How to Make the Best Homemade Hummus?

Want to learn how to make perfect homemade hummus like a pro? In this recipe article, you will know all the tips and tricks to make creamy and delicious homemade hummus. 

Hummus is especially very tasty, lusciously creamy, soft, and light. It is fast and easy to make with a handful of fresh ingredients like chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, salt, lemon juice, and garlic. You can make them easily with a food processor or high-power blender, which will make them super smooth and creamy.  

I have made the basic hummus recipe in this article that my family and I enjoyed for years. It is great to have this as a side dish along with any main dish or appetizer. This hummus recipe is very simple and easy to make at home, and you can make it tastier by throwing in all the spices. Depending on a person’s preference and daily diet, hummus can be a good thing to add to a healthy diet. 

If you love hummus as I do, then you need to check out my Broccoli Hummus and  Black Bean Hummus.

What is Hummus? 

Hummus is incredibly popular, at least in the United States over the following years. Hummus is a delicious, creamy, and rich dip that originated from the Middle East. It is primarily created from chickpeas and sesame seeds that go along with herbs, spices, and other ingredients, which gives them a nice and unique texture.  

Hummus Ingredients

You can get canned hummus from any grocery store, but you should always go for homemade hummus if you want to have all the healthy nutrients. Basic homemade hummus contains seven ingredients: chickpeas, tahini paste, sea salt, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and water. You can use hummus to create a whole new dish or use it as a dip or spread.

Hummus Health Benefits

Hummus has a rich amount of protein, vitamins, and minerals. Aside from chickpeas, tahini paste is also rich and creamy that is created from ground sesame seeds, and enriched with methionine protein. In that way, you can get complete protein and energy. Because the healthy elements are packed in hummus, you can get every single vitamin and mineral from it.     

Apart from adding flavors to make the hummus taste better or amaze your tastebuds, hummus has many beneficial sides. Here are some amazing health benefits of hummus you should know!  

Hummus is Filled with Fiber Contents

Your digestion process will normally work because hummus has a good amount of fiber content. Hummus is considered to be a tasty way to eat fiber or get fiber into anyone’s diet. Fibers are well-known for preventing heart diseases.

Improves Muscle, Skin, Bone, and Blood Health

Protein is very important to improve our muscle, skin, bones, and blood health. Hummus has a lot of protein, so it is easier for you to get a lot of protein by eating hummus. Hummus is a vegetarian-friendly food for those who do not eat meat.

Can Lower Your Cholesterol levels

Chickpeas are used to make hummus, and they are known to have nutrients that can lower cholesterol levels. Making hummus on your own is recommended because the store-bought ones sometimes have too much sodium.

Can Decrease the Possibilities of Cancer

Hummus also has the common health benefit of beans that can prevent cancer properties. Protease inhibitors, saponins, and phytic acid from beans have been shown to secure cells from cancer damage. Here.

Helps with Weight Losing 

Hummus is commonly made with sesame seed butter or tahini, which has a good amount of monounsaturated fats. These fats are very well-known to promote weight loss.

Acts Like A Good Substitute For Other Foods

You can avoid the bad health effects of other foods by mixing hummus with them. It goes well with many dishes such as salads. Hummus can be used as a dip for raw vegetables instead of ranch sauce.

Can Balance Blood Sugar Levels

Because of its protein, you will feel full for a longer time, which alone can lead you to consume less food. Other nutrients of hummus can balance our blood sugar levels.

Rich in Antioxidants

Antioxidants can decrease the damage that oxidants do to our bodies. And those antioxidants are present in hummus to ensure us with a good healthy life without any damage. 

Chickpeas Varieties and Which One is the Best?

Chickpeas have gained popularity in the Middle Eastern diet. As for making hummus, most people want to know which chickpeas are the best for making hummus. In short, you need to get chickpeas as smallest as you can to make hummus. Here are some of the chickpeas variety you can use to make hummus, 

• Mexican Chickpea: This variety is also known as Garbanzo Beans or Spanish Chickpea. It is good for hummus and also goes well with other dishes. 
• Middle Eastern Chickpea: These chickpeas are smaller and have a darker complex, so these are the best for hummus. The best one so far I will suggest is the Bulgarian Chickpea and Hadas Chickpea.  
• Ful Masari Chickpea (Fava Bean): This is the one you will use to make Hummus Ful, Ful Medames, and other dishes. It is an easy pick if you are looking for a suitable substitute for making hummus. 
• Ful (Broad Bean): It is very common in the southern European part, and you get this from any middle eastern country. It is very delicious, and you can easily cook it. 

Chickpea Buying Tips | Dried or Canned Which is Better?

You can buy dried and canned chickpeas from any store as they are available all year round and easy to store. If you are concerned with nutritional and healthy contents between dried and canned chickpeas. Then you can use both as they do not lose their nutritional elements, unlike most other canned vegetables. You can easily use canned chickpeas straight out of the can. But don’t forget to wash them properly as you need to get rid of that excess sodium. 

