Foolproof Homemade Hummus Recipe
Hello loyal readers! After a much needed break from all things life, I’m back and ready to send out some really great recipes that I’ve been working on! I can’t even begin to express my gratitude for all the messages I have received while I was away – I feel renewed and ready to get back into the blogging grind! Life sometimes throws us down different paths than we are used to, and it’s hard to make time for the things we love/need. My blog has always been my greatest passion, but, a double edged sword – balancing a full time job, relationship, friendships, and making time for family, it’s all a sacrifice when it comes to doing the things you love most. So I appreciate all of you staying here for me while I took some time to re-balance!!
This foolproof homemade hummus is a recipe I have been making a lot of lately, and keeping as a weekly snack in my fridge. It’s so easy to make, and the taste is night and day from what you get when you go to the grocery store. Fresh hummus has such a different flavor and texture than store bought, and one of the best parts is, you can totally customize it to whatever flavors you like. Add more garlic, less garlic (said no one ever), add in some red beets for vibrant color, or parsley for a healthy green, the options are endless.
The overall recipe is very simple, but I definitely have a few words of advice I think are crucial. A lot of the recipes I see online use canned garbanzo beans, which I don’t think are very good, and will NOT yield the same result as using dried beans. This is what I do – soak garbanzo beans overnight in a large bowl of water enough to cover the beans 2 times, and add a tablespoon of baking soda. The purpose of the baking soda is to help remove a complex sugar in the beans that is often associated with gas. After soaking them, I rinse the beans, place in a large pot with enough water to cover the beans two times, and boil them for about an hour. Another huge tip I have here is – SAVE THE WATER YOU BOIL THE BEANS IN!! This is like liquid gold. I use this liquid both to make the hummus, and, in other soups I cook during the week.
Once the beans are boiled, get all your ingredients into a blender (garlic, lemon juice, tahini paste) and blend. Then add in the chickpeas and some of the water you boiled them in. I do all of this while the chickpeas are still hot – immediately after I finished boiling them. There is something about the texture when you do it this way vs. room temp or cold – the texture comes out completely different. I promise, you will never make it a different way again!!! Also, this is the time when I would add in additional ingredients to the blender for color, like the beets or parsley.
Then, I plate the hummus, make a small indention and place in olive oil, za’atar, and toasted pine nuts. You can also place in some marinated garlic, or olives, whatever you want!!
MMM….. I often dip the sweet peppers you see on the left for an afternoon snack at work. Soooooo good!!!!
- (1 lb) 16 oz. dry garbanzo beans (yields 6-7 cups cooked)
- 1 Tbsp. baking soda
- 16-20 cups water
- ¾ cup fresh lemon juice
- 5 cloves garlic
- salt, to taste
- 6 Tbsp. good quality Tahini paste
- Za'atar, to garnish
- toasted pine nuts, to garnish
- Chopped parsley or pomegranate seeds, to garnish
- olive oil, to garnish
- Soak chickpeas overnight in a large bowl of water and the baking soda. Rinse beans thoroughly and place in a large pot. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the beans two times, and bring to a boil. Boil on medium/high for about an hour, until the beans are cooked. If you notice that there isn't as much water in the pot as the beans cook, just add more. You want to have enough liquid at the end to be able to use in the actual hummus.
- Once the beans are cooked turn off the heat and have your cuisenart or blender nearby. First, place the garlic in the blender and pulse until diced. Then add in all of the chickpeas. If you have a smaller blender, do this step in two batches. Pulse the chickpeas until smooth. Add in the lemon juice, tahini, salt, and about 1 cup of the water used to boil the chickpeas. Pulse the hummus until all the ingredients are combined. Add in more water if needed to achieve the proper texture. You don't want a dry hummus, but you also don't want it to be liquidy. Air on the side of caution here. Less is more!
- Taste the hummus here for seasoning - Add more salt as needed and puree.
- Plate the hummus and top with desired garnishes. Enjoy!
Looks good! Is a garbanzo bean the same as a chickpea?
Yes!