Classic Hummus

Once you try this homemade hummus recipe, you’ll never opt for store-bought again. It’s super creamy, lemony, nutty, and garlicky – just as hummus should be.

Sep 16, 2025

If your quest for finding the creamiest, most delicious store-bought hummus has left you empty handed, I’ve got a recipe for you. Hummus is a popular Middle Eastern dip made from chickpeas (a.k.a. garbanzo beans), tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and salt. Blended until smooth and creamy, this savory dip is topped off with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of za’atar and fresh parsley. Whether you’re using it as a dip for vegetables or crackers, or as a spread on your favorite wrap or sandwich, hummus adds a nutty, bright, fresh tang to anything it comes in contact with.

A few years ago, I came across an excellent blog post on how to make the best hummus by Kate Taylor at cookieandkate.com. Her goal was to create a hummus that was ultra creamy, yet light and almost fluffy. After a lot of researching and experimenting, she came up with a handful of tips for making the perfect hummus. I thought I’d apply her hummus-making tricks to my recipe, and I’m so glad I did. Here’s how to make the best hummus:

Start with overcooked chickpeas

The smoothest hummus starts with really soft, overcooked, almost mushy chickpeas. This is certainly easy to achieve if you’re starting with dry chickpeas, but what if you’re using canned chickpeas? Kate recommends cooking canned chickpeas in boiling water for about 20 minutes to get them really soft. To speed up the softening process, she suggests adding some baking soda to the boiling water. Since baking soda adds additional sodium to the recipe, I cooked the canned chickpeas in plain water, and they softened beautifully. As the chickpeas cook, you’ll notice their skins loosen and float to the surface of the pot. Removing the skins makes for smoother hummus.

Don’t skimp on the tahini

Another tip to creating super creamy hummus is using a generous amount of tahini. The downside to adding lots of tahini to hummus recipes is that it does supply a hefty dose of calories. I found that adding a 1/2 cup of tahini to today’s recipe provided superior creaminess without adding too many calories.

Use fresh-squeezed lemon juice

For fresh, brightly flavored hummus, always use fresh-squeezed lemon juice instead of bottled lemon juice.

Add a little ice-cold water

Adding a small amount of ice-cold water while processing helps to make the hummus a bit lighter and fluffier.

Tame the garlic

Although I love garlic, puréeing raw garlic in the food processor with the other ingredients can result in hummus that has a very harsh, sharp bite. To mellow the sharpness, I added the garlic cloves to the boiling water when cooking the chickpeas. If you find you’d like a little more fresh garlic flavor, add a minced clove of garlic to the hummus after you’ve removed it from the food processor.

To your health,

Darlene

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CLASSIC HUMMUS

Yield: 14 servings

Serving Size: 3 tablespoons

Prep: 10 minutes

Ready: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

2 cans (15.5 ounces each) chickpeas, drained
4 cloves garlic, peeled
3/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup tahini
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup ice-cold water
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon za’atar, sumac, or paprika
2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS

Place drained chickpeas and whole garlic cloves in a saucepan and cover with a few inches of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and allow chickpeas to simmer for about 20 minutes or until their skins are falling off and the chickpeas are easily smashed.
Drain chickpeas and garlic cloves in a colander and run under cold water. Once beans are cooled, remove as many of the loose skins as possible. Add drained, cooled chickpeas and whole garlic cloves to a food processor along with lemon juice, tahini, salt, and cumin. Process until smooth; about 2 to 3 minutes. Add ice-cold water and continue processing for an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until very smooth.
Transfer hummus to a container and, if desired, stir in an additional clove of garlic that has been minced. Cover hummus and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. To serve, spread hummus onto a small plate and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with za’atar and parsley. Serving suggestions: fresh vegetables, crackers, pita chips, or pita bread.

Nutrition Information per Serving

106 Calories, 6 g Total fat, 1 g Saturated fat, 0 g Trans fat, 0 mg Cholesterol, 187 mg Sodium, 11 g Total carbohydrate, 3 g Dietary fiber, 1 g Total sugars, 0 g Added sugars, 4 g Protein, 0 mcg (0%) Vitamin D, 100 mg (8%) Calcium, 1.8 mg (10%) Iron, 20 mg (0%) Potassium