Love hummus? It's so easy to make your own! Homemade hummus only takes 5 minutes, and it's so much better than store-bought. All you need are a few cans of chickpeas, some tahini, olive oil, some seasonings, and a food processor.

Photography Credit: Elise Bauer

One of the best reason to keep a few cans of garbanzo beans in the pantry? To make hummus! It’s so easy to make in a food processor, and takes all of 5 minutes.

What’s hummus made of? Cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans), tahini, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Purée everything, top with some paprika and a swirl of olive oil and voilà, you’re done.

VIDEO! Easy Homemade Hummus

Use quality ingredients for hummus

With this few ingredients the quality is important.

You can cook your chickpeas from scratch or use canned, which is what we are doing here for our quick and easy version. Note that not all canned chickpeas are equal. The brands I have found that are the best tasting are Bush’s and S&W premium.

Tahini is a paste made with roasted sesame seeds. You can usually find it alongside the peanut butter at the grocery store, or with other Middle Eastern ingredients.

Sesame is rich in oil and therefore, like any oil, will go rancid over time. So, that half empty can of tahini that has been sitting around in your fridge for a year? Probably not the best tasting anymore, and likely rancid. Taste it before you use it in this hummus, and if it doesn’t taste good, don’t use it. (Throw out any rancid oils, they taste terrible and are bad for you.)

More Tips for making the best hummus

Process the tahini and olive oil first: when you buy tahini, often the solid part of it is compacted and separated from the oil. If you process it in the food processor first, you’ll be able to start with a creamier base.

when you buy tahini, often the solid part of it is compacted and separated from the oil. If you process it in the food processor first, you’ll be able to start with a creamier base. Peel membranes for extra creamy hummus: If you have extra time and you want to make hummus that is extra creamy, peel the membranes off the cooked chickpeas before you purée them. The best way to do that is work with about 1/2 can of chickpeas at a time, drain them and rub them vigorously between two large paper towels. That will make it much easier to slip off the membranes.

What to serve with hummus?

Hummus is terrific with toasted pita bread. Just take some pita bread, cut it into wedges, brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast in a 375°F oven for 10 minutes, turning them over half-way through, until crisp.

Hummus is also wonderful as a dip for crackers or raw crispy vegetables such as celery, red bell pepper, carrots, and cucumber rounds.

How to cook chickpeas from scratch

Prefer to cook your chickpeas rather than use canned? Just soak a cup of dry chickpeas overnight in at least a quart of water. Then drain, and cook with another quart of water and 2 teaspoons of salt, simmering until tender, about an hour or two or longer, depending on how fresh the chickpeas are.

If you don’t want to soak overnight, you can do a quick soak by pouring boiling water over the dry chickpeas, letting them soak for one hour, then draining and cooking.

Or you can cook them in a pressure cooker using these instructions: How to Cook Beans in a Pressure Cooker.

Hummus Variations

No need to limit yourself to plain hummus! You can swap out the chickpeas with cooked beets for a vibrant beet hummus, or skip the tahini and add basil for a pesto inspired basil hummus.

For a vibrant green spring hummus, swap out the beans for shelled peas, and add some mint for a fresh pea hummus.

Also check out these easy add-ins to a batch of hummus.

Make-ahead and Freezing Hummus

Once prepared, store hummus in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to a month.

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