Pass up on store-bought hummus with this standard recipe.
Author’s Note
It was the highlight of my month when I first realized I could make my own hummus instead of buying it in bulk at the grocery store. Not only is it more cost effective to make my own, I know exactly what’s going in it and I almost always have all the ingredients on hand. Oh, and I can make a vat of it. Yep, a vat.
For this recipe I use canned garbanzo beans for convenience, but I highly encourage you to try using dried beans. It requires more preparation, as it involves soaking the beans anywhere from one hour to overnight, but the returns you get on flavor are insane. You’ll have a hummus on your hands unlike anything you’ve ever tasted. (I’ll write a separate post on dried bean prep.) I love my hummus with a little bite to it, so I add crushed red pepper flakes and pepper. This can be omitted if spice isn’t your thing.
You’ll need a decent food processor for this recipe, to ensure that everything comes out silky smooth. In the past I’ve used smoothie blenders and tiny food processors, and while the texture wasn’t ideal a rose is a rose is rose, so to speak. I dressed up my hummus with some diced tomatoes, dried basil, goat cheese, parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil for aesthetics (and because I had these items readily available), but most of it isn’t part of the actual recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ¼ c tahini (aka sesame paste)
- ¼ c lemon juice (2 small lemons)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ tsp salt
- pepper to taste
Method
- To a food processor, add tahini and lemon juice. Process until smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes, pausing every so often to scrape down the sides.
- When the lemon + tahini mixture is smooth, add garlic, olive oil, cumin, crushed red pepper flakes, salt & pepper. Process until well combined.
- Add ½ chickpeas and process for 1 minute.
- Add rest of chickpeas and process until desired texture achieved. I prefer my mix very smooth, so I process for up to 5 minutes, stopping every so often to scrape down the bowl.
Serves just me, because I am a hummus fiend.
