The Best Basic Hummus Recipe (and what to add to it!)

When my husband and I moved in together a few years ago I assumed there would be a few trials and tribulations in our future. The inevitable finding out about quirks you can only really know from living with someone: leaving socks everywhere, letting the yard go un-mown a week or two longer than you should, grocery bills steadily creeping up… one thing I did not expect? The. Crazy. Amount. Of. Hummus. We started going through! Little did I know that one of both of our “go-to” meals if we’re in a rush is hummus, crackers, and carrot sticks. We were going through a tub (or two!) a week for a while, until finally something in me clicked and I had the thought, “I bet this could be cheaper.” It sure can! Hummus is stupid easy to make, and even easier to customize! And with chickpeas going for ~$0.89 per can (or ~$3 per pound) and the rest of the ingredients buyable in bulk (or picked off our neighbors tree, in the case of the lemons!), we cut our hummus budget by more than 75%!

Here’s my base recipe, and a few of my favorite (thus far) toppings and mixins to include! These amounts make about 10 ounces (the typical Sabra size container), but I often double it (I did for these photos!) and store in these containers depending on how much I make… and how much we immediately eat out of the food processor.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced (more if you love garlic!)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (more if you love cumin! I do!)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • water
  • paprika

DIRECTIONS

  • In a food processor: combine lemon juice and tahini. Blend for 60-90 seconds.
  • Add: garlic, olive oil, cumin, and salt. Blend for 30-60 seconds.
  • Add: chickpeas, half a can at a time. Blend for 60 seconds.
  • Add: any mixins or additions you like! Some of my favorites are:
    • pepper flakes and rosemary (seen in these photos)
    • cilantro and jalapeño
    • pine nuts
    • sriracha and lime zest
    • asparagus
    • roasted beets
    • sun dried tomatoes
    • olives
  • Add 2-3 tablespoons of water, as necessary.
  • Finish with a sprinkle of paprika.

Obviously I love hummus. If you haven’t tried making your own, I highly recommend it! Not only does it taste better than store bought, the cost savings can be crazy high! I also love bringing it as a potluck contribution, as it seems so much more impressive than it actually is.


Anyone else a hummus fiend? What is your go-to brand? Have you ever tried making it yourself?? What did you add? Let me know in the comments!

3 comments

  1. Sabra’s the best store-bought, except for Trader Joe’s cilantro one, imho. Love your mix-in ideas! Just got a new lemon-infused olive oil I think I better use to drizzle on some homemade hummus!

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