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Learn how to make hummus from scratch with just 5-ingredients and a few simple steps. Instant Pot and stove top instructions included! Gluten-free, Oil-free, Vegan, Grain-free.
Plant-based or not, learning how to make hummus is a skill every home-chef should master. After you try this ultra easy method influenced by my travels in Israel, you’ll never go back to store-bought again. It’s light, fluffy and so smooth you won’t be able to stop dipping. It really is the best hummus recipe ever.
Table of Contents
3 Secrets to Making “Real” Hummus
A few years ago, I had the pleasure of taking a vegan tour of Israel. To be honest, I was not a huge hummus fan before my trip. I thought it was okay, but not great. Then I ate “real” hummus and realized that it’s very yummy, magical, and something I could see myself eating every day for the rest of my life. Yes, it was that good.
There are quite a few ways to make hummus, but this is the method that I’ll be sticking with. I’ve done some pretty extensive research and interviewed quite a few people — special thanks to Noam and Bentzi for your tips!
Here are the absolute Top 3 Must-Dos for making the best hummus:
- You really, really, really need to use dried chickpeas (not canned).
- Peeling the chickpeas is a must (seriously, just do it).
- ICE COLD WATER is essential to making the hummus light and fluffy.
What You Need for the Best Homemade Hummus
Hummus is made with 5 simple ingredients, but quality matters. Here are a few key notes:
- Chickpeas: Also known as garbanzo beans, chickpeas are the base of hummus. Most chickpeas sold in the United States are the Kabuli-type – light-colored, larger, round chickpeas. In the Middle East, however, Desi-type chickpeas (smaller, irregularly shaped, and darker in color) are much more common. When making the best hummus, the smaller the chickpeas, the better. Opt for the desi-type chickpeas when possible!
- Tahini: Hummus is not Hummus if there’s no Tahini. And the Tahini quality matters greatly – it should be smooth and runny. Generally speaking, the less English on the bottle, the better 😉
- Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves are always superior to garlic powder, and it’s especially true in homemade hummus!
- Baking soda: Adding baking soda to the chickpeas helps make the legume easier to digest, softer, and makes them easy to peel. Don’t skip this ingredient!
- Lemon juice: I never suggest using pre-bottled lemon juice, but I especially urge you not to in homemade hummus. The flavor or freshly squeezed lemon juice simply cannot be replicated.
How to Make Hummus
- Sort, then soak the dried chickpeas for 12 to 24 hours.
- Drain and rinse well, then add the chickpeas, garlic, and baking soda to a large pot or pressure cooker.
- Cover with water and cook the chickpeas until tender.
- Peel the chickpeas then discard the outer skin.
- Process the garlic, chickpeas, lemon juice and salt in a food processor until relatively smooth.
- Add tahini then slowly pour in ice water as the food processor is running. Process for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the hummus is fluffy and smooth.
- Serve hummus with toppings of choice.
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- Use this process as an opportunity to listen to a good soundtrack or podcast. I’ll admit peeling the chickpeas can be a long, tedious step. But if you’re determined and got something to listen to, you can easily get this step done in ~20 minutes. To try and speed up the process, you can try rubbing the chickpeas between a clean kitchen towel, but I didn’t find that it made a huge difference.
- Process the hummus for the full 5 minutes. Authentic, “real” hummus should not be thick and chunky. Good hummus is fluffy, creamy, and silky smooth. To achieve this, I definitely recommend “processing” your hummus for the full 5 minutes. However, I’ve been told if you blend it for too long, it spoils faster. I’m not sure how true that is because it never lasts over 5 days here, but you’ve been warned 😉
Serving Suggestions
Hummus is a delicious dip or spread to enjoy for breakfast, lunch or dinner. In the Middle East, hummus is often served warm as the center of a meal and topped with a drizzle of olive oil, and spices such as cumin, smoked paprika, sumac, za’atar, etc.
Try it spread on a Rainbow Veggie Sandwich, Vegan Pinwheels, used as a 3-Ingredient Hummus Salad dressing, drizzled on Sheet Pan Za’atar Chickpeas with Sweet Potatoes or turned into a Hummus Pasta.
