Hummus Recipe - The Plant Based School (2024)

Table of Contents

• How to make hummus
• Serving Suggestions
• Variations
• Tips
• Storage
• More Chickpea Recipes
• More Dips and Spreads
• Hummus Recipe

And why not make a delicious hummus pasta or a beautiful mezze platter with other Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern dishes?

You’ll need a light-colored, runny tahini to make the best hummus recipe, with a creamy, dreamy texture, a nutty taste, and a silky smooth mouth feel. We share tips below on how to pick the best tahini.

We didn’t like homemade hummus until we learned to pick the “right” tahini. But now, it has become a staple in our kitchen, and we haven’t had store-bought hummus in years.

Read more to learn all the secrets to making the best homemade hummus recipe.

Find the complete recipe with ingredients and instructions in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Tahini

Tahini is the most crucial ingredient in hummus; therefore, you should try to pick the right one.

Choose a runny, light-colored tahini made with 100% hulled sesame seeds, ideally imported from Lebanon or Palestine.

Avoid thick, pasty, and dark-colored tahini.

Chickpeas

You can use canned chickpeas or dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans).

If you use dry chickpeas, you’ve got to soak them overnight in water and baking soda, then rinse them and boil them in fresh water until tender. Instructions below.

Cumin

Ground cumin is best so that it gets evenly distributed in the hummus.

Whole cumin seeds are hard to blend for the blender/food processor, so I would advise crushing them beforehand.

Hummus shouldn’t have a strong cumin flavor but a hint of cumin aroma in the background.

Fresh Lemon Juice

Freshly squeezed lemon juice without the seeds.

Garlic

Hummus should be with too much garlic. In most cases, half to one clove of fresh garlic is enough.

You can use roasted garlic if you like a mellow and sweeter garlic flavor.

Water & Ice

To get the blender going and thin up the hummus. We recommend using ice-cold water to get a lighter hummus texture.

Adding a few ice cubes to the blender help get the hummus light and fluffy. It’s optional but recommended.

Salt

We like to use sea salt or kosher salt.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

There’s no need to add oil IN the hummus; however, we recommend adding a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil ON the hummus once it’s on the plate.

If you don’t have good quality extra-virgin olive oil, then I would skip the oil as low-quality oil can ruin your hummus recipe.

Optional Toppings

Garnish with optional spices and herbs such as fresh flat-leaf parsley, mint, sumac, za’atar, dukkah, toasted pine nuts, cayenne pepper, paprika, or sesame seeds.

You can also garnish with a drizzle of tahini sauce or add olives and whole chickpeas in the center of the plate.

Find the complete recipe with ingredients and instructions in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Hummus from Canned Chickpeas

Drain and rinse the canned chickpeas, then boil them in a small pot with water and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin for 15 minutes.

Note: you can skip the boiling if you are in a hurry, but in this case, rinse the chickpeas well.

Save a cup of boiling water, drain the chickpeas, and put them in a bowl with cold water.

Rub the chickpeas between your hands and discard the skins that come off quickly.

To a blender or food processor, add chickpeas, chopped garlic, tahini, ground cumin, lemon juice, salt, ice cubes, and some reserved water where you boiled the chickpeas.

Blend until you reach your desired consistency and texture, adding more water if necessary.

Taste and adjust the seasoning. You might want to add more tahini, lemon juice, salt, garlic, or cumin, based on your preference.

Note: A high-speed blender makes perfectly smooth hummus. A food processor makes a grainier one. Both are delicious.

Transfer into a serving bowl, swirl with the back of a spoon, and drizzle with good quality extra virgin olive oil and optionally tahini sauce.

You can garnish with parsley, chickpeas, olives, sumac, za’atar, or sesame seeds.

Soak the chickpeas for 8 to 24 hours in a large bowl or pot with plenty of water and a teaspoon of baking soda to soften their skin.

You can leave them at room temperature on your kitchen counter. They should almost double in volume.

Drain them, transfer them into a large pot with plenty of water, bring to a boil, season with salt, then lower the heat and gently simmer for about 1 – 2 hours.

Cooking time varies greatly depending on the chickpea. Taste them at the 1-hour mark.

The chickpea will foam while cooking. You can skim off the foam if it bothers you.

Reserve two cups of chickpea cooking water, drain the chickpeas, and transfer them onto a clean kitchen towel.

Place another kitchen towel on top and rub them to remove some of the skin.

Note: Removing the skins of home-cooked dry chickpeas is more challenging, so don’t beat yourself up if they don’t all separate easily.

Transfer the chickpeas to the blender or food processor with chopped garlic, tahini, ground cumin, salt, lemon juice, and some reserved chickpea cooking water.

Blend until you reach your desired texture and consistency, taste, and adjust seasonings. Serve and garnish as before.

Hummus is much more than a dip for crackers, cucumbers, and veggie sticks.

If you are wondering what to eat with hummus, we’ve made a list of 25+ ways to eat hummus. Check it out! Some Ideas are:

On a mezze platter

Traditionally, hummus is served as a dip with warm pita bread as part of a meze, a selection of small dishes served as an appetizer in the Middle East.

