Homemade Hummus — Creamy Like the Restaurant's, in 10 Minutes
Yvonne Ammann VeganDrain a tin of chickpeas, blend with 4 tbsp tahini, juice of a lemon, 1 garlic clove, cumin and salt. Then drizzle in 3 to 4 tbsp iced water gradually and keep blending 2 minutes until pale and creamy. The iced water and the time are the difference between paste and hummus.
Hummus from a pot is fine; homemade is better and costs a third. The difference between a grainy paste and the creamy hummus from a restaurant is not the ingredients but two things: iced water and patience in the blender. Blend two minutes longer than you think, and it turns pale, airy and smooth.
Ingredients
- 1 tin Chickpeas (400 g, about 250 g drained)
- 4 tbsp Tahini
- 1 piece Lemon (juice)
- 1 piece Garlic clove
- 1 tsp Ground cumin
- ½ tsp Salt
- 4 tbsp Iced water
- 2 tbsp Olive oil (to serve)
- Paprika (to serve)
Method
- 1
Chickpeas
Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Keep a few for garnish. If you have 5 extra minutes: boil the chickpeas in water with a pinch of bicarbonate of soda for 5 minutes — they soften and the hummus gets even creamier.
- 2
Whip the tahini
Blend the tahini with the lemon juice in a blender or with a stick blender for 1 minute until pale and thick. This is the first step to creaminess.
- 3
Blend
Add the chickpeas, garlic, cumin and salt and blend 1 minute. It is a thick paste now — that is right.
- 4
Iced water
With the blender running, drizzle in the iced water a tablespoon at a time and keep blending 2 minutes until the hummus is pale, airy and smooth. Taste — it usually needs more lemon or salt.
- 5
Serve
Into a shallow bowl, make a swirl with the back of a spoon, pour olive oil into it, sprinkle with paprika and chickpeas. With flatbread or vegetable sticks.
Tips
- Tahini is at Migros and Coop on the spreads shelf or in any Turkish shop — cheaper and better there. Stir the jar before use; the oil separates.
- Variations: 100 g cooked beetroot (pink), 1 roasted pepper from a jar (red), 1 avocado (green), 1 tbsp harissa (hot), 100 g roasted pumpkin (autumn). Blend everything in.
- Keeps five days in the fridge with a layer of oil on top. For the lunchbox with carrot and cucumber sticks — the vegetables children eat voluntarily.
What can I substitute?
Peanut butter makes it nuttier and sweeter. Yoghurt gives a creamy but different dip — not hummus, but good.
White beans come out even creamier. Edamame gives a green, high-protein hummus.
Roasted is milder and sweet — a whole bulb 40 minutes in the oven. Powder is the fallback.
Nutrition per serving
Estimated from the ingredients.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my hummus grainy instead of creamy?
Blended too short and too little liquid. Whip the tahini with lemon first, then iced water gradually, and blend 4 to 5 minutes in total — longer than you think. The chickpea skins are no problem with a powerful blender; with a stick blender, boiling with bicarbonate helps.
What do you eat hummus with?
As a dip with flatbread, vegetable sticks or crisps. As a spread instead of butter. As a side for falafel, grilled food, roasted vegetables. As a sauce in wraps and bowls. A spoonful under a salad. It replaces almost any sauce.
Is hummus healthy?
Yes — chickpeas provide protein and fibre, tahini and olive oil good fats. A 50 g portion has about 8 g protein. Homemade has no preservatives and as much salt as you choose.
How much does homemade hummus cost?
About 2 CHF for the whole bowl — a tin of chickpeas costs 1 CHF, tahini a few centimes a spoon. The same hummus in a pot costs 4 to 5 CHF and is half the size.
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