If you haven’t started making your own Homemade Hummus, you’re totally missing out. It only takes about five minutes, you can adjust the taste to be juuuuuust the way you like it, and you can make a different flavor every week so that it never gets old! I promise, once you make your first batch of homemade hummus, you’ll never go back to store bought.
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“Delicious and so dang easy! I’m kicking myself for not trying this recipe sooner. Like YEARS sooner. Still, better late to the party than never, I guess. ;-)”
Jooblie
A Homemade Dip That Beats the Deli Section
Hummus is a classic Middle Eastern chickpea dip (or spread) made with a handful of really simple ingredients. It’s something I used to just grab at the store without thinking twice, until I realized I can make it at home in the time it takes to find the lid to my food processor!
At its most basic, hummus is made with chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice. There are a million different things you can add to hummus, and I have posted my basic recipe below, plus add-ins for three flavor variations (jalapeño cilantro, roasted red pepper, and parsley scallion). I’ve also garnished my “original” flavor with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of paprika, and a few whole chickpeas. All of that is completely optional, but it does make the bowl feel extra fancy.
Recipe Success Tips
- I strongly advise against substituting tahini in hummus. While many people substitute either peanut butter or almond butter for the tahini, they have very different flavors from tahini, and this will definitely change the final flavor of your hummus. To get that true authentic hummus flavor, you definitely need to use tahini.
- I suggest using a food processor to make your hummus. You can make homemade hummus with some of the more powerful blenders available on the market (like Blentec or Vitamix), but it might be too thick for many blenders to handle. If you’re using a blender, add a splash of chickpea liquid from the can to help it blend, and adjust the added salt. Water will also work.
- Taste, then tweak. I always do a final taste and add a pinch more salt, cumin, or an extra squeeze of lemon as needed. Add more or less of any ingredient to suit your tastes.
- Budget-saving tip: Dried chickpeas are usually cheaper per serving than canned chickpeas, but they need to be prepped first! Soak ¾ cup dried chickpeas overnight in plenty of water, then drain and rinse well. Simmer in fresh water for 60-90 minutes, until tender (you should be able to squish one easily between your fingers). If your chickpeas are older, they may need up to 2 hours. For extra creamy hummus, you can rub off the skins (optional). This should give you 1.75-2 cups cooked chickpeas for this recipe.
Homemade Hummus
Cost $2.64 recipe / $0.44 serving
Ingredients
Base Recipe
- 15 oz. can chickpeas ($0.92*)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.35)
- ¼ cup lemon juice ($0.26)
- ¼ cup tahini ($0.96**)
- 1 garlic clove ($0.08***)
- ½ tsp salt ($0.05)
- ¼ tsp ground cumin ($0.02)
Cilantro Jalapeño Variation (Total: $0.56 serving)
- 1 jalapeño (stem removed and seeded, $0.41)
- ⅓ bunch fresh cilantro ($0.28)
- base recipe ($2.64)
Roasted Red Pepper Variation (Total: $0.64 serving)
- 2 whole roasted red peppers (from jar, (drained) $1.19)
- base recipe ($2.64)
Parsley Scallion Variation (Total: $0.57 serving)
- 4 green onions ($0.48)
- ¼ bunch Italian flat leaf parsley ($0.27)
- base recipe ($2.64)
Instructions
Base Recipe Instructions
- Drain the chickpeas. Place the drained chickpeas in a food processor along with the olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, salt, and cumin.
- Pulse the mixture until it is fairly smooth. If the mixture is too dry to process smoothly, add a couple tablespoons of water, extra olive oil, or liquid from the canned chickpeas.
- Taste the hummus and adjust the salt, cumin, lemon, or garlic to your liking. Serve and enjoy! Or use the full batch of hummus to make one of the variations below by adding it to the food processor with the variation ingredients.
Cilantro Jalapeño Variation Instructions
- Remove the stem and seeds from the jalapeño. Add the jalapeño to your food processor with the cilantro and a full batch of the base recipe.
- Process until smooth. Enjoy!
Roasted Red Pepper Variation Instructions
- Add the roasted red peppers (drained) to the food processor with a full batch of the base recipe.
- Process until smooth. Enjoy!
Parsley Scallion Variation Instructions
- Thinly slice the green onions and remove the stems from the parsley. Add the green onions and parsley to the food processor with a full batch of the base recipe.
- Process until smooth. Enjoy!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make The Best Hummus Step-by-Step Photos
Gather all of your ingredients. I’ve included the ingredients for all four flavor variations in this photo, but you only need the canned chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, salt, and cumin to make the base recipe.
Add to food processor: Drain one 15 oz. can chickpeas and add them to a food processor along with 2 Tbsp olive oil, ¼ cup lemon juice, ¼ cup tahini, 1 clove of garlic, ½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp ground cumin.
Combine: Pulse the ingredients until they become smooth. If the mixture is too dry to properly purée, add a couple tablespoons of water, olive oil, or even the drained juice from the canned chickpeas.
Season and serve: Taste the hummus and adjust the salt, lemon, garlic, or cumin to your liking. And that’s it! That’s all it takes. You can garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of sumac or paprika.
Jalapeño Cilantro Hummus
To make Jalapeño Cilantro Hummus: Remove the stem from one jalapeño, slice it lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds with a spoon.
Add the seeded jalapeño and ⅓ bunch of fresh cilantro leaves to the food processor with your basic hummus and process until smooth. This one tastes great with a little extra cumin! You can also try roasting the jalapeños in the oven until soft and blistered for a more subtle flavor (don’t forget to remove the seeds).
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
To make Roasted Red Pepper hummus: Simply add one to two whole roasted red peppers (from a jar) to a batch of plain homemade hummus and process until smooth.
Make sure most of the liquid from the jar is drained from the pepper before adding it to the processor to avoid thinning out the texture too much. This one tastes great with a little smoked paprika added to the mix!
Parsley Scallion Hummus
To make Parsley Scallion Hummus: Thinly slice 4 green onions and pull about ½ bunch of parsley leaves from their stems. Add the parsley and scallions to a food processor with a batch of the plain base recipe and process until smooth.
This dip is great with vegetables, as a sandwich spread, or even as a vegan pasta sauce!
What is your favorite flavor of hummus? Let me know in the comments!
Serving Suggestions
I love keeping a tub of homemade hummus in the fridge because it’s an instant snack for when I’m hungry but don’t want to cook. I usually toast some pita bread and use that for dipping. And if I’ve got some naan around, that’s a whole different kind of treat, especially warmed up for a minute so it’s nice and steamy. You also can’t go wrong with crunchy veggies (cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots), and I’m also a big fan of air-fried tortilla chips.
But don’t sleep on hummus as a spread. It’s rich and creamy and adds moisture, so I use it as a swap for mayo all the time in sandwiches and wraps. I also like adding a spoonful to scrambled eggs (it makes them taste extra rich), or using it as the “sauce” base for loaded flatbreads or quick pizzas with veggies on top.
Storage Instructions
In the fridge, homemade hummus will stay good for about 3-5 days in an airtight container. Since it doesn’t have preservatives like some store-bought versions, I try to only make what I know we’ll actually snack on in that timeframe.
And yes, you can freeze homemade hummus! Freeze it in a freezer-safe container (I like smaller portions) for up to 2–3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge, then give it a really good stir. The texture can be a little less creamy and separated after freezing, but a drizzle of olive oil and a quick stir brings it back to life. If it still feels a little dry, a tiny splash of lemon juice works too, but I usually reach for olive oil first so it doesn’t end up overly lemony.
More Easy Hummus Recipes
Our Homemade Hummus recipe was originally published 12/5/10. We have updated it to be the best it can be and republished 1/26/26.
I had no idea that making hummus was this easy! I just made the “base” recipe and it’s delicious. Soooooo much better than store bought!
I like to cut the lemon juice to 2 tbsp on the basic recipe but homemade hummus has ruined store bought for me.
This recipe looks so easy & sooo much cheaper than 7.00 in the grocery store! Can’t wait to try it.
Food processor link is out of order!
Delicious and so dang easy! I’m kicking myself for not trying this recipe sooner. Like YEARS sooner. Still, better late to the party than never, I guess. ;-)
These recipes sound amazing I’ve never tried to make hummus before but I’m definitely going to have to try it now.
I made it with dried chicken peas that I soaked over night, cooked, cooled and removed casing. Was good but alot of work with the method I dìd
I always soak my dry peas overnight with whole spices and boil it the next day with salt for about 2-3hours in my pressure cooker. The extra I bottle and justake it out of the fridge when needed. It’s much tastier than the tins ☺️
Your blender link doesn’t work
I made jalapeño cilantro it came out great my friends at work loved thank you this is my go to hummus
Thank you
I’ve started making this hummus every week and it’s great! I put it on my sandwiches and folks have complimented me on it more than once. Thanks!
I just made your humus recipe and it turned out fantastic! Thank you for posting this recipe! I added a little too much water at the start so I added a little whey protein and a little almond protein powder. Next time I’m going to completely drain the garbanzos.
I used the perfectly simple hummus recipe here. Any add ins, any extra Mediterrean spkces for how I used the hummus would not have worked.
Hummus
Pico de gallo
Jicama slices
Perfecto. Vegetarian no-grain nachos.
Made the basic recipe and it was so delicious. I tweaked it a little to get it to the perfect consistency/flavor (bit of water, more lemon juice & cumin). It was meant for lunch tomorrow but oops, it was so good I had some of it as a dip with veggie sticks straight away. Looking forward to trying some other variations.
Great basic recipe – I added oregano and kalamata olives – delicious!
That sounds delicious with the kalamata olives.
This was the first thing I made with the Ninja o got for Christmas, and I’ve been making it every week or two since then. I’m glad to be spending less on pre-made hummus, and I really can customize it however I’d like.
The only thing I’ve noticed is that it works best with 3 tbsp olive oil, not 2. 2 gets me a consistency almost identical to cookie dough, while 3 (or 2 1/2, if you like yours thicker) get something that’s better for dipping, spreading, etc.
Haven’t made this hummus recipe for a few months after I accidently blew the motor on my old food processor, but tried it tonight with my cheap-as-chips blender and it worked quite well. I pulsed it and kept an eye on it and it worked like a charm.