Easy, Awesome Homemade Hummus — In 5 Minutes Flat

Homemade hummus is hardly more complicated than opening a container of the store-bought stuff. Image by Liza Schoenfein

By Liza Schoenfein May 13, 2016

It was interesting to read this week that a staggering number of Israeli’s — 70% — say they have hummus in their fridge. It got me wondering how many of those tubs of hummus were store bought. Probably most.

I buy hummus too — I have two growing teenage boys, and hummus is a filling, nutritious snack. But when I make it from scratch, it’s so much better that I always wonder why I don’t always whip up my own. (Maybe it’s because the homemade kind is so good that it’s eaten right away, leaving my refrigerator devoid of the stuff.)

Making your own, particularly if you use canned chickpeas, takes almost no time or effort. So in honor of International Hummus Day, why not try it yourself?

Liza’s Homemade Hummus

Double or triple as desired. It’ll go fast.

1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 heaping tablespoons tahini
1 garlic clove (or to taste), mashed or pressed
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup water
½ teaspoon salt or to taste

Optional garnishes: ground sumac, paprika, whole chickpeas, olive oil…

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and process for a minute, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary. Taste for seasoning and texture. Hummus should be very smooth.

Garnish as desired and serve.

Liza Schoenfein is food editor of the Forward. Contact her at schoenfein@forward.com or follow her on Twitter, @LifeDeathDinner

Liza Schoenfein is a former food editor of the Forward and author of the blog Life, Death & Dinner. Follow her on Instagram @LifeDeathDinner.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO