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This Easy Hummus Recipe Makes Room For Variations
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Most of us treat hummus like a condiment. We peel back the plastic on a grocery store tub and drag a pita chip through it while standing in front of the open fridge. No judgment here. But a batch of homemade hummus takes less than 15 minutes, and a couple of additions turn it into the kind of dip worthy of serving at your next party.
This easy hummus recipe starts with canned chickpeas, tahini, and lots of fresh lemon juice. Split it into thirds, and add beets to turn one portion jewel red while turmeric paints another sunny yellow. The last third stays classic. Swirl all three together on a platter and pile it high with crispy, salty toppings that add texture and flavor to every bite. No two bites taste exactly the same, which is part of the fun with a platter like this.
What Is Hummus, Anyway?
Hummus is a popular Middle Eastern dip made by blending chickpeas with tahini (a sesame paste), garlic, lemon juice, and salt until it turns creamy with a gentle nutty flavor. You’ll see chickpeas labeled as garbanzo beans at plenty of grocery stores. They’re the same bean wearing two different name tags.
Traditional hummus often starts with dried chickpeas that are soaked and simmered until tender, which is lovely on a slow Sunday. On a busy weekday, a can of chickpeas does the job beautifully, and that’s what our recipe uses.
California Beans Have a Serious Fan Club
California farmers grow more than 400 different crops, including beans from the Sacramento and Northern San Joaquin valleys. Dried beans are always in season here, so there’s never a bad time to stock up.
Napa’s Rancho Gordo is living proof that people can get fanatical about legumes. Founder Steve Sando started out selling heirloom tomatoes at farmers markets, then added colorful heirloom beans to fill the gap before tomato season.
Once Chef Thomas Keller of The French Laundry stopped by his booth, the rest of the food world followed. Steve later launched a Bean Club as a joke about Napa’s wine clubs, and at last count it had 20,000 members plus a waiting list of 25,000 more.
Olive oil is the other California star here. Spanish missionaries planted olives at the missions between San Diego and Sonoma in the 18th century. Browse our guide to California extra virgin olive oil to find your varietal match, then use that bottle for the final drizzle, where the flavor will really come through each bite.
A Word About California Extra Virgin Olive Oil:
Want to be sure your olive oil is fresh, the highest quality, and the real deal? Look for the COOC seal on bottles of California Extra Virgin Olive Oil to make sure you’re getting delicious 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Certified California EVOO uses stricter standards than international requirements, requiring the oil to pass chemical testing and a sensory analysis by a group of experts, called an organoleptic panel evaluation.
How to Make Our Easy Lemon Hummus
The full recipe is below, and it’s about as simple as cooking gets. Put drained chickpeas, tahini, crushed garlic cloves, fresh lemon juice, cold water, and coarse kosher salt into a food processor or high-powered blender.
For the smoothest texture, let the food processor run longer than feels necessary and scrape down the sides a few times. If it still looks thick, add 1 to 2 TBSP of water at a time until you get a creamier hummus. Making your own hummus for the first time? Buy the best tahini you can find and stir it well before measuring. Taste before you call it done, because an extra pinch of salt or squeeze of lemon can make a huge difference.
How to Turn One Batch Into Three Hummus Variations
Divide your finished Lemon Hummus among three bowls. Cover one and tuck it in the fridge until ready to build the platter, that’s your classic lemon hummus.
For beet hummus, blend the second portion with one or two small roasted beets until completely smooth. Store-bought roasted beets work perfectly, or you can make our Honey Roasted Beets ahead of time. Red beets give you a dramatic deep red, and golden beets land on a softer pale yellow. Since beets grown in California are available year-round, this one never has to wait for the right season.
Turmeric hummus doesn’t even need the machine. Stir ground turmeric, black pepper, and an extra squeeze of lemon juice into the last bowl, and it turns a golden yellow that looks like you worked much harder for that vibrant pop of color than you really did. Loosen any thick hummus variations with a tsp or two of water or lemon juice.
How to Build a Hummus Platter
Drop large spoonfuls of hummus across a wide platter, leaving a little room around each one. Press the back of a spoon into each dollop to make a small well, then fill it with a contrasting color. The finished board looks like a painter’s palette, with ruby and gold puddled into pale, creamy swirls.
Add toppings from lightest to heaviest. Start with a generous drizzle of really good California olive oil so it pools in the wells, plus a thread of hot honey if you like a little sweet heat. From there, add crispy chickpeas, sliced ripe olives, and crispy garlic chips. A spoonful of olive tapenade works nicely too, as well as a scattering of confit garlic cloves; you really can’t go wrong.
