Making homemade hummus is quite easy! Learn how to make creamy hummus with dried chickpeas with the kick of pepper sauce! A versatile dip/spread and must-have condiment in your kitchen.

overhead shot of hummus placed in a black bowl on top of a black plate on a wooden board

Like other cuisines, I tried Middle Eastern food only after coming to the US. And fell in love with the simple soups and the condiments right away. It took me some time to try and make those recipes at home. But after trying, there is no looking back. I don’t want to talk about all the condiments today. Let’s stick to hummus.

So what’s hummus?

According to Wikipedia, Hummus is a dip, spread, or savory dish made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic.

That’s it. You just need some chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and garlic and of course some seasonings. But you can customize it a lot according to your preference, and that’s what I did here.

I love my hummus a little spicy. My recipe is inspired by Ina Garten’s version of hummus. I liked the idea of adding hot sauce, and I duly tried, and oh boy, the hot sauce elevated the flavors of hummus to the next level.

My recipe is not authentic but delicious one for sure. My hummus recipe is without tahini paste, but I did add roasted sesame seeds. :-) Also, I didn’t add too much lemon juice while grinding. I add freshly squeezed lemon juice depending upon the recipe and as required.

You can adjust the spices and other condiments according to your preference. If you like garlicky hummus, add more garlic and the same with hot sauce. As I mentioned before, you can customize it as per your preference.

side angle shot of hummus placed in a black bowl on top of a black plate on a wooden board

Hummus without tahini paste-

I know traditional hummus calls for tahini paste, but I don’t have it handy in my kitchen. White and black sesame seeds are common in South Indian Kitchens, and you can find them both in my kitchen as well. So instead of tahini paste, I started to roast sesame seeds and ground it along with other ingredients.

Ok, now what if you don’t have sesame seeds? Just skip the ingredient and make the hummus. It’s not traditional hummus, but hey, you have to work with the ingredients you have in hand, right?

Adding hot sauce to hummus-

I have used Tabasco hot sauce and The Pepper plant original California style hot pepper sauce. Both are good, and the latter one has some onion powder and other ingredients mixed, which adds up to the flavor.

Instead of these sauces, you can add good old ground pepper or smoked paprika or cayenne pepper or regular red chili powder.

Should I use canned chickpeas or dried?

Again, chickpeas or garbanzo beans are a common ingredient in any Indian kitchen. So I went with dried chickpeas. I soaked them overnight and pressure cooked and allowed the peas to cool. If you find the process challenging, you can opt for store-bought canned chickpeas.

Make sure to get the low-sodium content beans and rinse it thoroughly so that your hummus doesn’t carry that preservative smell.

But folks, with Instant Pot, it is easy to cook the chickpeas. Try buying the dried chickpeas and cook it. It is very convenient and cheap as well. You can also use chickpeas to make Indian chickpeas curry/chole, bunny chow, or even the simple chickpeas stir fry.

Hummus – the versatile dip/sauce-

A Greek bowl is incomplete without hummus. Hummus is an excellent side for falafels(check out my easy falafel recipe), pita bread, Za’atar bread, pita chips, and also for raw vegetables. You can check my pita pocket salad recipe, where I use it as a spread.

These days, I add it to my avocado toast as well, and also you as a sandwich spread. I have a few recipes coming up, so let me talk about it there. :-)

Now without any further delay, here is how I made my hummus.

How to make hummus with dried chickpeas but without tahini paste-

Soaking the chickpeas & cooking-

I used ½ cup of dried chickpeas.

Rinse it in cold water and soak it in enough water (cold water) for 8 to 10 hours. I usually add the beans to a large bowl and cover with atleast 3 to 4 inches of water. The beans rehydrate and enlarge, so make sure to soak in plenty of water.

After 10 hours, drain the water.
Stove-Top Pressure Cooker – Add the drained chickpeas to the pressure cooker and add about 2 to 2.5 cups of water. Pressure cook this for 3 to 4 whistles.
Instant Pot Method – Add the drained chickpeas to the inner pot and pressure cook in manual mode for 25 to 30 minutes. You can also use the “bean” setting.

In both the methods, release the pressure naturally. Drain the water and set aside the chickpeas. Reserve 2 to 3 tbsps of chickpeas brine. If needed, you can add them while grinding. I did not use any. You can use the brine for aquafaba or even use it in soups. After cooking, I got about 1.5 cups of cooked chickpeas.

Roast the sesame seeds-

If you have roasted sesame seeds, skip this step. If not, heat a pan, and dry roast 1 tbsp of sesame seeds, without adding any oil until it turns light brown like below. Let it cool.

Preparing the hummus-

In a mixer jar or food processor, add the cooked chickpeas, hot sauce, salt, garlic cloves, chopped roughly, ground cumin, 1.5 tbsp olive oil, and the roasted sesame seeds.

Grind it into a smooth paste. If needed, add the brine water and grind. If you like coarse consistency, use the pulse mode and grind it according to your texture preference.

Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
Transfer it to a serving bowl. Garnish it with remaining ½ tbsp olive oil, paprika, and dill. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

close up shot of homemade hummus served in a black bowl

Storing hummus-

Store hummus in an air-tight container and refrigerate. So far, I have stored it for about a week. But not more than that. Also, I haven’t tried freezing it.

Recipe Notes-

If you like roasted garlic flavor or don’t prefer raw garlic, after roasting sesame seeds, you can pan roast the garlic and add it to the hummus.
Adjust the seasonings according to your preference.
You can also add sumac or Za’atar spice to the hummus.
Instead of roasted sesame seeds, you can add 1 to 2 tbsps of tahini paste or skip this ingredient altogether.
You can use canned garbanzo beans(garbanzo beans and chickpeas are the same). Just rinse it thoroughly, and for one 15oz can of garbanzo beans, you can follow the above spice measure.
You can add up to 3 tsps of lemon juice for this measure. As I mentioned before, I don’t add much while grinding.

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5 from 2 votes

Homemade Hummus Recipe

Learn how to make creamy hummus with dried chickpeas with the kick of pepper sauce! A versatile dip/spread and must-have condiment in your kitchen.

Prep Time10

Cook Time35

Pressure Releasing + Cooling Time30

Total Time11 5

Course: Appetizer, condiments

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Servings: approx

Calories: 45kcal

Author: Srividhya G

Equipment

Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker to cook the beans
Food processor or mixer jar
A pan to roast sesame seeds

Ingredients

Measurement Details: 1 cup=240ml;1tbsp=15ml;1tsp=5ml;