Hummus

In our opinion, there's one big secret to making the best hummus recipe: using the right kind of tahini.

I cannot stress how important this is. The right tahini will elevate your hummus recipe, giving it a creamy-dreamy texture with a subtle nutty taste and silky mouth feel.

Unfortunately, the wrong kind of tahini will ruin your hummus, making it bitter, coarse, and unpleasant to eat.

Learning how to choose the right tahini was a game changer for us. We didn't like homemade hummus until then, and now it has become a staple in our kitchen, the hero of many last-minute dinners.

After all, to make hummus, you only need a few pantry staples: a can of chickpeas, tahini, cumin, garlic, lemon juice, and salt.

Hummus is nutritious and packed with healthy fats, fiber, and plant-based protein. It's vegan and gluten-free, and everyone loves it if properly made.

You can eat it for breakfast, brunch, as a snack, lunch, in a sandwich, with veggies and shirazi, after a workout, on pasta, for dinner, and why not, as a midnight snack.

In a second we'll show you how to make this easy hummus recipe, but first, let's see how to pick the best tahini.

How to pick the best tahini?

Tahini should be light in color. Imported. Possibly with Arabic text on the package. Made with 100% hulled sesame seeds. Pure. Hulled. Stone-ground if possible. Did I say hulled?

It doesn't matter if you have to FedEx it in from Beirut. Trust us. Getting the right type of tahini really was the single biggest game-changer for our plant-based diet.

Suddenly, recipes like this hummus, tahini sauce, baba ghanoush, avocado spread, and anything tahini-drizzled made sense.

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.

You can find good tahini in ethnic food stores; middle eastern or Asian grocery stores are your best bet. Some supermarkets also keep imported tahini.

Generally, I would avoid western brands unless you have tried them before or are ready for some try and error.

We cannot stress this enough: the right kind of tahini is the single most crucial ingredient in making a tasty and delicious homemade hummus.

Chickpea

You can use canned chickpeas or dry chickpeas (also known as 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 beforehand. Instructions below.

Tahini

Tahini is the most crucial ingredient in hummus; therefore, you should pick the right one. Many are on the market these days, but many don't taste like they should, despite their organic, bio, or whatever trendy claim of the week.

Pick light-colored tahini, made with 100% hulled sesame seeds, ideally imported from Lebanon or Palestine, and with Arabic writing on the package. Those are the best for making hummus.

Cumin

Ground cumin is best so that it gets evenly distributed in the hummus. On the other hand, whole cumin seeds are hard to blend for the food processor, so I would advise crushing them beforehand if you do use them.

Lemon Juice

Freshly squeezed lemon juice without the seeds.

Water

To get the blender going and thin up the hummus.

Salt

We like to use sea salt or kosher salt.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

We think there's no reason to add oil it the hummus; however, we recommend adding a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil on top of the hummus. If you don't have good quality extra-virgin olive oil, don't bother; low-quality oil will ruin your hummus.

Flat-leaf Parsley

Like olive oil, freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley is for garnishing the hummus. You can sprinkle some on top.

Hummus from canned chickpeas

Drain the canned chickpeas and boil them in a small pot for 15 minutes.

Tip: you can add ½ teaspoon of ground cumin to the boiling water to infuse them with flavor.

Save a cup of the boiling water, drain them, and put them in a bowl with cold water. Rub the chickpeas between your hands to separate their skin.

Discard the skins. You don't have to discard all of them, just the ones that come off quickly.

Cut the garlic in half lengthwise and remove its core to make it more digestible.

To a food processor or a blender, add chickpeas, garlic, tahini, ground cumin, salt, reserved boiling water, and lemon juice.

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

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

Note: A food processor makes a better hummus, lighter and airier, although a little less smooth.

A blender makes very smooth hummus, which we feel it's less authentic, and it gets more compact and heavy, but it still tastes delicious.

Transfer into a serving bowl, swirl with the back of a spoon, and drizzle with good quality extra virgin olive oil and chopped flat-leaf parsley.

You can garnish with chickpeas, olives, paprika, and sesame seeds.

Soak the chickpeas overnight or during the day (8 hours at least) 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.

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

Cooking time varies greatly depending on the chickpea. Taste them at the 1-hour mark. They should be cooked throughout.

When the chickpeas are almost cooked, add about a teaspoon of salt. Don't salt them earlier than that, or they'll develop hard skin.

The chickpea will foam while cooking. That's fine; no need to do anything about it.

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 skins.

Removing the skins of homecooked dry chickpeas is harder, so don't beat yourself up if they don't all separate easily.

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

Blend until you reach your desired texture and consistency, taste, and adjust seasonings as you like.

Food processor vs. blender? Canned vs. dry chickpeas? We tested them all for you, and the winner is hummus made with dry homecooked chickpeas blended in a food processor, BUT...

... for us, the most significant difference is between the hummus made in a blender and the one made in a food processor.

The food processor produces better hummus in texture and taste. The hummus is lighter, airier, and less smooth (which is good in our opinion), and overall it tastes more authentic.

The blender version is still excellent, but it's more compact and feels heavier.

When it comes to dry vs. canned chickpeas, it's tough to tell the difference, although the home-cooked chickpeas do taste more natural.

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

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

Traditionally, hummus is served as a dip with warm pita bread as 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 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, piadina (Italian flatbread), olives, pita chips, and raw veggies (carrots, celery, and red peppers)

Add the flesh of one roasted or air-fried eggplant to the hummus to give it a mild roasted eggplant flavor. Eggplant is water-rich, so you probably won't need to add water to the hummus.

Preheat the oven to 430°F or 220°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then wash, dry, and cut the eggplants in half lengthwise.

Score the flesh of the eggplant with a knife, then season with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

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

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.

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.

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.

This rich and creamy lentil hummus is a perfect last-minute appetizer, sandwich spread, or topping. It's ready in 5 minutes, made with canned brown lentils, and the preparation is similar to that of chickpea hummus.

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

Preheat the oven to 480˚F (250˚C). In the meantime, wash your bell peppers and place them on a baking tray lined with a silicone baking mat or some parchment paper.

Bake in the oven for about 30 to 40 minutes. The peppers should be soft and slightly burned on the outside.

Straight out of the oven, put the peppers in a glass, steel, or ceramic bowl. Cover the bowl with a well-fitted lid and cool down for 20 to 30 minutes.

Peel the peppers and add them to the food processor with the other ingredients.

Blend until you reach your desired texture and consistency, then taste, and adjust the seasoning.

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