You need to clean the dried chickpeas in a bowl and cover it in cold water for 8 to 12 hours. In that way, you can cook them fast and make them more digestible. After soaking them, drain the water, add more water, and boil them for at least 30 minutes or 1 hour or until they are tender. 

You can find dried chickpeas in an airtight packet or a bulk bin area in your local supermarket. If you are buying dried chickpeas, make sure to check properly. See if they are in a covered container and inspect whole, unblemished, and have no moisture damage. You can store these dried chickpeas in an airtight container for up to 12 months. After cooking them, you can keep them in an airtight pot for up to three days. 

As you can see, dried chickpeas take more time to manage than canned chickpeas. You can prefer which one you like to cook, but you can choose canned chickpeas if you want to save time and cook quickly.

How To Prepare Homemade Hummus?

1.  Take a high-powered blender or a food processor, add chickpea, tahini paste, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and sauce. Puree until a smooth paste is formed.
2.  Scrape the sides and bottom with a batter spoon and mix it for another 30 seconds. It will make the ingredients creamier and smooth for hummus.
3. Add the water and continue processing for about 3 minutes to get a very creamy hummus.

How Do You Thicken Hummus?

Suppose you have made the hummus more liquid, or you just want to thicken the hummus a little more; for that, you just have to add some tahini. Or, you can let the hummus rest to cool for an hour or more before adding garnish can help to thicken it. 

Also, if you add 1 or 2 tablespoons of coconut yogurt to your hummus, you should get the same results. Just put the coconut yogurt into the blender or food processor. You can also add more chickpeas and tahini paste to thicken it even more. 

Ways to Eat Hummus

You can eat hummus in many ways other than using them as a dip. Hummus can be tasty if they are used in,

• Toast: Toasts can be enjoyed more if it is paired with hummus.
• Wraps: Hummus can be a good spread in straps.
• Veggie Burgers: As for burgers, hummus can be good if it’s paired with mayo or used alone in a burger.
• Salads: Hummus is a good option for salad dressing.
• Pasta: Thin the hummus with water and use it in pasta or noodles.
• Mashed Potato: Mashed potato tastes delicious with hummus.

How to Make Tahini Paste at Home?

Homemade tahini is super easy to prepare, and it tasted much better than the store-bought canned tahini, and they are expensive. If you can make tahini at home, you can use it easily for making hummus. Tahini is made from three simple ingredients like sesame seeds, olive oil, and salt. 

1. Take one cup of sesame seeds and add them to a frying pan. Roast the seeds at medium temperature until they are slightly brown, and stir consistently with a spoon to avoid burning. 
2. After roasting them, let the seeds sit cool for a few minutes and add them to a food processor. Process them until they are smooth. Add ¼ cup of olive oil and blend to make fresh, smooth tahini. 
3. After making them, you can store them in a glass jar for more than a month in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

Tahini is very healthy and contains the right amount of nutritional elements like calcium, protein, iron, copper, zinc, omega 3, omega 6 oils, manganese, and amino acids. These nutritional elements are great for our immune system, bones and help to fight inflammation and several other diseases. 

Tips: Buy sesame seeds in bulk as they tend to be expensive if you buy cans or bags.  

Tahini Substitution

If you want to substitute tahini with something else, then I would suggest you not do this. To make an authentic hummus recipe, you must need tahini. 

However, if you are going to make the chickpeas into a dip, you can get a similar result in density but not in flavor. You can use nut butter like almond, cashew, and brazil nut butter.

All of these nut butter will give you a different texture and flavor. Also, you can use coconut yogurt, but it will provide a different taste. In the substitute of tahini, you can make a chickpea dip, but I will not call it hummus as the flavors and textures are different. 

Notes and Tips

• Cook Dry Chickpeas: Soak dried chickpeas overnight or at least 2 hours before cooking. The water needs to be at least doubled the number of chickpeas. Drain the chickpeas and keep them in a medium-shaped cooking pot. Cover the pot with water for about 2 inches and boil them. Then reduce the simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours to make them mushy and fall apart. After boiling, drain them in a fine-mesh strainer. 
• Cook Canned Chickpeas: Be sure to clean the canned chickpeas properly. It will be great to give them a quick 20-minute boil in a bit of water so the chickpeas will become soft. 
• Peel Chickpeas: Cover cooked chickpeas in boiled water and add 1 ½ tsp baking soda. Keep them cooking for few minutes and remove the skin by rubbing them. 

Want to learn how to make perfect homemade hummus like a pro? In this recipe article, you will know all the tips and tricks to make creamy and delicious homemade hummus. 

Other Amazing Hummus Recipes To Make

1. Zucchini Hummus
2. Roasted Fennel Hummus
3. Butter Bean Hummus
4. Artichoke Hummus

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