3 Tips for Making Smooth Hummus at Home

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When visiting Israel, I learned how to make hummus with tips for getting it extra creamy. Only 5 ingredients.

Table of Contents

Where I Learned to Make Hummus
3 Important Tips to Make Hummus
Ingredients
How to Make Hummus at Home
What to Serve with Hummus
How to Make Hummus Recipe
Frequently Asked Questions
Other Easy Appetizers

Hummus is a versatile and delicious dip that has become increasingly popular in recent years. It’s a Middle Eastern dish made from cooked chickpeas, tahini, fresh lemon juice and salt.

When I was in Israel in February, I learned that making hummus from scratch is surprisingly easy, and the end result is far more flavorful than store-bought. If you’ve always wanted to make your own hummus, need tips on getting it smooth, or just want hummus that tastes fresher than store-bought, this is your guide.

In an Israeli home, I learned how to make an amazing hummus, and now I’m providing you with everything you need to know, from selecting the right ingredients to mastering the art of blending. Here’s the step-by-step process for our best hummus recipe.

a bowl of hummus with parsley, cumin and paprika

Where I Learned to Make Hummus

In February 2023, I had the opportunity to spend a week in Israel, hosted by Vibe Israel, a non-profit organization that brings digital creators to experience the Israeli culture, meet the people, learn about Israel’s story and share with their readers.

One of the opportunities I had on this trip was to visit the home of a woman named Dorris who lived in Jaffa. This visit was made possible by Nice2Meet Tours, a company who specializes in connecting visitors with local people.

Meet Doris:

doris pouring a cup of coffee into a cup

Doris, owner of Jaffa Stories and Coffee, had all of our hearts the second we stepped in her doorway. Her home was filled with music and smiles. She taught us how to make tabbouleh, mujadara, baba ganoush, za’atar pitas and avocado salad.

She taught us how to make the most amazingly creamy and fresh hummus I’ve ever had. I had my notes out scribbling frantically trying to get every tidbit of information she was sharing. I needed all of her hummus expertise.

I made sense of those notes, made more last week to test the method than I’ve eaten in my entire life. And today I’m sharing that hummus recipe with you.

3 Important Tips to Make Hummus

There were a few key tips Doris gave me which I instantly knew would make my homemade hummus better.

Dry chickpeas. Or garbanzo beans. They are the same thing. Start with dry beans and allow them to soak in water for 24 hours. This means you need to plan ahead and start work a day before you want to serve the hummus.
Baking soda. After you drain the soaked chickpeas, place them in a large saucepan or stock pot. Then add 1 teaspoon baking soda. Cook the chickpeas for 3-4 minutes over medium heat with the baking soda, then add water and continue to cook the beans until they are soft. Why do this? The baking soda breaks down the skins on the chickpeas so that the hummus ends up extra creamy.
Cook the chickpeas. Cook the chickpeas in water for at least an hour, until they are very very soft. This is also important and will help you get super creamy hummus.

Ingredients

What makes hummus taste so good? Our easy hummus recipe only takes 5 ingredients:

Dry chickpeas. Seriously. Buy dry chickpeas and soak them. Ok, ok…if you have to buy canned chickpeas, cook them until they are softer.
Baking soda. This is only to toss the soaked chickpeas with and like I said above, it breaks down the skins of the chickpeas so you don’t have to waste time peeling them.
Tahini. Buy pure tahini, which is made from sesame seeds. There are tahini dressings, flavored tahini and tahini paste. But you want a simple all natural tahini made from only sesame seeds.
Lemon juice. You’ll need fresh lemons, and lots of them, to squeeze that deliciously tangy juice for your hummus.
Salt. Salt is such a basic flavor, but it really brings this whole dip together. Doris kept saying “more salt!”, “more salt!”. Don’t skip this ingredient.

How to Make Hummus at Home

Start about 26 hours before you want to make the hummus. This gives enough time for the chickpeas to soak, cook, then cool.

