Creamy Homemade Hummus Recipe

Hummus, in recent years, has become a grocery store staple. Most supermarkets will offer a variety of brands and flavors, and dessert hummus is even a thing, albeit a somewhat polarizing one. This recipe, however, is for the classic and savory variety of hummus, flavored with nothing more than tahini, lemon, and garlic. Recipe developer Jennine Rye says this hummus is not only "super creamy and full of flavor," but she also notes that it's very quick and easy to make. "Once you've tried it," she tells us, "you'll wonder why you ever had store-bought hummus again."

While this recipe doesn't call for any atypical ingredients, Rye does say she uses one special trick to give it a better texture. She likes to start out by blending the tahini with the lemon juice before adding the other ingredients, telling us, "It's a little touch, but it makes a difference to the final texture."

In addition to the canned chickpeas that make up the bulk of the hummus, you'll also need some tahini. Store-bought is fine, or you can make your own if you're feeling ambitious. You'll also need lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, cumin, and salt.

Combine the tahini and lemon juice in a blender and puree them for a full minute, which whips everything together and makes for a delightfully creamy texture.

Once your tahini/lemon mixture looks creamy, stop the blender, open the lid, and pour in the olive oil. Add the garlic, cumin, and salt, then re-lid the blender and run it for another 30 seconds or so until you have a nice smooth mixture. Make sure the garlic is blended in well, since chunks of this stuff could prove disconcerting to the unwary hummus eater.

As a last step, add the drained chickpeas to the blender and run the machine for another minute or 2 until your hummus appears sufficiently hummus-like. As Rye advises, "You may want to pause the blender to scrape down the sides partway through." If the hummus gets too thick to blend well, you can also add 1-2 tablespoons of water. If you like, you can top the finished hummus with some extra olive oil and/or paprika or sumac.

While you may think of hummus as a dip for pita bread and vegetables, Rye points out that it's much more versatile than that. "Hummus can be served up in a variety of ways," she says, and suggests spreading it on toast, using it as a topping for baked potatoes and other cooked vegetables, and even using it in salads. In fact, hummus can be used as the base for a creamy, dairy-free homemade salad dressing that's cheaper and healthier than store-bought.