Easy Homemade Hummus

This delicious homemade hummus recipe is smooth and creamy with a touch of fresh garlic and lemon. Learn how to make hummus, from scratch, in just 10 minutes!

Once you try this easy hummus recipe, you definitely won't want to go back to the store bought version ever again, I promise! This one is so fresh and rich with flavor--plus, it's a super healthy snack boasting fiber, key vitamins and other health benefits. So the answer to the question "Is hummus good for you?" is a resounding yes!!

Hummus makes a perfect snack or lunchbox add on when paired with sliced pita bread, chips or fresh chopped veggies. It's actually one of the two staples I consistently try to have on hand for snacks at home along with this simple guacamole. 🙂

Jump to:

• 🌿 Ingredients
• 📝 Instructions
• 📋 Substitutions
• 📖 Variations
• 🔪 Equipment
• 🍱 Storage
• 🎉 Top tip
• 🍳 Recipe

🌿 Ingredients

What is hummus, and what is in hummus? Both great questions. Traditional recipes call for chickpeas and tahini (sesame paste) as the base, along with olive oil, fresh lemon, ground cumin, salt and garlic to season. All of these ingredients should be readily available at any grocery store.

• chickpeas (canned or cooked)
• lemon
• garlic
• sea salt
• ground cumin
• tahini
• olive oil
• water
• paprika or chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

See recipe card below for exact quantities.

📝 Instructions

To get started, rinse and drain the chickpeas if you're using canned chickpeas, halve and juice the lemon and mince the garlic.

Pro tip: Peel off any of the loose skins as you rinse your chickpeas; that'll make your hummus even smoother and creamier in the end.

Place all ingredients except the water and garnishes in a food processor fitted with a standard S blade and process everything for 1-2 minutes, scraping down the slides with a plastic spatula once of twice if needed.

And finally, add a little water at a time as you process for another 1-2 minutes or until it's smooth and creamy.

To plate, serve your hummus in a bowl and drizzle a little extra olive oil on top; then garnish with some paprika or fresh parsley.

📋 Substitutions

Hummus is naturally vegan, gluten free and dairy free but you could also try the substitutions below.

• Chickpeas - use cauliflower or zucchini instead of chickpeas for paleo-friendly
• Tahini - if you can't find tahini or don't have any on hand, you can substitute peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, or just leave it out altogether and use a little extra olive oil instead

📖 Variations

Here are some popular hummus variations to try. If you have a previous favorite store-bought flavor you like, you could try that too!

• Beet hummus - add some roasted beets
• Roasted red pepper hummus - add some roasted red peppers
• White bean hummus - use cannellini or Great Northern beans instead of chickpeas
• Black bean hummus - use black beans instead of chickpeas, and lime instead of lemon juice
• Avocado hummus - add a ripe avocado and use lime instead of lemon juice
• Garlic hummus - add an extra clove or two of fresh garlic or roasted garlic if you really like your hummus garlicky
• Spicy - add a little seeded, minced jalapeño to any of the above variations (leave the seeds in if you like things really hot!)
• Kid friendly - use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic for little ones

🔪 Equipment

Here is the equipment you'll need to make hummus at home:

• colander
• cutting board
• chef's knife
• citrus juicer
• food processor

🍱 Storage

Leftovers will stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Can you freeze hummus? Yes! It'll stay fresh for up to 2-3 months in the freezer.

🎉 Top tip

Don't add too much water to your recipe at first; add just a little and process it before adding more until it reaches your perfect desired consistency. Also, don't be afraid to run the food processor for an extra minute or so beyond when you think the hummus looks ready--it'll only get creamier and more velvety smooth as you do.

Enjoy!

🍳 Recipe