Place the dried chickpeas in a large bowl and cover them with water. Allow them to sit overnight, for 24 hours. Watch the water level and add more if needed to keep the chickpeas completely covered. After 24 hours, drain the chickpeas.

garbanzo beans soaking in a bowl of water

Place the beans in a large pot or saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes.

garbanzo beans in a saucepan with baking soda on them

Then add about 4 cups of water, or enough to cover the beans completely. Bring to a boil and cook for 60-90 minutes, or until the chickpeas are very soft. Most times the chickpeas are soft enough at 60 minutes, but watch them closely and boil longer if needed.
Drain the chickpeas. Allow them to drain completely as they cool. I let them sit for at least 30 minutes.

Place the drained chickpeas in a food processor. Add the tahini, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of salt. Blend for 1-3 minutes until smooth. Scrape the sides of the food processor bowl as needed.

Taste the tahini and add more lemon juice or salt as you’d like. I do find that the flavors blend well as the hummus chills, so keep that in mind as you are adding more salt or lemon juice.
Place the hummus in a bowl and sprinkle with fresh parsley, cumin and smoked paprika. Add any of your other favorite spices that you’d like. Then drizzle with a few tablespoons of olive oil.

What to Serve with Hummus

Hummus is delicious served as a dip with pita chips, crackers, vegetables (think cucumbers, peppers, carrots, celery, etc) and even cheese. It makes a beautiful centerpiece on a veggie platter.

You can also use hummus as a sandwich spread or on baked chicken.

a bowl of hummus on a table with pita and veggies

How to Make Hummus

4.50 from 6 votes

When visiting Israel, I learned how to make hummus with tips for getting the hummus extra creamy. Only 5 ingredients.

Servings 10

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Soak Time 1

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Ingredients

8 ounces dry chickpeas or dry garbanzo beans
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup tahini
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice about 2 lemons
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Toppings:

ground cumin
smoked paprika
fresh parsley
extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

Start about 26 hours before you want to make the hummus.
Place the dried chickpeas in a large bowl and cover them with water. Allow them to sit overnight, for 24 hours. Watch the water level and add more if needed to keep the chickpeas completely covered.
After 24 hours, drain the chickpeas.
Place the beans in a large pot or saucepan over medium heat.
Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes.
Then add about 4 cups of water, or enough to cover the beans completely.
Bring to a boil and cook for 60-90 minutes, or until the chickpeas are very soft. Most times the chickpeas are soft enough at 60 minutes, but watch them closely and boil longer if needed.
Drain the chickpeas. Allow them to drain completely as they cool. I let them sit for at least 30 minutes.
Place the drained chickpeas in a food processor.
Add the tahini, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of salt. Blend for 1-3 minutes until smooth. Scrape the sides of the food processor bowl as needed.
Taste the tahini and add more lemon juice or salt as you'd like. I do find that the flavors blend well as the hummus chills, so keep that in mind as you are adding more salt or lemon juice.
Spoon the tahini in a serving bowl.
Sprinkle cumin, paprika and freshly snipped parsley on top.
Drizzle with olive oil. Add a few whole chickpeas on top if you'd like.
Cover and refrigerate until serving. This stores well in the fridge for up to a week. It's great for meal prepping and for healthy lunches.

Notes

I love garlic hummus, so that is my main add-in. You can add the garlic right into the chickpea mixture when blending, or you can simply add minced garlic cloves on top of the hummus when serving.

Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.

The calories shown are based on the hummus serving 10, with 1 serving being 1/10 of the hummus. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**

Nutrition

Author Julie Clark

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Mediterranean

Calories 120

Keyword appetizer recipe, vegetarian

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you make hummus without a food processor?

You can, but it won’t be quite as smooth. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a blender or stick blender.

But if you don’t have either of those, use a potato masher. It will take a little bit of arm power and won’t be quite as creamy, but it will still have all the flavor you know and love.

Can you make hummus without tahini?

If you can’t find a good tahini, try using cashew butter or almond butter. It has a similar texture to tahini.

Do you need to peel the chickpeas?

If I see a stray chickpea skin, I can’t help but pick it up and throw it away. But with our method, there is no need to peel the chickpeas.

How do you get hummus to the desired consistency?

If the chickpeas aren’t cooked enough, you can end up with dry, thick hummus. If the chickpeas haven’t cooled and drained enough after cooking, it can be runny. Hummus will thicken and firm up slightly as it chills in the fridge. And if you end up with hummus that is too thick, try adding a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or more lemon juice.