If you’re looking for more homemade dip recipes, you’ll also love this Creamy White Bean Dip, Roasted Butternut Squash Hummus and this Healthy Buffalo “Chicken” Dip!
How to Store Homemade Hummus
Homemade hummus will keep best in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Defrost frozen hummus in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours until softened. If desired, run the hummus through a food processor for 1-2 minutes to make it nice and fluffy again.
Recipe FAQs
It is absolutely cheaper to make your own homemade hummus. Dried chickpeas are extremely affordable and will last for months in the pantry.
Although this recipe calls for dried chickpeas, it is imperative that they are cooked until tender before processing until smooth. Processing dried chickpeas will result in chickpea flour, which is very, very different.
Nope! Although many store-bought hummus brands are made with oils, authentic hummus does not need to be made with oil. A quality tahini will make it fluffy and creamy enough without!
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
How to Make (The Best) Hummus
Ingredients
- 12 ounces dried Chickpeas about 2 cups, soaked in water overnight
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 3-5 cloves of Garlic
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 -3/4 cup Tahini based on preference
- 1 cup Ice Cold Water* divided
- Optional Toppings: Olive Oil, Cumin, Smoked Paprika, Za'atar, etc.
Instructions
- Soak the Chickpeas: Sort through the dried chickpeas, then place in a large bowl. Cover with water and soak at room temperature (or in the fridge) for 12 to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well.
- Cook The Chickpeas: Add the chickpeas, garlic, and baking soda to a large pot or instant pot. – Instant Pot (recommended): Fill the pot with water until it is 2 to 3″ above the beans. Stir, seal, and cook on Manual HIGH pressure for 10 to 12 minutes; let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes before breaking the seal. (Note: if you soaked your chickpeas for closer to 24 hours, cook for 8 to 10 minutes instead). – Stovetop: Cover the beans with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 40 to 120 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender.
- Peel the Chickpeas: Drain and rinse the cooked beans until no bubbles remain. Pick out the cooked garlic cloves and set aside. To peel the chickpeas, gently “pinch” each bean; the skin should slide off quite easily. Repeat with the remaining beans and discard the outer skin once finished.
- Chickpea Puree: Add the garlic and 3 cups of the peeled chickpeas to a food processor with an S-blade attachment. Mix the lemon juice and salt together in a small bowl until the salt dissolves. Turn the food processor on and slowly pour the lemon mixture into the processor while it is running; process until the chickpeas are relatively smooth.
- Make the Hummus: Add 1/4 cup of tahini to the food processor and seal it shut. Turn the food processor on and slowly pour in 1/3 cup of the ice cold water. Let the food processor run for 4 to 5 minutes, to help make the hummus fluffy and smooth (don’t skip this step!). Add in extra tahini and water in 1/4 cup increments, if you would like your spread to be thicker and creamier.
- Serve: Top the hummus with the remaining peeled chickpeas and any other toppings of choice. Leftovers will keep well in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
- “Ice Cold” Water: place a few ice cubes in a glass of water for ~ 5 minutes, or stick a glass of water in the freezer for ~ 10 minutes.
- Baking soda: cooking the chickpeas in baking soda helps to soften them and make them easier to peel. You cannot taste any baking soda in the final recipe!
Hey Caitlin! Great recipe. So I tried this, and when I got to the instant pot part, things went awry. I set my instant pot to 16 minutes like you said, but it didn’t actually start timing it till awhile after I closed the lid and it started cooking. I read online that this is because it has to build pressure up before it begins to cook, but when it was finished and I set it to venting water shot out of the top and created a huge mess. When I opened it the chickpeas were exploded, but the skins sure came off easily! (it must’ve been the baking soda ????) But yeah, just wondering if you had any tips/advice/troubleshooting for this issue. Thanks and awesome recipe, I’m looking forward to trying it again.
That usually means you did not add enough liquid to the beans! When that happens to me, I just cover the vent with a towel to contain the water 🙂
I had the same issue. I set the timer of the instapot for 12 minutes. Opened the vent naturally for 10 minutes, the opened the vent, hugeee mess. Chickpeas exploded 🙁 I made sure the water was 2-3 inches above the chickpeas but I still had the same issue. Help!
