Smooth Hummus (Printer-friendly)
Velvety chickpea dip with tahini, lemon and garlic; silky texture, bright citrus notes. Ready in minutes.
# What You Need:
→ Chickpeas
01 - 1 can (14 oz) cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed, or 8.5 oz cooked chickpeas
→ Tahini Mixture
02 - ¼ cup (2 oz) tahini
03 - 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
04 - 1 small garlic clove, minced
05 - 3 tbsp cold water, plus more as needed
→ Seasonings
06 - ½ tsp ground cumin
07 - ¾ tsp salt, or to taste
08 - 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
→ Garnishes
09 - Pinch of smoked paprika or ground sumac
10 - Finely chopped fresh parsley
# How to Make It:
01 - Combine the tahini and lemon juice in a food processor. Process for 1 minute until the mixture becomes creamy and pale in color.
02 - Add the minced garlic, ground cumin, and salt to the food processor. Blend again until fully incorporated.
03 - Add half of the chickpeas and blend for 1 minute, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the remaining chickpeas and continue blending until very smooth.
04 - Gradually add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, blending after each addition, until the hummus reaches your preferred consistency.
05 - With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil and blend one final time for a silky, luxurious finish.
06 - Taste the hummus and adjust the salt, lemon juice, or cumin as needed to balance the flavors.
07 - Transfer the hummus to a serving bowl. Create a swirl on top using the back of a spoon, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with smoked paprika or sumac and chopped parsley. Serve with pita bread, vegetable sticks, or crackers.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The texture is silkier than anything you will find in a grocery store, and you control every single ingredient that goes in.
- It costs a fraction of what deli hummus runs, and the flavor punches harder because the tahini and lemon have not been sitting in plastic for weeks.
02 -
- Skipping the chickpea peeling step is fine for everyday hummus, but if you want that cloud like smoothness, pinching the skins off each chickpea before blending makes an enormous difference.
- The hummus will thicken slightly as it chills in the fridge, so if you are making it ahead, leave it a touch looser than you think it needs to be.
03 -
- Processing the tahini and lemon juice alone before anything else creates an emulsified base that makes the entire batch smoother, so never skip that first one minute blend.
- Ice cold water is the single ingredient most home cooks miss, and it is what lifts the hummus from dense and heavy to fluffy and light.