Want to make the Creamiest Hummus at home? Here’s how you can do it.
April 20, 2022
This authentic recipe makes the best homemade hummus! My creamy hummus recipe is a perfect replica of the light and fluffy one I used to eat every day in Jordan.
With just a few ingredients and a little bit of time, you can quickly turn chickpeas into smooth and creamy hummus. This recipe is light, fluffy, and will make you never want to buy pre-packaged ones again.
What is Hummus?
Hummus is a spread or dip that is considered a Middle Eastern staple. The dish is made with a few simple ingredients, including chickpeas, tahini sauce, lemon juice, and garlic. In fact, hummus means chickpeas in Arabic.
Although it is mainly served for breakfast, it can also be eaten for lunch or dinner. A traditional Middle Eastern breakfast typically consists of hummus, pita bread, and halloumi cheese. It is also traditionally served alongside other traditional dips such as baba ganoush, mutabal, and muhammara.
Hummus is a healthy, nutrition-dense dish that is full of fiber to help digestion, unsaturated fat, magnesium, potassium, and iron. It is also packed with plant-based protein, making it an excellent choice of protein for people who are vegan or vegetarian. Also, since it is naturally gluten-free, this recipe is perfect for potlucks and dinner parties.
Tips For The Best Hummus:
- If you want to pre-prepare the ingredients, you can soak and strain a large batch of chickpeas and freeze them until you are ready to make this recipe.
- You can use canned chickpeas if you cannot find fresh ones in your local grocery store, but the taste wouldn’t be the same as if it were made from fresh chickpeas.
- When you buy chickpeas, choose the smallest chickpeas that have a darker complex.
- The smoothest, creamiest hummus is made when the chickpeas are peeled before making it. Peeling the chickpeas can be a tedious job, so it is best to peel the chickpeas when making small batches. You can also skip this step altogether.
- Tahini, a sauce made of ground sesame seeds, is one of the main ingredients for this recipe, so it is crucial to select a high-quality tahini sauce. You should also always use fresh lemon juice.
- Don’t forget to save some of the cooked chickpeas and add them as garnish.
Cookware Needed
- Large Pot
- Deep Tray
- Strainer
- Food Processor
Ways to Spice Up This Recipe
There are plenty of ways you can spice up this recipe . You can have fun with many nontraditional variations and add different flavors and herbs to the blend. One of my favorite ways to make them is to add avocado, cilantro, and coriander to the food processor. The avocado adds to the rich and creamy texture, while the cilantro gives it a refreshing taste. I call this California-styled hummus. I also like to add cumin to my hummus, but it is not a necessary ingredient, so it is entirely up to personal preference.
Try to make the it with and without the cumin and see which way you like the best. You can also add Kalamata olives or roasted red peppers to the recipe to try other variations such as adding beets or beetroot juice to get red hummus. You can essentially get as creative with this recipe as much as you want! My creamy hummus works really well with Shrimp Taco with Pineapple Salsa.
How to Garnish
This dish is traditionally garnished with a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkled sumac, and whole chickpeas. Another way to garnish is to fry garlic in ghee and then pour it over the top of the hummus. This gives the it the delightful aroma of deep-fried garlic. You can also toast za’atar, a mixture of Middle Eastern spices mainly made up of sumac, oregano, and thyme, and sprinkle it over the hummus. If you want, you can also squeeze extra lemon juice over for an extra zing of acidity.
Storage Instructions
Homemade hummus can stay in the refrigerator for about 4 to 7 days. Just make sure to store it in an airtight container. You can also freeze the leftover in a freezer-safe container. Pour a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil over the top to keep it moist. Though you can store hummus for up to 4 months by freezing it, I recommend making it fresh, since the recipe is so quick and easy to make.
The chickpeas can also be frozen after they are cooked to save some steps in the future. I recommend against freezing flavored hummus such as a few of them may not taste as good when thawed out.
How To Thaw Frozen Hummus
If you decide to freeze your hummus, the best way to thaw it is to place the frozen hummus in the refrigerator at least overnight. The hummus needs to be thawed evenly, so it may even take up to 24 hours. Do not use a microwave or the stovetop since the hummus is not meant to be served warm, and the defrosting would not be even.
Reviews
Ingredients:
Adjust Servings
| 3 cups cooked chickpeas ( if you have only can, use two 15 oz chickpeas) | |
| ½ cup fresh lemon juice | |
| 1 cup tahini sauce | |
| 3 cloves of garlic minced | |
| 2 teaspoons salt | |
| 4 cubes ice | |
| Cumin (optional) | |
| Olive oil and sumac for garnish |
Directions
Wash the chickpeas before you soak them.
Check to see if they are soft enough before you use them. To do this, you should take one of the chickpeas and use your fingers to smash them. If they get smashed easily with little effort, they are ready to be made into hummus!
When you are ready to make the hummus, strain the chickpeas and remember to save some of the water and keep it in the fridge. This step is in case you want to add water to the hummus if your hummus is too thick. PRO TIP: turn the leftover water into ice cubes by freezing them in ice cube trays so that you can replace regular ice cubes with chickpea water ice cubes in the recipe below.
In the food processor bowl, add the ice cubes and run the food processor until the ice cubes break down.
While the food processor is running, add the lemon juice, tahini sauce, and salt. Let it run for about 5 minutes. You can also adjust the salt and lemon to your taste.
Spoon out the hummus into a bowl or a plate with the back of the spoon. Spread it nicely, forming a well in the center. You can add cooked chickpeas to the well and drizzle it with olive oil and sumac.
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