Our first platter pairs lemon, beet, and turmeric hummus under a glossy pour of California olive oil, sliced ripe black olives, golden garlic chips, crispy chickpeas, crushed pistachios, salt, and pepper. The deep red beet against bright yellow turmeric is loud in the best way, and the crushed pistachios scatter little flecks of green across the top.
The second platter mixes things up. Lemon and turmeric hummus share the board with Creamy Avocado Dip from our crudite platter and a blended roasted red pepper cottage cheese dip, all finished with olive oil, crispy chickpeas, garlic chips, salt, and pepper.
Our Favorite Topping For Texture & Flavor: How to Make Crispy Garlic Chips
Some grocery stores sell garlic chips, but homemade ones take only two ingredients and cook quickly.
Slice ¼ cup (40 g) of garlic as thinly as possible using a sharp knife or mandoline. Add the garlic and ¼ cup (60 ml) of olive oil to a small saucepan and heat over medium.
Stir occasionally to keep the slices from sticking, and bring the oil to a simmer. Cook until the garlic turns light golden brown, about 5 minutes, stirring to brown evenly.
Use a strainer to lift out the chips and drain them on a paper towel.
Pro tip: Don’t toss that frying oil. It’s now garlic-infused and great on roasted vegetables. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Use the garlic chips right away on your hummus platter, or keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days.
Store-Bought Hummus and Dips Totally Count Too
You can build this entire platter without making a single thing from scratch. In fact, that’s exactly what we did for the platter below. Grab three or four tubs of your favorite brand of store-bought hummus, or stir turmeric and lemon into a plain one yourself. Many grocery stores also carry store-bought versions in flavors like roasted red pepper and techno-purple beet. The toppings make store-bought hummus look homemade, and nobody at the party is checking for grocery receipts.
More Dip Recipes to Consider Building A Delicious Dip Platter With Next
If your crowd lives for a chip-and-dip moment, our Roasted Onion Dip earns its spot on the table. Onions, shallots, and garlic caramelize in the oven with thyme and white wine, then fold into Greek yogurt and sour cream, so you’re not stuck at the stove babysitting a pan.
The Creamy Avocado Dip from our Ultimate Crudite Platter blends ripe avocados with Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, and fresh basil. It’s the green dip on our second hummus platter, and that post also shows you how to build a stunning display of raw vegetables for dipping.
For another popular Middle Eastern dip, try This Mess is Ours’ Creamy Baba Ganoush. It is a truly delightful way to showcase roasted eggplant with lemon, garlic, and tahini that tie it right back to the hummus on your platter.
Sweet Potato Hummus
Everyone loves a great dip—but this Sweet Potato Hummus is the kind that quietly becomes the star of the table. It takes the familiar comfort of classic hummus and layers in roasted California sweet potatoes, warm spices, and a generous pour of California extra-virgin olive oil, creating a version that feels both cozy and elevated.
Dirty Martini Dip
This Dirty Martini Dip from No Crumbs Left sounds like the perfect starting point for a dip platter inspired by the flavors of a martini for your next party.
Tips for Smoother Hummus and Better Leftovers
Pull the hummus out of the fridge about 30 minutes before guests arrive, since serving it closer to room temperature lets the flavors really shine through. It disappears fast at parties, so a double batch is never a bad idea. Store leftover hummus in an airtight container in the fridge. A thin layer of olive oil on top is an easy way to keep the surface from drying out.
Grab a Spoon and Start Swirling
Whether you blend your own hummus or build the whole board from grocery store tubs, the formula stays the same. Swirl two or three colors together with complementary flavors under a pile of crunchy toppings, then serve it with pita bread, chips, warm naan, crackers, or crudite. Your custom dip platter might just become the superstar of your next party spread.
Check out this CA GROWN Spotify playlist when you’re building your next party spread.
Don’t stop here! Follow us on Pinterest for more fresh and fabulous recipe inspiration. Dive into the world of CA GROWN goodness, and let’s make every meal a celebration of the Golden State’s bounty.
Quick and Easy Lemon Hummus
Ingredients
- 30 ounces canned chickpeas rinsed and drained
- ½ cup tahini paste
- 2 large garlic cloves crushed and coarsely chopped
- 2 lemons juiced
- ¼ cup cold water
- ½ TBSP coarse kosher salt plus more to taste
Instructions
- Combine the chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, water, and salt in a food processor or high-powered blender and blend until smooth. If needed, add more water 1 to 2 TBSP at a time to thin to your desired consistency. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
- Serve with your favorite crudite or dippers.Or serve topped with your favorite toppings. Like a drizzle of good olive oil, sliced ripe olives, crispy garlic, crushed pistachios, hot honey, zest, etc. Whatever your favorite hummus toppings are, they'll work here.