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With just a few simple ingredients, this delicious hummus is perfect for dipping pita bread, fresh veggies, and tortilla chips.
Hummus is the perfect appetizer, snack, and dip. It’s light, healthy, and goes perfectly with fresh veggies or pita bread!
Easy Hummus Recipe
Hummus is one of my all time favorite appetizers/snacks!
Everyone in my family loves it too, even my super picky six year old. I love that it’s so easy to make and good for you too. Buying it from the store can be pricey, and you don’t always know what’s inside the store-bought stuff. This recipe for homemade hummus is quick, easy, and made of simple ingredients.
It’s another one of those recipes that you make and think, “Wow! I can’t believe I made that at home!” You’ll never buy store-bought hummus again!
How to Make HUmmus
JUST BLEND! Add the tahini, cold water, olive oil, cumin, salt, garlic, and lemon juice to a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the chickpeas and blend for several minutes, until completely smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons of water to thin it out a little.
Note: Chickpeas and garbanzo beans are the same thing. So don’t be confused if you can’t find “chickpeas” at the store.
Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with fresh vegetables and pita bread on the side for dipping. For a prettier presentation, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika before serving.
This basic hummus recipe can be adapted in so many ways to create unique flavors! I’ve tried adding various ingredients such as:
- roasted red peppers
- sun dried tomatoes
- increasing the lemon and garlic
Whatever ingredients or flavors you add, it’s delicious every time!
want to Ditch the canned beans?
Some readers have asked about cooking their own chickpeas rather than using canned. It will definitely add extra prep time, but the benefit is you can control the texture. For hummus, you’ll want to cook them longer so they blend well.
You’ll need 1 cup dried chickpeas, 2 cloves smashed garlic, 2 bay leaves, 1/2 to 1 tablespoon salt.
In a bowl, cover the dried beans with 2 inches of water and soak overnight or for about 8 hours. They will expand 3 times their original size. Once soaked, drain them and use one of the following ways to cook:
- Stovetop: Add the chickpeas to a small pot, pour in enough water to cover the chickpeas by 2 inches and add the remaining ingredients. Bring the water to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes for al diente or 40-50 minutes for a softer bean.
- Slow cooker: Add the chickpeas to the slow cooker along with 6 cups of water and the remaining ingredients. Cook on high for 4 hours or Low for 8 hours.
- Instantpot: Add the chickpeas to the Instantpot along with 4 cups of water and the remaining ingredients. Set the Instant Pot to manual mode, and cook on high pressure for 12 minutes for al dente and 20 minutes for a softer bean. Allow the pressure to release naturally.
The chickpeas will keep covered in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days. You can also freeze them in a freezer safe bag for a few months.
Recipe FAQ
Where can I find tahini? There are a few places you can try. My grocery store has a small mediterranean/middle eastern food section, and I’ve found it there. World Market also sells it, and if all else fails, there’s always Amazon. It’s a little expensive (I think I paid around $6.99 for a small jar) but it lasts a long time and makes a lot of batches of hummus.
Can I make hummus without tahini? Yes! You can either omit it entirely, or use a substitute like nut butter, sunflower seed butter, sesame oil (a lot stronger than tahini so use sparingly), or you can even grind up your own sesame seeds in a food processor to make super fresh tahini.
Do I need to peel the chickpeas? Canned chickpeas are pretty easy to peel. Since they’re already cooked they pop right out of their skin. However, the extra minutes spent to peel the chickpeas don’t really make much of a difference. So if you have the time go for it, otherwise there’s not really a need to peel them.
What do I do if the hummus is too dry? Remember the drained chickpea juice? You can easily add a little juice to help moisten up the hummus to your desired texture. You can also add a bit more olive oil.
How long does homemade hummus last? You can store it in the fridge for 3-5 days, or if you want it to last longer, it freezes really well for 6-8 months. If you freeze it, you can defrost it in the fridge for 24 hours.
Things to eat with hummus:
You can use just about anything you can think of for dippers! We’ve done:
- pita bread
- pita crackers
- sliced baguette
- fresh vegetables (I especially love snap peas and carrots)
- tortilla chips
For even more dips, check out:
Homemade Hummus Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup tahini
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- juice of one lemon
- 1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained
- fresh vegetables and pita bread for serving
Instructions
- Add the tahini, cold water, olive oil, cumin, salt, garlic, and lemon juice to a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the chickpeas and blend for several minutes, until completely smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons of water to thin it out a little.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with fresh vegetables and pita bread on the side for dipping. For a prettier presentation, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Agreed! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Should have instruction in the recipe NOT to drain the beans….I did and it’s to dry, need to get another can of beans to add the juice and hopedully I can fix it! But easy recipe and I bet it’s great if made right!! Live and learn!
Alternative for tahini is peanut butter. The taste is close. Tahini is just sesame butter.
Or Sunbutter works as well … we can’t use most nut butters or processed tahini because of nut allergies, but sunbutter brand sunflower seed butter will work in hummus – it does have cane syrup added though … so not great for avoiding sugars.
Looks so good, I love hummus! Hope you do not mind I shared your link/post today with my viewers on my biz face book fan page.
We make our own too! Quick suggestion for those who cannot find tahini paste (or find it too expensive to purchase), you can make your own just as quickly as you make your hummus, all it takes are some toasted sesame seeds and a little olive oil (that’s how we make it anyway-I’m sure it’s not the ‘official’ way). Blend until it is creamy like a thick salad dressing, and refrigerate!
Awesome recipe! Going to make some more tomorrow!
Awesome tip! Thanks so much for sharing! I’m excited to try making my own tahini!
My girls and I love hummus, but I have never made it…not for sure why. I’m definitely going to try your recipe which is easy. I have everything, but the tahini so I’ll be stopping by World Market tomorrow 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!!