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The Best Hummus

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The best hummus is lusciously creamy, yet

somehow light and fluffy. It’s beautifully
smooth and swirled, and begging to be scooped
up onto a wedge of pita bread. It’s nutty and
tangy, thanks to the tahini, with notes of bright,
fresh lemon and mellow garlic.

I encountered the most delicious hummus at

Aladdin Cafe, a local Mediterranean restaurant.
That hummus met all of the above
characteristics, and I was hoping the owner
might enlighten me with his techniques. When I
asked, though, he replied, “It’s a secret,” with a
sly smile and walked away.

I went home determined to learn how to make

magnificently creamy hummus. First, I took the
fancy flavorings out of my other hummus recipes
to make plain hummus. It was dense, a little
gritty, and harshly garlicky. I was so
disappointed.

Next, I went to Google and opened up a million

tabs to learn everything about hummus. You
know me. Ten hummus attempts later, I’m ready
to share all of my hummus tips and tricks with
you. Get ready to make the best hummus of
your life!

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The internet at large raves that an Israeli chef

named Michael Solomonov makes the very best
hummus. It’s so good that Bon Appetit named his
hummus their 2015 Dish of the Year. That’s some
serious hummus.

Solomonov’s secret? He uses chickpeas that have

been cooked until they’re so tender, they’re
mushy.

He cooks his chickpeas with some baking soda,

too. According to Bon Appetit, baking soda
“raises the pH of the water and helps the little
guys break down to a soft, pulpy mass… perfect
for an ultra-smooth purée.”

Overcooked chickpeas seemed like a promising

idea to me. You see, I once tried to make
hummus with canned chickpeas that were oddly
undercooked, and they made terrible hummus.
No matter how long I blended the hummus, those
undercooked chickpeas never blended into
creamy oblivion.

Plus, baking soda helps break down the chickpea

skins, which means you do not need to peel off
the skins individually. Who has time for that?! I
bet you don’t have time to soak your chickpeas
overnight and cook them from scratch like
Solomonov, either.

Here’s my time-saving solution: Just boil

canned or leftover cooked chickpeas with
baking soda for twenty minutes.

You can see the difference that baking soda

makes in the photo below. See how the chickpeas
on the right are popping open more? They are
significantly softer in texture as well.

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The chickpeas are ready to go after a quick rinse

under cool running water, which rinses off the
baking soda flavor and cools the chickpeas so
your hummus doesn’t develop a weird outer film.

Are you as excited about this as I am? You can

have this incredible hummus now-ish, not
tomorrow! No chickpea peeling required.

I have a few more tips and techniques to making

great hummus, so read on or scroll down for the
full recipe and variations.

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How to Make the Best

Hummus
1) Mushy chickpeas
Cook canned or leftover cooked chickpeas
according to step 1 below. This only adds 20
minutes to your hummus-making time, and it’s
my number one tip for making perfect hummus
at home.

Want to cook your chickpeas from

scratch? You sure can—see the recipe notes.

Can you over-cook your chickpeas in an

Instant Pot? I don’t recommend it—you’ll end
up with a mess of chickpea mash clogging your
vent and a puddle of chickpea cooking water
surrounding your Instant Pot. I speak from
experience.

2) Great tahini
All tahini is not created equally. When I was in
Israel, Israelis’s spoke of tahini, or “t’hina,” with
reverence. I learned that the best tahini comes
from Ethiopia. Store-bought tahini in the U.S.
varies widely in flavor, with some of them so bad
that they’ve ruined my hummus.

My favorite brands of tahini? I had to try

Solomonov’s favorite, Soom. I found it on
Amazon (affiliate link) and I have to say that it is
worth it. Second favorite? Trader Joe’s
organic tahini, which is made from Ethiopian
sesame seeds like Soom’s. Whole Foods 365 used
to be my go-to, but I encountered a few bad jars
that tasted so bad, I’m afraid to try again.

