If you haven’t started making your own homemade hummus, you’re totally missing out. It only takes about five minutes, you can adjust the taste to be juuuuuust the way you like it, and you can make a different flavor every week so that it never gets old! I promise, once you make your first batch of homemade hummus, you’ll never go back to store bought.
What is Hummus?
Hummus is a Middle Eastern chickpea dip or spread, made with just a few simple ingredients. At its most basic, hummus includes:
- Chickpeas
- Tahini
- Olive Oil
- Lemon
- Garlic
- Salt
There are a million different things you can add into hummus and I have posted the basic recipe below, plus add-ins for three flavor variations (Jalapeño Cilantro, Roasted Red Pepper, and Parsley Scallion). I’ve also garnished my “original” flavor with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of paprika and a few whole chickpeas. All of that is completely optional.
How to Use Hummus
Hummus is great to keep in your fridge to eat as a snack with some pita bread, naan, vegetables, or chips, but it also makes a great spread for sandwiches, wraps, and loaded flatbreads. It has a really great richness and adds moisture so I find that it makes a great substitute for mayo or cheese. I also love adding hummus to scrambled eggs, using it in place of a pasta sauce, or even as an addition to pizza!
How Long Does Homemade Hummus Last?
Homemade hummus will stay good in your refrigerator for about 5 days. Unlike some store bought hummuses, homemade hummus does not contain any preservatives, so you’ll want to only make the amount you can eat within a five day time frame.
Can I Substitute the Tahini?
I strongly advise against substituting tahini in hummus. While many people substitute either peanut butter or almond butter for the tahini, they have very different flavors from tahini and this will definitely change the final flavor of your hummus. To get that true authentic hummus flavor, you definitely need to use tahini.
Can I Make Hummus in a Blender?
While you can make homemade hummus with some of the more powerful blenders available on the market (like Blentec or Vitamix), it might be too thick for many blenders to handle. I suggest using a food processor to make your hummus. You don’t need a heavy duty, expensive food processor, though. The Hamilton Beach model I use is fairly inexpensive for a food processor and is a total beast. I love it.
Homemade Hummus
Servings 6 (1/4 cup each)Ingredients
- 1 15oz. can chickpeas* ($0.79)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.26)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice ($0.182)
- 1/4 cup tahini ($0.85)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin ($0.03)
Instructions
- Drain the chickpeas. Place the drained chickpeas in a food processor along with the olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, salt, and cumin.
- Pulse the mixture until it is fairly smooth. If the mixture is too dry to process smoothly, add a couple tablespoons of water, extra olive oil, or liquid from the canned chickpeas.
- Taste the hummus and adjust the salt, cumin, lemon, or garlic to your liking.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make The Best Hummus – Step by Step Photos
Let’s start by taking a closer look at tahini. Tahini is like peanut butter but made with sesame seeds instead of peanuts. It even has a similar texture to natural style peanut butter, but a very different flavor. A flavor which is critical, IMHO, to getting an authentic hummus. Tahini has a slightly nutty, slightly bitter flavor that is totally unique. Some people use peanut butter in its place, but I find their flavors to be vastly different. Tahini is about twice the price of peanut butter, but you’ll only need a small amount at a time and it stays fresh in the refrigerator for quite some time (it may need an occasional stir). You can find tahini in grocery stores either near the peanut butter, near Mediterranean ingredients like olives and artichokes, or in the natural foods aisle.
Drain one 15oz. can of chickpeas and add them to a food processor along with 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup tahini, 1 clove of garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp ground cumin. Pulse the ingredients until they become smooth. If the mixture is too dry to properly purée, add a couple tablespoons of water, olive oil, or even the drained juice from the canned chickpeas. Taste the hummus and adjust the salt, lemon, garlic, or cumin to your liking. And that’s it! That’s all it takes. You can garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of sumac or paprika.
Jalapeño Cilantro Hummus
To make Jalapeño Cilantro Hummus, remove the stem from one jalapeño, slice it lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Add the seeded jalapeño and about 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves to the food processor with your basic hummus and process until smooth. This hummus tastes great with a little extra cumin! You can also try roasting the jalapeños in the oven until soft and blistered for a more subtle flavor (don’t forget to remove the seeds).
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
To make Roasted Red Pepper flavored hummus, simply add one to two roasted red pepper to a batch of plain Homemade Hummus and process until smooth. Make sure most of the liquid from the jar is drained from the pepper before adding it to the processor to avoid thinning out the hummus too much. This hummus tastes great with a little smoked paprika added to the mix!