To make your appetizer platter, serve it next to our falafel, fattoush salad, tabbouleh, Zaalouk (Moroccan eggplant), avocado spread, tofu cream cheese, confit tomatoes, caramelized onions, tzatziki, vegan basil pesto, grilled asparagus or zucchini, and some homemade focaccia, flatbread, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, pita chips, and raw veggies (carrots, celery, and red peppers)

With falafel

If you like Middle-eastern food, you’ve got to try homemade falafel! They are fragrant, herby, and aromatic, made with wholesome and simple ingredients.

They are divine with hummus, tahini sauce, and warm pita bread.

Check out our homemade falafel recipe.

As pasta sauce

Creamy hummus lends itself perfectly to becoming a delicious pasta sauce. You’ll love it tossed with rigatoni al dente and sautéed mushrooms.

Check out our hummus pasta.

Creamy hummus is a perfect flavor and texture match to roasted or air-fried vegetables.

For example, try serving it on a platter with roasted peppers in the center, a drizzle of yogurt, and warm pita bread.

Check out our roasted peppers recipe.

In a pita sandwich

Warm up some pita bread and spread a generous amount of hummus on the bottom. Fill it with grilled or roasted vegetables, falafel, salad leaves, tomatoes, and more.

Drizzle with tahini sauce and add a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Of course, this is a suggestion, but you get the idea, right?

In a falafel bowl (or grain bowl)

You’ll love this Mediterranean bowl with homemade falafel. A couple of spoonfuls of hummus fit right in!

We serve it with warm pita bread, roasted red peppers, pickled beets, tabbouleh, kalamata olives, jalapeños, lemon wedges, crumbled feta cheese, sesame seeds, fresh parsley, and a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and tahini sauce.

Check out our Mediterranean bowl recipe.

This is how we eat hummus and falafel when we are in Berlin, Germany, where many Lebanese restaurants serve falafel this way.

Warm up a large wrap, spread a generous amount of hummus on the base, then top with smashed falafel, Shirazi salad, jalapeños, pickled beets, fresh parsley, fresh mint, squeezed lemon, and a good drizzle of tahini sauce. Enjoy!

Loaded hummus platter (fatteh)

This is our interpretation of Fatteh, a delicious Lebanese dish with crunchy pita bread, chickpeas, yogurt tahini sauce, and more.

Check out our fatteh recipe.

Add the flesh of one roasted or air-fried eggplant to the hummus to give it a mild roasted eggplant flavor.

Arrange the eggplant cut side down and bake at 430°F or 220°C for 50 minutes.

Let the eggplants cool down for 10 minutes, then scoop the flesh out of the peel with a spoon and transfer it into the food processor with the rest of the ingredients.

Tip:for an extra smokey flavor, turn the broiler on and broil for 5 to 10 minutes to slightly char the peel of the eggplant.

Blend until you reach your desired texture and consistency, then serve in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, warm pita bread, and veggie sticks.

Lentil hummus

Lentil hummus is the perfect last-minute appetizer or light meal.

It’sready in 5 minutes, made with canned brown lentils, and the preparation is similar to chickpea hummus.

Add roasted and peeled bell peppers to the hummus to give it the delicious sweet and smokey taste of the bell pepper.

You can roast the peppers on a gas burner, grill, oven, or air-fryer.

Check out our roasted pepper recipe to learn how.

How to pick the best tahini?

They went from bitter, gritty, and overpowering to silky smooth, rich, nutty, and I-want-to-eat-this-thing-with-a-spoon-like-Nutella kind of thing.

Blender vs. Food Processor

Food processor vs. blender? Canned vs. dry chickpeas?

We tested them all for you; the winner is hummus with dry chickpeas in a blender.

The food processor is easier to handle, but a high-speed blender makes super smooth hummus that is just too good.

When it comes to dry vs. canned chickpeas, home-cooked dried chickpeas taste more natural and nutty and are probably healthier than canned ones.

We love dry chickpeas so much that you’ll often find a bowl soaking on our kitchen counter.

In conclusion, try to use a blender, and if you don’t have time to cook the chickpeas, be assured that hummus made from canned ones is still absolutely delicious!

Make ahead: hummus is an excellent recipe for meal prep and making ahead. It keeps well in the fridge; you can always give it a quick blend if it dries up too much after storing.

Refrigerator: keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Cover the top with a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil to prevent it from drying out. Stir it before serving.

Freezer: we don’t recommend freezing this recipe.

Want to add more chickpeas to your diet? Here are some of our favorite chickpea recipes. If you want even more, check out our best chickpea recipe round-up.

• Chickpea pasta salad
• Chickpea stew
• Easy chickpea salad
• Roasted chickpeas

Here are some of our favorite, most delicious dips:

• Baba ganoush
• Avocado spread
• Muhammara
• Zaalouk
• Mutabal

For many more side dish ideas, check out our sides category page.