Don’t skimp on the tahini, either—you need

to use 1/2 cup tahini per can of chickpeas for rich
and irresistible hummus. I once toured an
enormous hummus production facility and
learned that they often reduce the cost of
producing store-bought hummus by using less
tahini. Sneaky!

3) Ice-cold water
Why do you always want to mix ice-cold water
with tahini? This is another trick that I learned
on my trip. I can’t find a scientific explanation,
but it seems to help make the hummus light and
fluffy, and lightens the color of the tahini to a
pale ivory color.

4) Fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Store-bought lemon juice always tastes stale and
sad, and it will make your hummus taste stale
and sad. Buy lemons and your humus will taste
fresh and delicious. I almost always add another
tablespoon of lemon juice to my hummus for
extra flavor before I plate it, but I’ll leave the tang
factor up to you.

5) Garlic, mellowed in lemon juice

This is another trick from Solomonov—if you
mince the garlic in the food processor or blender
with the lemon juice and let that mixture rest for
a few minutes, the garlic will lose its harsh, raw
bite and mellow out. I tried it before and after,
and he’s right! Here’s Serious Eats’ scientific
explanation for why this works.

6) Olive oil, blended into the hummus

and drizzled on top
Solomonov doesn’t blend any olive oil into his
hummus, but I think that one tablespoon makes
the hummus taste even more luxurious and
creamy. I recommend it!

7) Ground cumin
The cumin is subtle and offers some “Je ne sais
quoi,” if you will. It’s a common ingredient in
plain hummus recipes, and makes the hummus
taste a little more special.

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Hummus Variations
This hummus recipe is plain (and by plain, I
mean delicious), but you can blend any of the
following in with the chickpeas to make
variations.

Green goddess hummus: 3/4 cup loosely

packed fresh, leafy herbs
Kalamata olive hummus: 3/4 cup pitted
Kalamata olives
Roasted garlic hummus: Cloves from 1 to 2
heads of roasted garlic
Sun-dried tomato hummus: 3/4 cup oil-
packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and
drained (from one 6.7-ounce jar)
Toasted sesame hummus: 1/2 teaspoon in
the hummus, plus 1 teaspoon drizzled on
top

Hummus Garnishes
Drizzle of olive oil
Sprinkle of ground sumac, which is
gloriously sour and deep pink, or paprika,
which is basically flavorless but offers a
splash of color
Sesame seeds or seeded spice blend, such as
dukkah
Middle Eastern hot sauce, such as zhoug or
shatta
Chopped fresh parsley

Ok, let’s make some hummus! I’m dying to

hear how this hummus turns out for you. Please
let me know in the comments and tell me if
overcooking your chickpeas makes all the
difference!

You can also share a photo of your results on

Instagram with the hashtag #cookieandkate so
we can all see your results.

WATCH HOW TO MAKE HUMMUS

Best Hummus n PRINT

h SAVE
Author: Cookie and Kate Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 2 cups (8 servings) 1x Category: Dip
Method: Food processor Cuisine: Israeli
4.9 from 1143 reviews

Learn how to make the best homemade hummus!

It’s creamy, dreamy and light. This hummus
recipe is easy to make—no peeling chickpeas or
overnight soak required. Recipe yields about 2
cups.

SCALE 1X 2X 3X

INGREDIENTS

1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and

drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas

½ teaspoon baking soda (if you’re using

canned chickpeas)

¼ cup lemon juice (from 1 ½ to 2 lemons),

more to taste

1 medium-to-large clove garlic, roughly

chopped

½ teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste

½ cup tahini

2 to 4 tablespoons ice water, more as

needed

½ teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Any of the following garnishes: drizzle of

olive oil or zhoug sauce, sprinkle of ground
sumac or paprika, chopped fresh parsley

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INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the chickpeas in a medium saucepan

and add the baking soda. Cover the
chickpeas by several inches of water, then
bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. ×