Easy Food Processor Hummus

Hummus is the franchise player for food that’s both simple to make and tastes awesome.  I sometimes joke that I could eat my weight in hummus if I had to.  That’s how much I love it.  So I’ve tried a lot of store-bought hummus and have come to one conclusion – they all taste like you bought them in a store.

The Easiest Way to Make Homemade Hummus

And the truth is, hummus is super easy to make at home if you have a food processor or food chopper.  I had never dabbled in making my own hummus until we got a Cuisinart Food Processor as a wedding gift, and I’ve never looked back.

You basic hummus is composed of Chickpeas, Olive Oil, Tahini, Lemon Juice and Garlic.  With these 5 core ingredients, you have a tremendous base to work from for adding other flavors.  To get to the perfect hummus recipe, I have done a ton of tweaking of the ratios of those five ingredients to get to what you have below.

Why Use Fresh Ingredients?

If you want the best hummus ever, there’s no substituting fresh lemon juice and fresh garlic.

You will need at least one large lemon to get the full 3 ounces of juice. Best to buy 2 or 3 to make sure you get enough. The flavor of fresh lemons compared to lemon juice concentrate is night and day.

Pro Tip: After you measure out the 3 ounces of lemon juice, add the Tahini on top until it measures 6 ounces total. By pouring it on top of the lemon juice, your odds of getting it all out and not sticking to the sides is much better.

It also helps to have a lemon juice squeezer. Cut the lemon in half, slice off the ends and then squeeze as hard as you can to extract all of the juice.

Garlic from a jar is just not garlic. The flavor is so suppressed and mellow, I don’t even think it’s worth having on hand. Since fresh garlic is generally available year round, go with a fresh clove.

Getting a Smooth, Creamy Hummus

Now smooth is a little different story.  A strong food processor that can break up the chickpeas is an obvious first start.  Next, add your olive oil in at the end after everything else has mixed up. Use the food chute on the top to slowly drizzle it in.

As I said, this is a great base.  To take it to the next level, I’ll add in that teaspoon of Tamari (A variety of Soy Sauce.  See my Assumptions page for more detail) to give it some meatiness.

A couple of kalamata olives (chopped with the garlic) is also a favorite as it really boosts the olive flavor. Other Variations:

• Add in 2 teaspoons of toasted and ground cumin and coriander seeds along with a handful of chopped parsley

• Roast up a red pepper, squeeze dry and chop up: Here’s a great Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Hummus recipe

• Give it Indian flair – Add in curry, red pepper and turmeric to the mix