I let mine naturally depressurize for 15 minutes then opened the valve. I put the towel over as I usually do and within 1 minute’ I had juice overflowing everywhere. I have been burned about 4 times, and my kitchen is covered in bean juice… looking forward to trying the hummus though, hope it’s worth it. Next time might use canned beans or stovetop. Lol.
I have made this recipe before on the stove and it turned out great. Thought I would save some time with the instant pot. It was a total disaster! Bean mush squirting everywhere. Took me longer to clean up than cook. I definitely had enough water. Just had to throw it out. I will stick to the stove top from now on.from now on.
Ugh, I tried to make this recipe. I had the chickpeas cooking in a pot, was cooking lunch for today. Turned around and the chickpeas had turned to mush. 🙁 I will attempt, maybe at the end of the week. At first they were peeling on their own, they were off to a good start.
Thanks for great hummus recipe . I just made it .its so delicious ????
Absolutely the best oil-free homemade hummus I’ve made! Worth the extra time to make the chickpeas from dry.
I just made this and then ate tons right away! It is delicious! The only thing I might do differently next time is have the texture be a little thicker. I wonder if I added too much water or too much tahini, because the hummus seemed a little thinner/more runny than I was expecting. Is it supposed to be like that or did I make a mistake?
Hi Emma! It shouldn’t be runny – perhaps add a bit less water next time! The tahini would not have made it runny
Amazing texture. Totally worth the time peeling the chickpeas. You are officially my favorite food blogger!
Also, I’m intrigued by the chocolate hummus mentioned by Cassie.
LISTEN LINDA!!! I have been telling people for years that you have to peel the chick peas to get creamy hummus! I learned this from my amazing mom. We’re not any cool ethnic family, we’re just white people and my mom is pretty smart in the kitchen. But she sits there and peels the chick peas before hummus and everyone says she’s crazy but the hummus is SO. GOOD. I’m excited to find out this is actually a technique from….Israel?? I guess I’m not sure the origina, but you are right on the money with this!
Thanks!
I loved following you throughout your trip on Instagram! You make some of the best vegan recipes out there. Thanks for the hummus inspo!
Thank you for following along, Stephanie! 🙂
I m so satisfied with this recipe, the best i ve ever made !! Can you post a tahini recipe tho? It s not in stores in Morocco and the one i made at home tasted a bit off.
Also Za’atar is basically oregano in arabic
Thank you Ines!!! I’ve actually never tried to make my own Tahini!
Love this! Were do you get your plates from? They are so nice!
Thank you! They are handmade – the larger one is from “Earth and Element”, and the smaller ones are from “Ogusky Ceramics”
Thank you! Gonna have to check them out
Could I start with canned chickpeas or is starting with dried part of the secret?
You can do it with canned, but I honestly wouldn’t recommend it. Using dried is definitely part of the secret to success!
THE BEST HUMMUS. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’ve never had a fluffier hummus in my life! I also love that there is no added oil but it still tastes great! This is my new go-to recipe.
So happy to hear that, Angela!
Seriously the BEST hummus I’ve ever made. Thanks for sharing!
Yay! So glad you liked it Jessica 🙂
Omg I need to make this! Do you think it would work with dry split chickpeas?
Yes, that would work – I also think that split chickpeas are already peeled, so you wouldnt have to peel them 🙂 WIN!
When I saw the title of this recipe, I thought, “Oh it’s one of THOSE recipes that claims to make the best of something, but I’m sure there is always room for interpretation.” NOT in this case! I think you actually DID make the best hummus because you drew inspiration from Israel and demonstrated a full photo tutorial of the cooking process! This hummus looks amazing and it will definitely serve as the base for my customized hummus. Now I want to make a beet hummus, turmeric garlic hummus, caramelized onion hummus, and even chocolate hummus!
haha! Well thank you, Cassie. All of those variations sound amazing!
Will it turn out different if you use a high-speed blender like a Vitamix? I have been searching for an amazing from scratch hummus recipe and I am hoping this one is a winner but I do not have a food processor.
Hi Byrn! I think it should work fine, especially if you use your tamper to press the hummus down. You may need to make it in smaller batches depending on the size of your base. Let me know how it turns out for you!
