Classic Hummus
Silky smooth Middle Eastern chickpea dip blended with tahini, lemon, and garlic — a dish so ancient and so widely claimed that no single country can own it. Rich, creamy, and effortlessly crowd-pleasing.
- 15 ozchickpeas(one can, drained and rinsed)
- 1/3 cuptahini(well stirred)
- 3 tbsplemon juice(fresh squeezed)
- 1 clovegarlic(minced)
- 1/2 tspkosher salt
- 3 tbspice water
- 2 tbspolive oil(for serving)
- 1/4 tsppaprika(for garnish)
Keeps refrigerated up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature and stir before serving.
- 1Process tahini and lemon juice in a food processor for 1 minute until pale and creamy
- 2Add garlic, salt, and half the chickpeas, process 1 minute
- 3Add remaining chickpeas, process another minute
- 4With processor running, drizzle in ice water
- 5Process 2-3 more minutes until very smooth, scraping sides as needed
- 6Taste and adjust lemon juice and salt
- 7Transfer to serving bowl, create a swirl, drizzle with olive oil and dust with paprika
The secret to ultra-smooth hummus is removing the chickpea skins and using ice water in the blender. Process longer than you think necessary.
Hummus — the Arabic word simply meaning "chickpeas" — is one of the most contested dishes in the Middle East, with Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, Israel, and others all claiming it as their culinary heritage. The earliest known written reference to a hummus-like dish appears in a 13th-century Syrian cookbook attributed to the historian Ibn al-Adim of Aleppo, which includes chickpeas, tahini, and lemon — three of the four core ingredients still used today. A separate 13th-century Cairo cookbook called Kitab Wasf al-Atima al-Mutada also describes a chickpea dish called "hummus kasa," though this early version used vinegar instead of lemon and contained no garlic. Food historians, including Britannica, suggest that the modern form of hummus bi tahini — with all four defining ingredients: chickpeas, tahini, lemon, and garlic — likely developed into its current style in 18th-century Damascus. The ingredients themselves are among the oldest cultivated foods in the region: archaeological evidence places chickpea cultivation in the Middle East some 10,000 years ago, sesame oil production in Mesopotamia around 2500 BCE, and garlic in use since the time of the ancient Egyptian pyramids. The word entered the English language around the mid-20th century, arriving via Turkish humus. Today, hummus's global popularity is so enormous that Lebanon once sought UNESCO recognition for the dish, and in 2010, Lebanese students broke the world record for the largest single serving, producing over 10,000 kilograms in Beirut.