Here's how to make perfectly smooth and creamy hummus at home! It's super easy to whip up — no peeling of chickpeas required. Serve with fresh veggies and pita for a delicious appetizer or snack.
If using canned chickpeas, place cooked chickpeas and baking soda in a medium saucepan and cover with water. You want 1-2 inches of water above the chickpeas. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. If using dry chickpeas, see my note below.
Boil chickpeas, reducing heat if necessary to prevent the pan from overflowing, for about 20 minutes, or until the chickpeas have expanded, the skins are falling off and they're soft, but not mushy. While the chickpeas boil, skim off any foam and/or skins that float to the surface. After 20 minutes, drain the chickpeas in a colander and run under cool water. Set aside.
In a food processor, add lemon juice and tahini. Process for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of your food processor bowl and add chickpeas, olive oil, garlic, cumin and salt.
Process until smooth (about 2-3 minutes more) gradually adding cold water as desired to thin dip and scraping down sides of the processor bowl as needed. Once the hummus is completely smooth, taste and season as needed.
Transfer to a bowl for serving. Top with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh herbs, za'atar, cayenne pepper and/or paprika. Serve with chopped veggies or pita chips for dipping.
Store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for 4-7 days.
Video
Notes
For dry chickpeas: If you're using dried chickpeas, you'll want to start with 1/2 cup of dried chickpeas, soak them overnight in cold water. Discard the soaking liquid and add to a large pot with 6 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 40-60 minutes or until chickpeas are very tender, but not mushy. Remove any chickpea skins that have floated to the top. Drain, rinse with cold water and follow steps above for processing starting with step 3.