BHA & BHT Free Classic Hummus

Total time10 min

Prep time10 min

Cook time0 min

4.8

(24)

Creamy, garlicky, and deeply satisfying, this homemade hummus is the kind of dip that makes a plate of vegetables or a stack of warm pita feel like a proper meal. Store-bought versions are notorious for containing synthetic preservatives like BHA and BHT to extend shelf life, so making your own from scratch is the cleanest and most straightforward way to avoid them entirely. Every ingredient here — chickpeas, tahini, fresh lemon juice, garlic, cumin, olive oil — is exactly what it sounds like, with no hidden additives to second-guess. The technique is worth paying attention to: letting the garlic sit in the lemon juice first mellows its sharpness, and processing the tahini before adding the chickpeas builds that signature pale, fluffy base. Drizzling in the reserved chickpea liquid while the machine runs is the move that takes the texture from grainy to genuinely silky. Finished with a swirl of good olive oil and a dusting of smoked paprika, it looks as impressive as anything you'd find at a restaurant — and you know exactly what went into it.

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Ingredients

6 servings

2 cans (15 oz each) chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved separately
½ cup well-stirred tahini
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from about 1 large lemon)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
¾ tsp fine salt, plus more to taste
½ tsp ground cumin
3–5 tbsp reserved chickpea liquid or cold water, as needed

For serving

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, for serving
¼ tsp smoked paprika or sweet paprika, for serving (optional)
1 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1
Add the garlic and lemon juice to the bowl of a food processor and process for about 15 seconds, until the garlic is finely minced. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes — this mellows the raw garlic bite.
2
Add the tahini and salt to the processor and process for 1 minute, until the mixture is thick and pale.

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