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.
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Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
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!
This was the first thing I made with the Ninja o got for Christmas, and I’ve been making it every week or two since then. I’m glad to be spending less on pre-made hummus, and I really can customize it however I’d like.
The only thing I’ve noticed is that it works best with 3 tbsp olive oil, not 2. 2 gets me a consistency almost identical to cookie dough, while 3 (or 2 1/2, if you like yours thicker) get something that’s better for dipping, spreading, etc.
Haven’t made this hummus recipe for a few months after I accidently blew the motor on my old food processor, but tried it tonight with my cheap-as-chips blender and it worked quite well. I pulsed it and kept an eye on it and it worked like a charm.
I made this in my high-powered Ninja blender and I had to add a splash of the chickpea water to make it smooth. I made the parsley scallion one and the flavor is great!! I will have to play around with some of the flavors to bring out the ones I like more, but this is a great base recipe! I put it on a wrap with some veggies.
Best hummus ever! Every time I make it (which is often!)I get requests for the recipe. So much better than store bought!
Could you use a blender for this? I have no food processor but don’t know how that would work out?
Hi Emma! I haven’t tried it with a blender. But a previous commenter did: “I do not have a food processor, so I use a blender. I place the liquids and spices in the blender along with 1/3 C water off of the Chickpeas, which I’ve warmed in the microwave. Once liquified, I begin adding warm chickpeas 1/2 C at a time, pureeing until smooth between additions. If it gets too thick, I add more water. The water off the chickpeas is salty, so I don’t usually need to add salt. I generally like to add a bit more spices. Adjust to your taste. Once it’s refrigerated it firms up. I like mine a bit softer as I frequently will stir it into a T Vinagrette Salad dressing to use over a Spinach salad.”
Do you need to use fresh squeezed lemon juice or can you use store bought lemon juice?
I use bottled lemon juice pretty regularly for this and love it every bit as much (and I’m normally really into fresh lemon). :)
My daughter is SEVERELY allergic to sesame. Any ideas on a substitution? I would love to incorporate your hummus recipe into our food! She’s also allergic to tree nuts and peanuts. Thanks!
I personally think that tahini is the only option for making good hummus, but if you’re working with an allergy and are open to having things taste a little differently, you can try either leaving it out all together (add more olive oil to make up for the oil in the tahini), or maybe try sunbutter (sunflower butter, non-sweetened)?
I made my own hummus for the first time !!! I will NEVER go back to store bought. It is So Easy and so Delicious !!!
Hooray Jackie!!
I always make plenty hummus and freeze some for later. I take it out from the freezer the night before and leve it in the fridge to let it gradully defrost . Testes the same than just made. I make it some time adding 1/2 cup of pistachios…delish
Thanks for sharing that! I always eat it too fast to freeze, but it’s great to know that it does freeze well if needed!
That’s a great idea. Next time I will freezer it.
Thanks for the idea.
Another winner! So far, I just keep making the basic hummus, it’s so easy and delicious!. I take it for lunch, with usually some combination of carrot sticks, cucumber slices, jicama sticks, bell pepper and some kind of cracker/chip or naan. I’ve promised myself I’ll make the green onion/parsley next. And Beth is right, store-bought just won’t do it, doesn’t even come close, after homemade.
Fantastic, can’t wait to try all of the variations.
Can you freeze any? I am excited to make a flavor but worried I can’t eat all of it by myself in a week.
I’ve actually never tried to freeze hummus, so I’m not sure how it would hold up.
I really need to try making my own hummus as I go through 2 pots a week! I’ve never managed to get it to taste right though. You’ve inspired me to give it another go.
I hope this one works out for you! :)
I made this recipe with my immersion blender! First I smashed the chickpeas with a potato smasher and then I put it in a mason jar to avoid a mess and blended with my immersion blender and it turned out great! Super easy and super tasty!!
Hi for how long will this be good refrigerated/until when does it spoil?
There is no exact length of time as this often depends on a lot of factors, but I would say about 4-5 days.
That parsley and scallion hummus is one od the best things I’ve ever made.