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 don’t have a salad spinner but am going to try a colander in a small dutch oven. Am *really* looking forward to spicing up my hummus with some sriracha!! In addition to lemon juice, garlic and tahini, I’m going to give Patti’s suggestion of Adobo a whirl!
Hope that works well John! I really enjoy adding the sriracha. I just put a little bit in, and the flavor is really nice!
This is SUCH a great idea! I’ll have to try this out (and your hummus recipe)
Didn’t know you had a blog Echo!!! Awesome!
Thanks for the tip!! I’ve made a really good roasted red pepper hummus before by adapting your recipe: I used less garlic and then put in spices like cayenne and paprika, as well as, (of course) a roasted red pepper. It was really fantastic.
Thanks Joanne – this is a great tip!
I love this tip, and Hummus! It is especially good with Kalamata olives, roasted garlic, roasted red peppers and blue cheese crumbles.
Thanks Raven! I love your add-ins for the hummus! Btw, I noticed you listed your URL as river street sweets…I LOVE that place! I used to live in Charleston, and also an hour from Savannah, so I always went there when I was downtown. SO good!!!
I have another tip for smooth hummus. Put the chickpeas in the microwave for 30 secs – 1 min…however long it takes to just warm them all. Then use them in your recipe. Warm chickpeas make much smoother hummus!
Very cool tip, thanks for sharing this with everybody!
Awesome tip, Joanne! Totally agree that the cost of store-bought hummus doesn’t justify the quality. Homemade always wins and yours looks sooo scrumptious!
Thank you for the tip. I love roasted red peppers in my hummus.
Thanks for the tip, I also don’t like the store bought but because of the citric acid. I use Goya’s Adobo w/pepper in addition to fresh garlic and lemon but I use adobo on almost everything that isn’t sweet.
Hi Patti, cool tip with the adobo!
I make hummus all the time and I heard about this tip but never did it…I’ll try it next time!
I peel chickpeas before roasting them, and it’s a long process. This is a great tip – cant wait to test it out!
What a great idea, thanks for sharing. I add sun-dried tomatoes, oregano, & nutritional yeast to make a ‘pizza’ hummus or fresh spinach, artichokes, & nutritional yeast for a spinach-artichoke hummus. My oldest daughter eats it almost daily 🙂
Wow Cindy, those are some really cool ingredients!!! I can’t wait to try!
Great express-peeling method!!
What a great tip! I love adding freshly roasted red peppers and roasted garlic for a bit more mellow of a garlic flavor, hubby finds fresh garlic a bit over powering in homemade hummus.
I love roasted red peppers too! So delicious!
I have always peeled the skins just because they gross me out but it does take forever. Great tip!
HAHA they are kind of gross aren’t they! I’m happy to get rid of them too =)
Thanks for the tip! Since my daughter gave me a food processor, I make rather than buy hummus. I also make a hummus-style spread with white beans.
Oh yes, I love white bean spread too!