Trying to make houmous like it was shop bought!

I like houmous a lot and I eat it most weeks.  The other members of my family like it too and we could easily go through 2-3 tubs of it a week.  
The ingredients in hummous are pretty healthy and there are organic varieties available, however I have recently been reading a lot about fats and oils and have been really put off consuming any oils that aren’t cold pressed. The organic houmous I usually buy does not contained cold pressed oil.
The houmous they sell in the supermarkets also comes in little plastic tubs, which my local council don’t recycle and although I try and use them again they are pretty flimsy and at some point they end up in the rubbish bin – not good!
So I’ve been trying to make my own using organic high quality ingredients and limiting packaging wherever possible. The first time I tried I used lentils.  I didn’t really follow a recipe because I know what the ingredients are:
  • Chickpeas (or in this case lentils)
  • Garlic
  • Lemon juice
  • Tahini
  • Olive oil
  • Water
  • Seasoning, herbs and spices to taste e.g. paprika, cumin…
I just guessed the proportions tasting and then tweaking to see if I could get the right flavour. It looked a lot like houmous but didn’t taste anything like the houmous you buy in the shops. It just wasn’t smooth and creamy enough.
So then I wondered if it would taste better if I did a similar experiment with chickpeas instead of lentils and I did vaguely follow a recipe.  Still didn’t taste much like the houmous I know and love.  So I turned to google and searched for how to make creamy houmous – I was convinced there was going to be a secret ingredient that I didn’t know about.
I came across a blog post from Smitten Kitchen which tells you what the secret to great houmous is.  Instead of there being a secret ingredient, there is a secret non-ingredient – it says peeling the chickpeas and discarding the peel first makes the world of difference!  I haven’t tried it yet, but will definitely give it a go next time.  
I am hopeful the tip from Smitten Kitchen will work, but if you have any helpful tips on how to make smooth creamy hummous that tastes delicious, please share them in the comments below!
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Comments

  1. I agree- add liquid. I'd also suggest blending for longer which should give a smoother texture.

    I'm not sure I'm patient enough to peel chickpeas. A bit of a shake in a sieve and removing the loose ones is about my limit!

    You can add some Greek/strained yogurt for a creamier humus, but I prefer it without.

    I like a version with butter beans too (I miss out the tahini but add chopped fresh herbs) and my new favourite is with UK grown dried fava (broad) beans.

  2. Zoe

    Thanks for the tips Hazel! I like the idea of British houmous!

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