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Levantine · Middle Eastern

Hummus

Vegetarian

حمص بطحينة · ḥummuṣ bi-ṭaḥīna

A silky purée of chickpeas, tahini, lemon and garlic, whipped with ice water until light and finished with olive oil. Eaten across the Middle East with warm bread.

Hummus is a Levantine dip, ready in about 15 minutes and made with chickpeas and tahini. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Close-up of a delicious hummus dish garnished with lemon, tomato, and rice cakes.
Photo: Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels · Pexels License
Prep
15 min
Cook
0 min
Total
15 min
Serves
6
Level
Easy
Calories
274

Ingredients

6 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Blend the lemon juice (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab) and salt in a food processor (opens in a new tab), then add the tahini (opens in a new tab) and blend to a thick paste. Drizzle in the ice water with the motor running until the mixture turns pale and smooth.

  2. Step 2

    Add the chickpeas (opens in a new tab) and cumin (opens in a new tab) and blend for 3–4 minutes, scraping down the sides, until very smooth. Add a little more water if it is stiff.

    • 5 min

  3. Step 3

    Taste for salt and lemon. Spread in a shallow bowl, make a swirl with the back of a spoon, and fill it with olive oil (opens in a new tab). Dust with paprika (opens in a new tab) and parsley (opens in a new tab) and serve with warm pita.

    • 2 min
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Levant · Origin disputedIts origin is claimed by several Levantine and Middle Eastern countries; the dish as eaten today is shared across the region.Also popular in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Türkiye
Dish
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner · Snack · Dips & spreads · Appetizers & starters
Cooking method
Blended, No-cook
Taste
creamy, nutty, garlicky, tangy
Diet
Vegan · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labelsVegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Mediterranean-style · Low-carb · Carb-conscious
Without the optional extras: Whole-food focused, No gluten ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead · Everyday · Budget-friendly · Portable / lunchbox
Cook more with
Chickpeas · Tahini · Lemon juice · Garlic · Cumin
Techniques
Wet grinding · Emulsification

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Wheatfrom pita bread
  • Contains, can be adapted: Glutenfrom pita bread
  • Contains: Sesamefrom tahini, pita bread

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

274 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 127 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 13%
  • Carbohydrate 32%
  • Fat 55%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy274 kcal216 kcal
Protein9.1 g7.2 g
Carbohydrate23.3 g18.4 g
Net carbohydrate16.2 g12.8 g
Sugars3.6 g2.8 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre7 g5.6 g
Fat17.5 g13.8 g
Saturated fat2.3 g1.8 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium609 mg481 mg
Salt equivalent1.5 g1.2 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
200 mg
Calcium
126 mg
Iron
2.8 mg
Magnesium
41 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
2 µg
Vitamin C
4 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
60 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: paprika, parsley, pita bread.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • For the smoothest hummus, cook dried chickpeas with a pinch of baking soda until very soft and blend them warm.
  • Rubbing off the chickpea skins also helps, if you have the patience.

Common mistakes

  • Skimping on tahini — it is a main ingredient, not a flavouring.

Serve with

  • With pita, pickles and raw vegetables; or topped with spiced minced lamb and pine nuts.

Storage

  • Keeps 4 days in the fridge with a film of olive oil on top.

Variations

  • Hummus with meat (hummus bil lahme): Topped with minced lamb fried with spices and toasted pine nuts.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Goes with

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3

Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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