Easy Hummus (Better than Store-bought)
Home-made hummus is very easy to make and it tastes much better than anything you can buy at the store. If you don’t have any tahini, a paste made from sesame seeds, you can try making it yourself (see our Easy Homemade Tahini Recipe) or leave it out. A chickpea purée without it is still quite delicious. Just add more olive oil.
Servings: 6 servings (about 1½ cups)
Ingredients
- 15 oz can chickpeas or 1½ cups (250 grams) cooked chickpeas
- ¼ cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice, 1 large lemon
- ¼ cup (60 ml) well-stirred tahini, see our homemade tahini recipe
- 1 small garlic clove minced
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- Salt to taste
- 2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 ml) water
- Dash ground paprika or sumac for serving
Additions (to taste)
- Jar roasted peppers finely chopped
- cilantro minced
- marinated artichoke hearts chopped
- caramelized onions
- spinach
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the tahini and lemon juice and process for 1 minute, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then process for 30 seconds more. This extra time helps “whip” or “cream” the tahini, making the hummus smooth and creamy.
- Add the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin, and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the whipped tahini and lemon juice. Process for 30 seconds, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then process another 30 seconds or until well blended. Open, drain, and rinse the chickpeas. Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor and process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl, then add remaining chickpeas and process until thick and quite smooth; 1 to 2 minutes.
- Most likely the hummus will be too thick or still have tiny bits of chickpea. To fix this, with the food processor turned on, slowly add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water until you reach the perfect consistency.
- Taste for salt and adjust as needed. Add any chosen additions, and mix well.
- Serve hummus with a drizzle of olive oil and dash of paprika. Store homemade hummus in an airtight container and refrigerate up to one week.
