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 made this exactly as you have it here and it turned out creamy and delicious! Thank you for doing the homework! It makes such a difference.
Absolutely delicious! It’s my go to recipe when I want to treat a friend to a little homemade love… Everyone loves it! Thank you for sharing your recipe ❤️
After trying several recipes and making several batches of so-so hummus, I learned the secret to really great hummus is to double the lemon. Many hummus recipes typically call for 2tbls lemon juice. Nice to see this recipe calls for 1/4cup (4tbls). The doubled lemon is already in Kate’s recipe.
Absolutely love this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing!
I just made this perfect hummus for probably the 20th time. This is the first time I cooked the chickpeas from a bag. I soaked overnight, about 12 hours, then drained, rinsed, & cooked on high in a crockpot till they were perfectly overcooked & soft. I used as much zest as I can get from the lemons, add a little cayenne for zip, and I just dump everything together into the food processor, except the oil & ice water & salt. Garlic isn’t my husband’s favorite so I just use a bit of garlic powder (heresy!)
It doesn’t seem to matter when the ice water is added. Salt to taste is the last step. So good. A whole bag is a triple recipe, makes about 1 1/2 quarts, plus a bit.
I totally loooooove the Best Hummus recipe. I’ve had my own rustic version, but this made me curious, so I gave it a whirl. It only took a little longer than my recipe, but the flavour and texture were silky and amazing! Cooking the chick peas allowed the hummus to fluff up and be oh-so-smooth and, though I was hesitant about the cumin, it gave just a little ‘bite’ without overpowering the lemon and saltiness of the dip. I’m not sure how long it lasts – we gobbled it inside 48 hours! Highly recommended!
Made for the first time tonight and it was so very good! It will be hard to eat store bought hummus again. The taste and texture of this is just like oir favorite Mediterranean restaurants. We had it on pita with your best ever lentil soup (also delicious!) and a greek salad. Thanks so much!
I have made this Hummus several times and it never disappoints! Definitely a game changer from the recipe I use to make. Thank you :)
I’ve been making The Best Hummus for years because it really is The Best. I just started adding Zhoug sauce and I’m obsessed.
Love this hummus! This is my second time making it. Thank you for sharing your tips and recipe
This has ruined me for store bought hummus. Its texture is so smooth and creamy and the lemon juice is the best tang.
Seriously the best hummus recipe. It’s easy to make, smooth and creamy. I love that the recipe doesn’t use a lot of oil. I doubled the recipe, and it still turned out perfectly.
This was outstanding! Way better than anything you can buy in the store. I’ve made humus using Michael Solomonov‘s recipe before, but used canned chickpeas without your extra step of boiling, which made all the difference. No more store-bought hummus for me!
I was confused about whether or not to remove all the chickpea skin that came off of them when boiling because the last line says ‘no need to peel’. I picked all the skin out from the strainer because it looked gross, and it turned out okay. But if that’s not necessary, I won’t do it next time.
Also, my mouth started burning after eating and my husband said his tongue felt like it was swelling. Could this be that maybe I didn’t rinse the baking soda off enough? I ran it under water for about 30 seconds, but I didn’t attempt to wash the baking soda off. I just let the water run.
Other than that, the recipe was great and I’ll make it again.
I don’t remove the skins and have had great results. I think the “burning” you may be feeling is from the cumin, not the baking soda. Try leaving it out next time and see if that changes anything.
Absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe exactly as you described and is probably the best hummus I’ve ever had! Great job!
Haven’t made recipes yet but wondered if you could use roasted garlic? If so, how much would you recommend?
Love your recipes, BTW!
Excellent. We followed the recipe exactly for our first trial and we were blown away. I can’t wait to experiment with flavors. I’m searching for a source for bulk tahini because my husband eats hummus with a spoon like it’s yogurt and he loves this stuff, so we’re going to be making it several times a week.
I can’t overstate how good this is. We are a household of hummus lovers and everyone was impressed.
Hello! This is the best hummus recipe! I have tried so many and have never really found one I love! I will never buy store hummus again! You’re a genius!
Excellent! I’ve made this many times. Always fantastic! Thanks for the tips about garlic in lemon juice and cooking the beans with baking soda. It comes out great every time!
Best hummus recipe!!!
Hummus is not Israeli :) just FYI!
Love the technique in this recipe, it really makes a difference. I don’t like cumin but I love sumac so I subbed sumac for cumin in the recipe itself. Tastes amazing. Instead of ice water I just add a couple ice cubes at the last step. Topped with more sumac, lemon zest, olive oil and toasted pine nuts.
I make this hummus regularly for family and friends, it’s always a big hit! I sometimes stir in some harissa paste at the end for a little exotic zing.
Yikes. I didn’t read the recipe! I just added everything together without thinking and blended it all. Yes, the bicarb too! I’ve added all sorts of extra flavours to try to get rid of the bicarb taste but …
This was some AWESOME hummus. The second time I made it I shorted the tahini by 2 tablespoons as it was a little too strong and I made sure not to add too much ice water (limited myself to 2 tbs). A-MAZING. You know it’s gotta be good when a 9 year old asks you to make it again!
The ada on this site drive me nuts and the video is useless with them, but the recipe is recipe is hands down the best hummus I’ve ever made! Seriously! I went into Pinterest and removed the others I had pinned so I wouldn’t forget which was the best Made it exactly as you said, started with dried chickpeas so just cooked til soft and it was perfection.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe!! Followed exact, including all your tips & notes and it turned out perfect!!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe!! Made it exact, using your notes & tips, and it turned out perfect!!
