The hummus hack: Creamy, velvety and better than store-bought

Forget store-bought hummus — this easy recipe creates the creamiest, fluffiest, most velvety hummus you’ve ever tasted.

In my opinion, it surpasses anything you’ll find at the grocery store, and want to know the best part? It’s quick, affordable and can be made anytime.

Hummus is an eons-old Middle Eastern classic. Traditionally, hummus is made from chickpeas — also known as garbanzo beans — tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt. That’s it and that’s all.

What is tahini? I’m glad you asked. Tahini is a paste of ground sesame seeds and can be a little expensive.

You can substitute other nut butters like peanut butter or sunflower seed butter, but it’s not the same.

At the time of writing this, I paid $8 for 16 ounces of tahini, which will make eight batches of hummus at $1 per batch. Once you have tahini, the only other major expense to make hummus is a can of garbanzo beans.

Usually, to make creamy hummus you’d soak dried garbanzo beans overnight then boil them until they’re falling apart.

My snack attacks don’t involve that kind of forethought; I want hummus, and I want it now. Alternatively, you can use canned beans, but they often result in a grainy texture.

Here’s the trick: Simmer canned beans to make them super tender so they whip up perfectly smooth.

Then let’s make garlic-infused olive oil for that roasted garlic flavor without having to roast the garlic. This is one time to break out the “good” olive oil.

This recipe can easily be doubled.

Easy Hummus

Servings: 4 to 6

Ingredients

1 (15.5 ounces) can garbanzo beans

1 garlic clove, minced

3 tablespoons good extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving

1/4 cup lemon juice (1 large lemon and zest)

1/4 cup tahini, well-stirred

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Kosher salt to taste

2 to 3 tablespoons water

Optional garnish: pinch of paprika or cumin, pine nuts, parsley

Serve with pita bread, sweet peppers, cucumber and olives

Procedure

Drain and rinse garbanzo beans and place in a saucepan. Cover with water by 1 inch and heat it to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer beans for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, mince the garlic and place it in a small pan with olive oil. Let this warm gently on low until the garlic starts to bubble. Turn off heat and let rest while the beans simmer. Drain and cool the beans.

The order in which you process the ingredients is important. In the bowl of a food processor, cream together the tahini and lemon juice for 1 minute, then scrape the sides of the bowl and process another minute.

Add the olive oil with garlic, cumin and salt to the tahini and lemon. Process for 1 to 2 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally until well blended.

Add half of the chickpeas and process for 2 minutes. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl, then add remaining chickpeas and continue to process for another 2 minutes until very smooth. To make this completely smooth, slowly add 2 to 3 tablespoons of ice water until you reach the perfect consistency.

Adjust seasonings as desired. To serve, spread the hummus in a shallow bowl, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a dash of paprika or za’atar for an extra pop of flavor.

For the perfect hummus experience, serve it with a variety of dippers to suit all tastes. Classic options like warm pita bread, crisp veggie sticks — carrots, cucumbers, celery, bell peppers — or crunchy pita chips are always a hit.