The Best Hummus
Super creamy and smooth, this easy Homemade Hummus is a copycat of Zoe’s Kitchen! A hint of garlic makes it totally addicting and will keep you coming back for more. Fantastic as a dip, in a sandwich wrap or in your favorite mediterranean recipe!
Homemade Hummus
I never really loved hummus until Zoe’s Kitchen came to town. The store-bought hummus in the plastic containers was just not cutting it for me but when I first dipped a wedge of pita into Zoe’s hummus I was instantly addicting.
Velvetty smooth with a hint of garlic, I was instantly smitten and motivated to recreate the recipe immediately and recreate it I did.
There’s one secret to making your hummus sinfully smooth and it all starts with the garbanzo beans.
What is Hummus
Hummus is a creamy dip or spread originating in the Middle East. It’s made of smashed or pureed chickpeas, tahini, olive oil and garlic.
Traditionally served up with pita, you can use this as a sandwich spread, a topping for toast or just as a healthy veggie dip.
How To Make Hummus
This was a bit of a process because when I’ve made hummus in the past, I literally dumped a can of garbanzo beans into the food processor with my usual list of ingredients and let it do its job. HOWEVER, I wasn’t getting the ultra smooth and creamy consistency of the Zoe’s version.
I couldn’t imagine what they were doing to make it soooooo smoooooooth. Then, by accident, one of those little skins popped off the bean. Could it be? Did I have a tedious task ahead of me? Yes….yes, I did. The skins must go. And go they did.
- Drain the garbanzo beans and reserve the liquid.
- Remove the skins from the beans and discard the skins. This will take about 10 minutes.
- Add the beans to a food processor and process until crumbly.
- Add garlic, tahini, lemon juice and 1/2 of the reserved water.
- Process until smooth then begin drizzling in the olive oil.
- Continue to process until smooth and creamy. If, it’s not the desired consistency, add more of the reserved water.
Hummus Variations
You can use this hummus recipe as a base for so many other variations just by adding an ingredient or two.
- Make it spicy! Add 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon cumin and 1/2 teaspoon ground chili powder.
- Pesto for the Besto! Add a spoonful or two of pesto for a bright fresh flavor.
- Just Beet It! Add a few roasted beets for a fun, flavor packed twist.
What To Serve Hummus
The hummus is great on its own as a dip but I’ve also used it as a sandwich spread for my Hummus Avocado toast and as a thickener for soups and stews.
You could also serve it with these crazy, incredible Spicy Cumin-Dusted Tortilla Chips. Or just use the usual Homemade Tortilla Chips because we’re all making our own chips at home now….are we not? Oh man, are they addicting. In the meantime, I’m working on that pita recipe…..I’m determined to make oven-fresh pita that will wow and astonish you. :-).
It’s also the perfect dip for my favorite party platter, the fresh Crudite Tray!
More Easy Healthy Dip Recipes
And then you can use your Homemade Hummus to make this 7 Layer Mexican Hummus Dip because it’s seriously amaze-balls. Like my hubs and I ate it for dinner one night with a big pile of those chips I speak of above. AMAZE-BALLS. And….if you decide to share your amazing Homemade Hummus at a party, it goes exponentially well alongside this Homemade Tzatziki Sauce!
Craving something sweet? This easy Fruit Dip is a fan favorite!
For more easy dip ideas, follow us on Instagram and Facebook!
Get the Recipe: Homemade Hummus Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 15.5 ounce can of garbanzo beans, chickpeas, drained (reserve water) and rinsed
- 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup tahini paste
- juice of 1 large lemon
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- kosher salt
Equipment
- food processor
Instructions
- Drain the beans through a wire mesh sieve and reserve the water from the can. Set the water aside and peel (or pop) the beans from their skins by squeezing them between your thumb and index finger.
- Add the beans to the bowl of a food processor and process until they are crumbly. Add the garlic, tahini, lemon and reserved water.
- Process the ingredients until they start to become smooth and then slowly drizzle two tablespoons olive oil while the processor is still running.
- Continue to mix until the hummus is smooth and creamy. If necessary, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to achieve the correct consistency.
- Transfer to a bowl or container and drizzle with olive oil.
8 Comments on “The Best Hummus”
About how many ounces of hummus does this produce? 16ish?
Hi Cait! Yes, it’s about 2 cups (16 ounces). Thanks!
What is the reason for saving the drained liquid from the beans? Thanks
Hi Donna, I add some of it back to the hummus to help it come together in a smooth consistency. Let me know if you have additional questions. Thanks!
Bean skins are my no.1 pet peeve! I religiously pop off chickpea skins, pea skins, and what not. Thought I was the only weird one. Haha
Nope! And I find the process strangely therapeutic. 🙂
OMG, once I discovered the same thing after months of research I was delighted to find the perfect consistency as well! Now I never buy store-made hummus. Homemade only for me! Plus I love making different versions. I have added mine below if you ever want to try them out.
http://hotdogfoodblog.blogspot.com/2014/01/creamy-avocado-hummus.html
http://hotdogfoodblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/traditional-hummus.html
http://hotdogfoodblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/jalapeno-cilantro-hummus.html
And I have an everything hummus coming up this week!
Thanks for sharing your recipes! I’m sure my readers will love them.