This is a wonderful hummus recipe. I use Soom tahini. You can get it on Amazon. Add a bit of extra salt and lemon juice, and 2 cloves of garlic. I boiled the canned chickpeas for 20 minutes and even though the recipe says you don’t need to remove the skins, they separated when rinsed and most were easy to remove so any that were in my strainer in bunches I picked out. I used 3 T of cold water while in the food processor and ran the processor for about 15 minutes. Super creamy, delicious!! I highly recommend this recipe but good tahini is key in any hummus.
Holy Moly, this was WAAAAAAY better than I expected. What a fantastic method to eliminate some of the bitterness you can get from using raw garlic.
I did end up using the juice from 2 1/2 lemons and more salt.
For those of you who say you don’t like cumin. . .I don’t like the flavor on its own, but when it’s mixed into a recipe like this, it adds something that you do need. I also added a lot of smoked paprika.
I forgot to add the olive oil while mixing this in my food processor, but I added a generous drizzle on top after I scooped it into a bowl.
This was very easy and so, so good.
Holy Moly, this was WAAAAAAY better than I expected. What a fantastic method to eliminate some of the bitterness you can get from using raw garlic.
I did end up using the juice from 2 1/2 lemons and more salt.
For those of you who say you don’t like cumin. . .I don’t like the flavor on its own, but when it’s mixed into a recipe like this, it adds something that you do need. I also added a lot of smoked paprika.
I forgot to add the olive oil while mixing this in my food processor, but I added a generous drizzle on top after I scooped it into a bowl.
This was very easy and so, so good.
I’ve tried several recipes for hummus – this is the best, creamy & very flavorful. Hits all the check marks. Sharing with friends & enjoying. Thank you. Am going to make a cilantro version.
Waaaay too much lemon and tahini
I made this today and it is fabulous!
I had to change it a little b/c I wasn’t sure my tahini was still good so I substituted with peanut butter. I also added Toasted Sesame Oil in place of olive oil. Also added a little more lemon juice and garlic. This is creamier than any hummus I have ever made! I have always removed the skins from the Chickpeas because they are gross to me but have never boiled them first. I will never make it any other way now. Simply perfect! Can’t wait to try it with tahini. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
Shela
I followed your recipe for hummus. You’ve made a mistake.in your hummus recipe. The instructions called for
1/2 Cup of tahini. The hummus was so bitter I just threw it out. Please fix your recipe before someone else makes a mistake! Thanks!
Hi Trae, it’s possible that you had a bad batch of tahini! See the note for preferred brands, as they can vary widely.
I see nothing about Tahini in your notes but would love to make this for company this week. Which brands do you like, please?
Hi Krista, If you go to the 2) note under How to Make the Best Hummus heading you’ll find my comments about tahini (in the body of the post, not the recipe directions). Soom is my favorite brand, and I found it on Amazon. My second favorite is Trader Joe’s organic tahini, which is made from Ethiopian sesame seeds like Soom’s.
Delicious! I previously made hummus and it did not turn out great. It was so bad I was afraid to make it again. I’m so glad I found your recipe.
Truly … the absolute best hummus recipe! I dial up the garlic and down the cumin … just my personal preference. Also … I put in 4 to 5 medium sized ice cubes vs ice water. Truly impressive hummus. I won’t buy store made anymore. Thank you for sharing with us!
Hi Marianne,
Once people discover how much better fresh, homemade hummus is, they never go back! I’m so glad you were able to adjust the spices to your taste.
Hi! Can I use a strong blender instead of food processor? Thanks!
Hi Reide, you could if that’s what you have on hand, but I find the results better in a food processor, and it is also easier to clean than a blender.
This is the only hummus recipe I use – it makes the creamiest, most delicious hummus. Much better than anything you can buy! Thank you
Amazing! Overcooking the beans made all the difference in texture!
Hi Kate –
A friend gifted me with some great tahini and I’m sooo happy I found your recipe. Yum!! Your hummus is fantastic. Thanks so much for sharing and I can’t wait to make it again for my friends. This batch is for me :)
1000 stars! Made a double batch for Easter and it was gone quick! I did use a strong blender since my food processor was too small, so I can’t imagine if it’s even better in a food processor, I’ll try that next time! Worked great in the blender.
I don’t have a photo to post but I’ve used this recipe so many times. It’s the absolute best hummus ever!! I stick pretty close to the recipe but sometimes add some chipotle sauce because my husband likes the flavor. It’s fun to make and never goes to waste. Definitely the best recipe ever!!! Thank you!!
I have tried sooo many hummus recipes and this one is the best by far! My whole family loves it. Thanks for a fabulous recipe!
Just made this for my daughter and she loved it! I pack it for her to take to university, with some pita chips & she absolutely loves it.
I never thought it’s that easy to make hummus. Thank you! This is definitely a keeper. I’m making your baba ganoush next.
I asked chat gpt to suggest the best hummus recipe and hola – it suggested me ‘Cookie a Kate’s’ hummus recipe! It is definitely the best hummus recipe I’ve tried! Perfecto!
Omg, this is one tasty creamy recipe!!
Wow! Darn great hummus! I’ve never made hummus before but wanted to try since finding the store-bought hummus tasting awful. Thanks for taking the time to figure out how to make epic hummus! :)
Felt the need to mention that hummus is not of Israeli origin. :)
Other than that error, this is a great recipe!
I have a question – boiling the chickpeas has some of the skins falling off. Should I discard skins, or do I include them or pick them out? Thank you! I have made this twice and we love it!
Hi Maureen, there is no need to peel your chickpeas! If you follow this method you will still have silky smooth hummus and save yourself a lot of hassle.
This hummus recipe is excellent. I make it regularly. It is quick to put together and easy to adjust the flavors to personal taste. Highly recommend!
The most delicious hummus I’ve ever eaten! Never going back to store bought!! Thank you for sharing this.