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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!
I tied it just now and it turns out to be so yummy. My parents though not very fond of non Indian food. They licked the plate clean. Thank you so much for this authentic recipe. We all loved it.
I followed the recipe as is but after cooking in the instant pot my chickpeas turned into mush as I was draining them. I’m a very inexperienced instant pot user since I just got it a couple weeks ago so I’m sure it was something I did wrong. Any idea? Nonetheless, the hummus turned out perfect! I was worried how it would be since I was unable to peel the skins off, but I was surprised how great it turned out. I made it in my vitamix. Great recipe!
Thank you, Hannah! This does happen with some people – I think it depends on how long you soak the chickpeas for (closer to 24 hours than 12), and how good the seal is on your iPot. As it was new, I would probably guess the latter for you! I think you could safely cook the chickpeas for 8 minutes next time and be able to peel them still!
Really good. Thank you! I cut back on the salt to 1/8 t because I’m on a low sodium diet. And I added a jalapeno. Great stuff.
Thanks4 EZ &???? hummus+tahini
Btw Black chick peas don’t need 2b peeled
Does anybody know what this recipe weighs roughly when made up so I can compare nutritional data. Thank you.
Thanks for the recipe, it turned out delicious!
So glad you liked it, Elena!
THIS HUMMUS RECIPE IS AMAZING ???????? I’ve never put in the extra effort to peel the chickpeas but I was inspired to by your post. Thanks for keeping it authentic and oil free ???????? I LOVE it!
Yay!!! Thank you, Angela!
Hi, If I want to make beet hummus using this method, do I add the beets before or after adding the cold water?
So excited to try this recipe???? Thanks Caitlin!
Hmm..if you are adding Beets, I would make sure to use cooked beets, and then add them to the food processor at the same time as the cooked Chickpeas and Garlic!
Love the texture, but I added three cloves of garlic, and it is WAY too garlicky. Next time I think I’ll sautee one clove and leave it at that rather than all that raw garlic.
Hi Kate – the three cloves of Garlic are supposed to be cooked with the beans, not raw!
Okay, I have to admit I did not want to peel those chickpeas and with each skin I pulled off, I thought to myself “this had better be worth it!” It was. This is definitely the closest to the hummus I had when I lived in Tel Aviv. I added a bit too much tahini for my taste, but the texture is perfect. It’s great to know I don’t have to have oil as we are on weight watchers and this significantly helps keep the point score down while providing a delicious creamy replacement for stuff like mayo. Thanks Caitlin!
Thanks for the great review, Jen! I agree – this hummus definitely takes me back to Israel!
Peeled chickpeas? Who knew? Well worth the effort. And the ice water is a great addition as well.Thanks for evolving my technique!
Ever make your own tahini?
You’ve already got the food processor fired up so just toast some white sesame seeds in a skillet and blend them up to a paste with some EVOO. Maybe 15 minutes. Lets you have a bit more control about just how toasted you let them get.
I’ll have to try that sometime – thanks Edo!
Really liked this recipe. I can’t say I loved peeling the chickpeas but it seems to be worth it. do have a question about the tahini. I have seen some that are raw and some that are roasted. Which is the right one to use
Haha! It definitely takes some time, but I think it is definitely worth it! As long as your tahini is smooth and runny, it really doesn’t matter. Raw vs. Roasted is more of a flavor preference – roasted (and unhulled, for that matter) will have a stronger, nuttier taste to it while raw will be more mild
Hi Caitlin, Thankyou for sharing your experience and most importantly your love of this dish with this post. It gave me context and reality to aspire to with my entry into making my own hummus. My first batch done. I will repeat, tweak and look to make it something I love and am excited to share with my friends and family. All the best, Adrien.
Thank you so much for this message, Adrien! I’m glad you enjoyed the hummus, and I love that you are going to customize it to your own liking 🙂 That is what cooking is all about – finding something you love and making it work for you 🙂
Girl, I’m not vegan but I have a serious love affair with your blog! First of all, every recipe I’ve tried has been delicious. Secondly, your blog is just beautiful! Everything from your layout to your logos to your photos makes me swoon! Keep up the great work! 🙂
Thank you, Kristina! 🙂
Hi Caitlin ! I’ve just done this recipe that I followed by the letter, only I didn’t peel my chickpea and it turned out perfectly. So delicious ! Thank you for the reciepe xx
Hummus the best!❤️????????????????????????????
This is the first recipe I have tried from your site and it was excellent. Best Hummus is a grand claim, but we would heartily agree. Love that there is no oil added and not too much tahini. So often it overpowers the other flavors. Look forward to trying more! Thanks!
Thank you so much, Kim!
Super delicious!!!
Thank you, thank you! This Hummus recipe It is absolutely delicious and, yes, it’s so worth going thru the whole process.
I’ll never need to purchase “store bought” hummus again. Serving it with some zaatar dusted pitas as an appetizer tonight. Cheers!!
So glad to hear that, Connie!
Help! I have tried this three times without success in the instant pot. The beans are turning to mush every time. I reduced to 12 minutes, and this last time was just 10 minutes, yet still mush! I let the instant naturally release on warming the first time, but the second two times I turned off the instant pot completely to natural release. I have the Duo-plus instant pot – is it perhaps a different setting on this version?! I am bummed to keep getting this result and not sure what the heck is going on! Thanks for any tips.
Cancel that! I just saw your response to another person with same issue. 🙂 MORE WATER!