Makes about 600g (serves 6–8 as a dip) · 10 minutes, one food processor. A jar of good organic chickpeas, whipped tahini and lemon make a hummus that embarrasses the supermarket tubs — eat half now, and freeze the other half for up to four months.
There is a small, quiet luxury in making your own hummus, and it has almost nothing to do with effort. Ten minutes with a food processor produces something fresher, brighter and more generous than anything with a film lid — and because the recipe makes a proper batch, future-you is looked after too. Half goes to the table tonight; half goes to the freezer, following our guide to freezing hummus, to be rediscovered on some busy Tuesday like a note from a kinder past.
The case for a jar, rather than a tin, is worth making. Jarred chickpeas — the plump Spanish sort in particular — are cooked longer and softer than their tinned cousins, and that softness translates directly into silkiness once blitzed. A good organic jar costs a little more and repays every penny; you are, after all, making two batches.
Ingredients
- 1 × 700g jar of good organic chickpeas (about 450g drained), liquor reserved
- 4 tbsp light tahini, well stirred
- Juice of 1 large lemon (about 3 tbsp), plus more to taste
- 1 small garlic clove, crushed to a paste
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp ground cumin (optional, but lovely)
- 3–5 tbsp ice-cold water or the reserved chickpea liquor
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
- Sweet paprika and a few parsley leaves, to serve
Method
- Drain, and keep the liquor. Drain the chickpeas over a bowl, reserving the liquor. Set aside a spoonful of whole chickpeas for the top.
- Whip the tahini. Blitz the tahini and lemon juice together in a food processor for a full minute, scraping down once, until pale, thick and creamy. This single step is what separates silky hummus from worthy sludge.
- Add the chickpeas. Add the chickpeas, garlic, salt and cumin. Blitz for two to three minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides, until completely smooth.
- Loosen to silk. With the motor running, add the ice-cold water or reserved liquor a tablespoon at a time until the hummus is soft, light and just holding its shape. Pour in the olive oil and blitz briefly to combine.
- Taste and adjust. More lemon for brightness, more salt for depth, a little more water if it tightens as it stands.
- Serve half, freeze half. Swirl half into a shallow bowl, dress with olive oil, the reserved chickpeas, paprika and parsley. Pack the rest into a small airtight tub for the freezer, leaving a centimetre of headspace, with a thin film of olive oil over the surface.
Whipping the tahini and lemon first is what separates silky hummus from worthy sludge.
Freezing the second half
The freezer half will keep its quality for up to about four months. When you want it, move it to the fridge to thaw overnight — never the worktop — then stir well and loosen with a little olive oil or cold water; a fresh squeeze of lemon brings it back to life. Use it within a day or two and don’t refreeze it. The full chapter and verse, including why the headspace and the film of oil matter, is in our guide to freezing hummus.
Keeping and serving
The fresh half keeps, covered in the fridge, for about three days — though it rarely needs to. Serve it with warm flatbread and raw vegetables, spread it thickly into lunchbox wraps, thin it into a dressing for roasted vegetables, or spoon it beside lamb chops and call it dinner.
More family-friendly cookery
- Can you freeze hummus? How to freeze and defrost it without splitting
- Can you freeze butter?
- Can you freeze cheese? Which cheeses freeze best
- All our family recipes
For the plant-based cook
Love simple, wholesome plant-based food? Vegan Food & Living — the UK’s number one vegan magazine — delivers a fresh batch of plant-based recipes, features and product reviews every month.
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