Wow , this is amazing)))) I always soak and PEAL my chickpeas before cooking, that way it takes like 30-40 minutes for them to cook. I will definitly try this recipe. Thank you for sharing!!!
You’re so welcome, Dora!
Can I put some in the freezer? It seems to make a pretty big batch! Big batch and freezing seems like a nice idea so I don’t have to peel the chickpeas a lot of times, so do you think freezing and defrosting them would work?
The texture will most likely be different when you thaw it again, but it shouldn’t be too noticeable 🙂 let me know if you try it out!
My mum has been making it this way for years but doesn’t add the garlic when blending the chickpeas. By blending the chickpeas alone you can freeze at this stage and whenever you defrost a batch just add all the other ingredients to the thawed blended chickpeas.
Neat idea!
I made this today, and it’s a winner!!! Thank you! I made hummus twice before but I never really liked it. And since I always tahini, baba ganoush was the other tahini based food I often make. I got curious with your claim of the best hummus so I tried it this morning. My friends loved it! I’ll be making this often now. Thank you so much!
P.S. The baking soda tip was a real help.
Nusa, I have been making big batches of hummus following the Zaharia recipe with a bit of a twist. This recipe is similar. (Love seeing an easy recipe like this!) I divide the batch into Oxo baby food containers (4oz) and it freezes and defrosts beautifully. We were shocked it worked and my husband even prefers it post-freeze. Give it a try!
Hi Caitlin! What do you mean by cold water divided? how much did you use of the cup? also how much tahini did you use?? 🙂
It’s in the recipe notes 🙂 You start by adding 1/3 of a cup, and then can add more based on personal texture preference
Love this! But I noticed your tahini suggestion says the less English the better. I typically would agree, but Soom Foods makes an incredible tahini, the best in the States! I would highly recommend using theirs. Michael Solomonov is known for making his hummus with Soom tahini. It’s killer!
Yes, I agree as well! I suggested their brand in the recipe notes 😉
I had so much fun with this recipe. This is my first time making Hunmas and mine turned out Great!
I made some adjustments: My store didn’t have dried chick peas so I got canned & yes I realized I needed to remove the skins. I whipped & stirred & whipped and it was so silly & yummy. I used the garlic in the recipe plus I added fresh mushrooms and it tastes incredible. I’m glad I found this as a first timer knowing it would turn out perfect.
Thank you.
Heidi Wilson
Glad to hear it worked with canned Chickpeas as well, Heidi!
No ways. Hummus needs olive oil and why on earth not! Extra virgin cold pressed olive oil. It makes all the difference. It’s the essential flavour and complex aromas. That slight bitter pepper yet fruity happening. Like the essential aroma and flavour of coffee you couldn’t leave it out in your latte. Strictly speaking hummus is not an Israeli or even Jewish dish. There are however as many twists to making it as there are cooks. For me its the classic ingredients that make or break it. You need all of the very few ingriediants, they must be pure and your lemons fresh then you cannot go wrong. Trust your tongue and adjust.
Made this today! It’s by far the best hummus I’ve ever made! I have been meaning to for years but I’m lazy ???? it took me 45 minutes to shell the beans but the payoff was worth it! I topped it with cumin and paprika, love it
It’s totally worth it! Thanks for making it, so glad you enjoyed it!
I just made this last week for a Health & Wellness seminar my friend Alicia gave & it was AMAZING! A couple dozen or more people said it was the BEST hummus they ever had. The only thing I changed was adding some roasted garlic. (I’m Italian–couldn’t help it). I had the same “Hummus Revelation” you did, when my cousin’s family (her husband is Egyptian) took me to their favorite restaurant in Patterson NJ. Totally ruined me on store bought hummus. Nope- never again. Your recipe is Absolutely worth the effort. Thank you so much for this recipe! Have directed everyone to your site.
Haha…yes! Store-bought just can’t compare. I’m glad everyone enjoyed it, Tamara!
Hi, I just wanna thank you for sharing this recipe. I tried it now and it is so so so awesome! It’s been my dream to be able to make great hummus at home as it’s my very fav thing! And this turned out to be just that! Thank you so much!!
Thank you! We absolutely love hummus!