful outcome. Thank you!!
You are so welcome! 🙂
I came across your recipe and oh my gosh! Love this. I doubled the recipe. Added a bit more cumin and garlic. Primo 👌
I have made this recipe exactly as written and it is fabulous! I also took a stab at making the homemade tahini, which I had never ever heard of, sadly! Also fabulous, especially on vanilla ice cream. I took this hummus to a neighborhood get together and they loved it and asked me to bring it again the next time, which I did. More people were there and they all loved it. It is the best hummus I have ever tried. Thank you, kindly for sharing with us! I’m about to make my 3rd batch.
easy and yummy! I am looking for more bean recipes, and this was soooo good. My wife and friends love it, too. I added sun dried tomatoes, and used the oil from the tomatoes instead of olive oil.
I didn’t have chickpeas so I used Cannellini beans. Turned out beautiful! I also have ADHD so I couldn’t follow the instructions properly.. I just blended all the ingredients together for a minute. Suuuper smooth and delicious!! Such a flexible recipe that will now be on rotation! Thank you!
looking for a good recipe for hummus and decided on yours, then I saw your recipe for tahini and thought I would give that a try, also. both recipes easy and the taste of the hummus is the best, bar none. I won’t be spending my dollars on store bought hummus again. thank you..
Your welcome! 🙂
I’m back for about the 50th time to make this amazing hummous and thought I’d finally leave a well deserved review. I should have it memorized by now but I come back to double check. I’ve had lots of hummous – this recipe makes the best by far! I make it exactly as written except maybe a little extra lemon juice and it’s perfect. Thank you 50+ times 🙂
Excellent recipe came out perfect exactly as written
At last got around to making your marvellous tahini and hummus. It came out beautifully but my old food processsor is on its last legs and it struggling a bit and had to be kept cool for a while. I nearly gave up the struggle but was glad you told us to persevere with the processsing. Thank you so much – Love
I’ve made this a half dozen times,and it always comes out better than store bought hummus. And it’s quite a bit less expensive. My go to for hummus.
Amazing! 🙂
Made hummus for the first time! I loved how it came out!
Lovely recipe and tips. We have it in the morning / lunch with tinned sardines and avocado with a sprinkle of toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds. + plenty of olive oil, and a bit of seasoning. Thank you!
I have made almost many times before and I really like this recipe. One of the main differences the amount of blending to create a creamier hummus. I added cilantro and this was also good. Thank you for this great recipe!
I make this all the time and triple it to freeze some since my kids eat it a lot. I also roast 5-6 heads of garlic to add. Its a great recipe!
I have a newfound love of chick peas, but have never liked hummus. This recipe fixed that! It’s such a clean, easy recipe with such a smooth, delicious outcome that I’m making it every few days and the entire family loves it. Headed to the kitchen to make the pita bread now!
Easy and delicious! Thank you!!!
You are so welcome!
This was delicious! Nice and simple. I omitted the garlic, and it was still great. I peeled the chickpea skin, so the hummus’ texture was incredible. The recipe says this step is optional, but I recommend it. The extra 10 minutes is worth the smooth texture. 🙂
I was surprised. I didn’t peel them and still ended up with a smooth texture. I also drained and rinsed my canned chickpeas and didn’t need to add any extra water. The hummus is amazing.
I had some chana dal that needed to be used and the end result was delicious. Chana dal are split, peeled chickpeas from a small dark variety called Tyson, so it was worth a try and it workedl I’ll definitely also make this again with regular chickpeas and watching the lemon juice and tahini transform was kitchen alchemy fun. Good recipe – and the hummus is better and cheaper than store bought. THANK-YOU!! .