Parsley Scallion Hummus
For Parsley Scallion Hummus, thinly slice three to four scallions (green onions) and pull about 1/2 cup of parsley leaves from their stems. Add the parsley and scallions to a food processor with a batch of plain hummus and process until smooth. This hummus is great with vegetables, as a sandwich spread, or even as a vegan pasta sauce!
What is your favorite flavor of Hummus? I might try adding some roasted garlic next!
I love hummus but never thought of how easy it would be to make. I just tried the plain recipe to see if I would like it and it turned out great. My head is swarming with idea on what to add to it.
I just want to throw into another 2 cents, I researched how to make tahini since that was the most expensive part of this recipe. For under $2 you can make about 2 cups of tahini which is cheaper than actually buying it
Nice! Thanks for the tip!
Do you have a link for how to make tahini?
Roasted red pepper is so delicious! Goes by way to fast with a hungry, hummus loving husband…. Better start doubling the recipe!!! :)
I’ve made this four times now, just the first flavor, and I am completely addicted. I used to have it set in my mind that I didn’t like hummus, and I don’t know why.
I roast the garlic for a little depth of flavor, and it makes it a bit more kid friendly. I also add a little more lemon juice than you call for. Oh, I love the tangy creaminess of this stuff. I can sit and eat a whole batch by itself with a spoon (who needs bread or veggies?).
Thanks for the simple, wonderful recipes. My wife and I live in China, and I think every member of our staff who likes to cook is a fan of your site. :D
Best,
Travis in Chengdu
Ok, you officially can do no wrong! :) just tried the jalapeño cilantro one; i exchanged the cilantro for recao (a similar cooking leaf here in Puerto Rico) and I didn’t have the sesame paste, so I had to skip that one. Needless to say, it was awesome! :))) My mom’s loving it too! ;) Saludos desde Puerto Rico!
I accidentally bought tahini sauce from Trader Joe’s (which is not the same thing as tahini paste) but this recipe still came out delicious! I just had to play around with the ratios a bit.
Will definitely be trying this! I discovered a few years ago that adding toasted sesame oil instead of tahini is a great, cheaper option. Can’t remember the quantity I used but would start with a TB and go from there. Thanks for all the great recipes!
RachelB: I didn’t know hummus usually contained tahini until the recent introduction of commercial hummus in the deli section of the grocery store. My family’s standby hummus recipe instead requires chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, a little salt, and optional mint. It’s not the same as the tahini versions out there, but it’s still delicious.
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But this is not how u make hummus, u should first and to get the real taste mix the garlic with the salt and lemon, then add the sesame paste and stare well until it is hard mix, add one spoon of yogurt and stare agin, mix the chic beans alone in the mixer with little water, until it is soft, now add the two together and mix very well again with the spoon. Put in the serving dish and add some cumin and oil and perslies too if want.
I would suggest only one lemon only, quarter a cup is too much.
And Bon appetite
My son, who loves hummus, is allergic to sesame AND peanuts, so I’ve had to figure out how to make tasty hummus without tahini or peanut butter. Almond butter is a fabulous substitute and tastes almost exactly like hummus with tahini. I love, love, LOVE the roasted red pepper hummus, and I’m so glad I found a suitable substitute for the tahini!
AMAZING. Seriously. I am a huge fan of your blog because everything I’ve ever made from it is pretty much guarunteed to work. You have a talent for this, keep up the good work :-).
-Angela
Random comment– did you know that you’re supposed to boil the canned chickpeas for an hour before making this? I went to a hummus making program at my local library and the couple that did the demonstration has had their own Greek restaurant for 30 years. They said that it’s important to boil the beans for an hour and let them cool before making the hummus (makes it extremely smooth). I’ve made this recipe a few times without boiling them and thought the hummus was really good, but it does make a difference! =)
Another trick to make them really smooth is taking the skins off.
Can you freeze hummus?
Yes! You can freeze hummus! I do it all the time.
This is a great recipe…once you make this and realize how easy it is..you will never buy hummus again.
I also make hummus with cannellini beans. Just as good.
If you don’t have tahini, it will be good as well. Tahini makes it better, but can be optional, since it is so expensive. Tahini doesn’t seem to keep well for me either, it gets really hard.
I just made this it tasted great. If anyone else cares tehina is another word for tahini (sesame paste).
mmm great post!