Smooth Hummus - in Ceramic Bowl with Olive Oil Drizzle

Hummus is one of those things that I can’t bring myself to buy at the grocery store, mostly because of the cost. It’s $4 for a tub of something that can be made at home by blending up canned chickpeas with lemon, garlic, and seasoning.

The trouble is this: storebought hummus is much smoother than homemade hummus.

…that is, unless you peel the chickpea skins!

These right here are the troublemakers:

Chickpea Skins in Hand

Every chickpea is coated in a skin that simply doesn’t blend very well, and makes the hummus chunky.

Deb from Smitten Kitchen says she peels her chickpeas individually, but I have discovered that I don’t have the patience for such a task. I timed it, and going as fast as I possibly could, it took me 15 minutes to peel one 15.5oz can of chickpeas. ONE can!!

So I sat down and tried to think of ways to make it faster, since peeling the skins really does make the hummus much creamier, and this is the best method I have come up with.

Place the drained and rinsed chickpeas in the strainer of a salad spinner, and rub the chickpeas in between your hands. You will find that this rubs the skins off pretty well without crushing the chickpeas (though if you do crush the chickpeas, it’s not a big deal, since you’re pureeing them anyway):

Partially Peeled Skins on Chickpeas

Now place the strainer inside the salad bowl and fill it up with water. You will find that the chickpeas sink to the bottom, while the skins float slightly above. If you tilt the bowl and let the water spill out the side, the chickpea skins will collect and want to spill over the top, since they are lighter. That’s when you scoop them out and discard them, or swish them over the side of the bowl.

Then you can proceed with your hummus making as usual. Puree the peeled chickpeas in a food processor or blender, with olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, roasted garlic, cumin, whatever you’d like!

Smooth Hummus Recipe - in Food Processor Bowl with Blade

Sometimes I add sriracha, because I’m obsessed.

A close up of a bowl of hummus with carrot stick

What do you like to add to your hummus?

Here’s a video showing the process of removing the skins: