I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve made hummus and it just hasn’t worked. I mean, it worked because blending chickpeas, tahini, garlic, salt and olive oil together forms a dip. But it didn’t work, ya know? My hummus just was never as smooth as I wanted it to be and didn’t have as much flavor as I wanted it to have.
But I think I’ve figured out a few tricks to get us that much closer to really flavorful and creamy hummus! For sure, roasted garlic is a must. Roasting the garlic imparts so much flavor to the hummus, but also grating 1 small raw garlic clove (or more depending on your preference) is key. But in my world, you can’t have too much garlic!
This last time I made hummus, I used a can of cannelini beans and a can of cihckpeas. The softer cannelini beans really made a world of a difference!
Here are all my tips to getting to a really delish, smooth and creamy hummus:
- Roast your garlic, plus grate 1 small clove of garlic raw into the mixture
- Cook your beans in water to soften them up
- Save about a half a cup of the bean water for the hummus – it helps to loosen up the mixture and is better than adding a cup of olive oil
- Use good quality extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor
- Salt towards the end of blending, and keep tasting – you likely need much more salt than you think you do
- Use tahini sparingly to really keep the garlic/olive oil going
- Blend way longer than you think you need to
There are a few nuances I worked out during this run of hummus, so you’ll definitely want to read the recipe fully. But you got this! You don’t even need a fancy food processor, a blender will work perfectly well. Just do remember that you should blend longer than you think you need to in order to achieve an extra smooth finish on your hummus.
Roasted Garlic Hummus Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 head of roasted garlic see notes
- 1 small clove of garlic, raw grated
- 1 14 oz can of cannelini beans not drained
- 1 14 oz can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans drained
- 1/2 c bean water, from pot, see instructions
- 1-2 tsp of tahini or more per your preference
- 1-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or more per your preference
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Roast the garlic – see notes.
- Meanwhile, combine undrained cannelini beans and drained chickpeas in a pot with enough water to cover them by at least 1 inch.
- Bring to a boil to soften the beans.
- Reserve 1/2 cup of the water and then drain the beans.
- Add the beans to the food processor along with the 1/2 cup of bean water.
- Blend until smooth.
- Add roasted garlic and grated raw garlic; blend until smooth.
- While blending, slowly add 1 tbsp of olive oil.
- Add tahini; blend.
- Taste for salt and olive oil; adjust accordingly.
- Blend for at least 5 minutes or until you’ve reached your desired smoothness.
- Garnish with olive oil and paprika, if desired.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
