Words cannot express how lovely, dreamy, and utterly divine this homemade hummus is. It is the best hummus recipe that you can make at home. It is smooth and luxurious with the perfect balance of lemon and garlic.

Alright everybody. Take a deep breath. Here is the long, drawn out, overly dramatic story about how I finally discovered the perfect, ultimate, ultra creamy hummus recipe. (Hey, I just want you all to be prepared for what’s coming).

My Search For The Best Hummus Recipe

Many many moons ago, I decided it was time for me to start making my own homemade hummus. Our family goes through a tub of hummus dip every week, and I wanted to see if there was a more budget friendly way to fuel our addiction without needing to study under Chef Michael Solomonov (his hummus wins awards).

Plus, I thought, “it’s just some beans and tahini. How hard could it really be?”

So I did what any good millennial does and asked Google for an “easy hummus recipe.” I picked one of the first ones I looked at and went to work. It was easy alright.

Dump the beans and tahini in the blender.

Add some salt.

Pour in some olive oil.

Blend, and voila! You’ve got hummus!

The Low Point

The problem was, it wasn’t very good hummus. The texture was grainy, it was too thick, and it didn’t have a lot of flavor. It tasted like I just mashed up a bunch of garbanzo beans and called it a day. (Which is, in fact, basically what I did.)

That first experience kind of ruined me to homemade hummus. I swore I would never waste my time on that again. And for years now, I haven’t. My carrot sticks and pita chips have been perfectly content being dipped in store bought hummus.

The Secret To Unlocking Perfect Homemade Hummus

But then I started seeing homemade hummus everywhere on my favorite food blogs. They told me there was a secret: one simple step that separated smashed beans from the silky smooth hummus of my dreams.

That step was skinning the beans.

That’s right. These crazy people want us to take the weird, freaky skin skeleton off of each and every one of those garbanzo beans before putting them in the blender.

In my hubris, I thought, “Ummmmm, no thanks. I’ve got WAY better things to do than sit around and pop skins off of beans. Plus it couldn’t possibly make THAT much of a difference, right?”

But then, I read Smitten Kitchen’s post, “Ethereally Smooth Hummus,” and I finally broke.

Her description: so luscious

The pictures: so enticing

Her creamy hummus recipe looked SO silky smooth. I could no longer resist. I wanted, no needed, that hummus in my life.

How to Peel Chickpeas

So I did it. I skinned the beans. It was tedious, awkward, and it took me a total of 20 minutes just to do that one step. Turns out I’m a pretty darned SLOW bean skinner (It takes Deb only 9 minutes). I’m hoping that more practice will improve my speed, and soon I’ll be able to add a new line to my resume for “mad bean skinning skills.” (LinkedIn endorsements welcomed).

There are two methods for skinning beans.

Once you have rinsed and drained the canned chickpeas (or garbanzo beans–they’re the same!), pick up a bean and hold it between your thumb and pointer finger. Gently squeeze at one end until the skin slides off the bean. Repeat with the rest of the beans. Warm the beans in the microwave or in a skillet for 2-3 minutes. Place them in a large bowl and fill it with cold water. Rub the beans between your hands, and the skins will fall off and float to the surface. You may have to repeat this 2-3 times to get all of them.

Thankfully, skinning beans takes very little brain power, so you could multitask with your favorite TV show (The Office, obviously), audiobook (I recommend Bossypants), or podcast (try The Popcast with Knox and Jamie).

Better yet, get someone else to skin the beans for you! I mean, don’t people have kids so they don’t have to do jobs like this?

The Homemade Hummus That Dreams Are Made Of

Whatever way you choose to get the job done, make time for this simple step. The return on quality here is worth every last minute you’ll spend, I promise.

Once all those creepy bean exoskeletons are thrown away, you’re only minutes from the best ultra smooth and creamy hummus; the kind of hummus that dreams (and possibly facial masks) are made of.

Like me, I’m sure you will be scraping every last drop out of your blender or food processor. Just don’t attempt to lick the blades no matter how great the temptation. It’s that good.

Do you think this is the best hummus recipe? Be sure to rate it, and share in the comments!

Use This Hummus In These Other Great Recipes:

I absolutely love pairing hummus with this Spicy Turkish Ezme Salad. It is the perfect combination of creamy, fresh, garlicky, and hot. Of course, you can’t go wrong with classic homemade pita bread or a quick Israeli Salad.

Homemade hummus can also be an amazing condiment for sandwiches, including these Greek Hot Dogs (seriously!) and Roast Beef and Red Pepper Crostini.