There’s a certain brand of hummus that Betsy and I find particularly wonderful due to its creaminess. I’ve tried to replicate its wonderful texture and never quite gotten it right. Even the few times I’ve made hummus for Macheesmo, they’ve been good and tasty but a bit firm.

I’ve probably tried (but not posted) to make really creamy hummus about half a dozen times over the last few months and normally my attempts involve pumping it full of an increasing amount of oil. That never really worked.

Then one day, I had the sudden realization that I was thinking inside a very tiny box. That very tiny box was assuming that I had to start with chickpeas.

You see, on the back of the chickpea flour bag, there was a recipe, in very tiny print, for hummus. And chickpea FLOUR, my friends, makes some seriously creamy hummus.

Creamy Hummus

5 from 1 vote
Author: Nick Evans
Servings: 8 Servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
The key to making really creamy hummus has not a lot to do with oil and a whole lot to do with chickpea flour!

Equipment

Ingredients 

  • ¾ Cup Chickpea flour
  • Cups water
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • ¼ Cup water or stock for blending
  • ¼ Cup Tahini
  • 1 lemon, juice only
  • ¼ Cup olive oil
  • Pinch of ground cumin
  • Pinch of salt and pepper
  • Dash of hot sauce

Instructions

  • Start by bringing the larger amount of water to a simmer in a pan.  Slowly add in the chickpea flour, whisking the whole time.
  • Continue stirring/whisking on low until the the chickpea flour mixture is thick, about 8-10 minutes.
  • Combine chickpea paste with other ingredients except stock/water and oil and process in food processor until smooth.
  • Drizzle in oil and water/stock and continue to process until combined well and smooth.
  • Serve right away with toppings of your choice or store in a plastic container with a drizzle of olive oil on top.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cups | Calories: 306kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Sodium: 22mg | Potassium: 306mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 2mg
Course: Appetizers, Snack Time
Cuisine: Mediterranean, Middle Eastern

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @crunchtimekitchen

Of course, it makes complete sense that if you want to make something really smooth, it’ll work better if you grind it into flour before mixing it. It just honestly never crossed my mind.

Since chickpea flour has no other ingredients besides chickpeas, it’s not like you are adding a lot of stuff. It’s just a process switch that results in a much finer finished texture!

Making the hummus

Besides the special ingredient, this recipe has pretty standard hummus stuff.

ingredients
Pretty basic stuff except the chickpea flour.

The thing about chickpea flour is that it can take in a lot of water. So start out by bringing the water in the recipe to a simmer in a pan and then add the flour. It’ll look like a small amount compared to the water, but it’ll swell pretty quickly.

Whisk it continuously for a few minutes until it starts to thicken. Don’t worry if it has some lumps. They will smooth out when you process it.

Keep stirring until it’s pretty thick, about 8-10 minutes over low heat should do the trick.

cooking
The key to creamy hummus.

Then mix the chickpea paste with all the other ingredients in a food processor. If you have a mini one, you can use it but you might want to process it in two batches.

mix
Ready to whirl.

Just give this all a whirl and don’t forget to add in your oil and extra water or stock. It should be really creamy and delicious.

blended
All blended up.

This stuff is best right away, but eating four cups of hummus is a challenge in one sitting so you’ll probably want to store some. The best way to store this stuff is to put it in a plastic container and drizzle some olive oil on top. That’ll keep it nice and moist.

It’ll keep in the fridge for a week or two without a problem.

storage
Store with oil.

Of course, the best thing to do is to toss on a few toasted pine nuts and a bit of oil and eat it right away while it’s still kinda warm!

hummus
Or just eat it right away…

This was a great example of a time when it helps to change your frame of reference a bit. I’m not sure if this is how Sabra makes its hummus so darn creamy, but I was able to get really close to their texture by making the simple switch to chickpea flour.

You could obviously mix in any flavors that you wanted like roasted red peppers as it processes to get a flavor that you like.

If you’re a hummus eater, you have to give this a shot.