The Secret to *Really* Smooth Hummus
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:
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):
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!
Sometimes I add sriracha, because I’m obsessed.
What do you like to add to your hummus?
Here’s a video showing the process of removing the skins:
60 Comments on “The Secret to *Really* Smooth Hummus”
I tried to make humus for the first time, and it was so lumpy. Thanks to this information about the chickpea skins, I cannot wait to try again! Thanks for the tip
awesome post, thanks for sharing. i love making my hummus, definitely picked up some new knowledge.. love it!
did you ever make hummus from chickpeas you cook yourself? If so how did it turn out?
Thank you for this wonderful tip, and inspiration to make hummus! I remember making it once a long time ago for a school project on Egypt, and have not since returned. Have you ever tried making tahini? It’s suppose to be just sesame seeds and olive oil, but would it be easy enough to blend? Do you think there is much of a difference between a blender and a food processor in the success of this?
Hi Lauren, I don’t use tahini personally, as I’m not a huge fan. I think you’d need a pretty good blender, like a Blendtec or Vitamix. The food processor usually doesn’t process finely enough.
Merci pour cette formidable astuce!
You know, sometimes it’s the little things that make a BIG difference. This being one of them! I’ve always bought hummus from the store because individually peeling each chickpea just seemed so unappealing to me. This way however – I can so this! 🙂
What an awesome tip. I can’t even tell you how long it takes me to peel these little suckers, but it is far too much time. I will be trying this and if I get 75% peeled, I’d be happy. Thanks for sharing 🙂
So happy to hear this Debra! It does indeed get most of them off fairly quickly.
Thanks for the recipe!
This is the first time I have ever made hummus, and it came out excellent.
In the future, I am going to cut back on the garlic, it was a little too strong, and I will wait to add the water at the end if it appears that the hummus is too thick, mine came out a little thin.
I will definitely make this again
Thanks Joanne, I have really enjoyed your website
That is really wonderful to hear, Karen! You can definitely tailor the garlic levels to what you enjoy. Happy cooking!
Tahini is imperative! If you want a truly authentic Egyptian hummus you have to put in the tahini. Tahini takes plain mashed chickpeas and turns them into a creamy smooth spread without sandy grit or lumps. I won’t touch it without tahini.
I know hummus is soooo easy to make, but mine is always just a bit wrong. I am so thankful for this post! Thank you!!