Creamy chickpea hummus with tahini and lemon
Silky chickpea hummus with tahini, lemon and garlic: the classic Middle Eastern dip, ready in fifteen minutes, with the trick that makes it genuinely smooth.
Are you looking for a hummus as silky as the one served in Middle Eastern restaurants, instead of the grainy version that usually comes out at home?
Then you are in the right place. I will walk you through a smooth, fragrant chickpea dip with the right balance of tahini, lemon and garlic, using nothing more than cooked chickpeas and a blender.
The gap between an ordinary hummus and a genuinely creamy one comes down to three little-known details: blending the tahini with lemon on its own first, adding ice-cold water in a thin stream, and running the blender far longer than seems reasonable, a full two minutes at least.
There are at least three good reasons to make it: it costs very little, it is naturally vegan and gluten free, and it goes everywhere, from a drinks table with raw vegetables to a sandwich with grilled peppers.
If you can spare ten more minutes, slip the skins off the chickpeas by rubbing them in a bowl of water. It is tedious, but the difference is obvious: the dip turns almost satiny. And if raw garlic sits heavily with you, soak it in the lemon juice first.
Serve it at room temperature, never fridge cold, with a well of good olive oil in the middle and a dusting of paprika. It keeps for three days under a film of oil.
Ready? Let’s get started with creamy chickpea hummus.
To make this recipe
A small selection of handy tools to keep within reach. Some links may be affiliate links.
Kitchen blender
Ideal for making smooth pestos and sauces. Choose a stable, powerful model for best results.
Steps
- Rinse the chickpeas under running water and drain them. If you have ten extra minutes, rub them between your hands in a bowl of water to slip off the skins: this is what separates a good hummus from a truly silky one.
- Put the tahini, the lemon juice and the garlic clove in the blender and blitz them on their own for 30 seconds: the tahini lightens and thickens, creating the creamy base.
- Add the chickpeas, the cumin and a pinch of salt, and blend in bursts, scraping the sides of the jug with a spatula.
- Pour in the ice-cold water in a thin stream while the blender runs and keep going for at least 2 minutes: it feels far too long, but that long blending is exactly what makes hummus smooth.
- Taste and adjust the balance: more lemon if it tastes flat, more salt if it stays sweet, another spoonful of water if you want it softer.
- Spoon the hummus into a shallow dish and spread it with the back of a spoon, creating a spiral well in the middle.
- Fill the well with extra virgin olive oil, dust with paprika and serve with warm pita bread or raw vegetable sticks.
Helpful tips
The ice-cold water is not a gimmick: it cools the mixture while the blades heat it, giving a paler and fluffier result.
If raw garlic feels harsh to you, soak it in the lemon juice for 10 minutes before blending.
Good tahini should be pourable and only faintly bitter: if it is very stiff, loosen it with a spoonful of oil before using it.
It keeps for 3 days in a sealed container in the fridge, under a thin film of olive oil.
Average nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 285 kcal
- Carbohydrates
- 24.0 g
- Sugars
- 2.0 g
- Protein
- 10.0 g
- Fat
- 17.0 g
- Saturated fat
- 2.5 g
- Fiber
- 7.0 g
- Sodium
- 380 mg
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