Best hummus recipe without garlic (creamy, in 5 minutes)

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I’ve been on a quest for the perfect hummus for many years. After many visits to Israel in the Middle East eating in the best hummus places in Jerusalem I have tried many different recipes at home. And I have discovered a few secrets about what is essential and what is optional.

Most hummus recipes out there include garlic as it’s a classic addition to hummus. But it truly is not essential. Try this recipe without garlic and see it for yourself. Cumin is also a common flavouring but it is also optional. So feel free to choose weather you want to add it or not.

For me creamy hummus dip together with some raw carrots or warm wholegrain pitta bread is like the pinnacle of a healthy snack. Read the notes below to discover how to up your hummus game and how to reap all the benefits of this amazing versatile health food.

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Essential ingredients for hummus without garlic

To make delicious hummus you will need only a few simple pantry staples- a can of chickpeas, tahini (ground sesame paste), fresh lemon juice and a bit of salt.  I would say everything else is optional. Cumin and garlic are the most popular flavourings, but they are not essential. Extra virgin olive oil is often drizzled on top of hummus but this too is optional.

Equipment

You will need either a food processor, a regular blender or a high speed blender. If you have none of those, I have even made chunky hummus by mashing chickpeas with just a fork or using an immersion blender. It won’t have that airy, fluffy consistency but it still will taste amazing.

However, if you boil chickpeas for 20 minutes with some bicarbonate of soda even an immersion blender or fork can do a pretty decent job in making a very tasty creamy chickpea dip. 

Does hummus need garlic?

No. Garlic is just an optional flavoring so you absolutely do not need garlic to make hummus.

What if I do want to use garlic but it’s too strong?

This is a garlic-free recipe but if the reason you want to avoid raw garlic is its sharp taste that gives you that horrible garlic breath but you still love the flavour profile of garlic you do have options.

Option 1 is garlic powder- it won’t be sharp at all but just have the garlic flavor.

Option 2– finely chop or purée raw garlic and leave it for a minimum of 10 min in lemon juice or vinegar. All sharpness will be gone like magic, you would be left with very subtle garlic flavour and no sharpness or pungency at all. Learn more how you can transform a whole raw head of garlic into a mellow paste here.

But you CAN avoid garlic altogether, like I said- hummus does not need garlic to taste amazing. 

How to substitute garlic in hummus?

You don’t have to really substitute it if you don’t like it, just leave it out and you will have amazing delicious hummus. Garlic is totally optional. Just like bread- sometimes people add garlic to baguettes and you have garlic baguettes. But garlic is not essential for baguettes, right? The same is true for hummus. You can make hummus with garlic or without. 

Cumin is a classic addition to hummus and I recommend adding it, but that is not a substitute for garlic the same way cumin or any other spice would not substitute garlic in garlic baguettes, makes sense?

How to get creamy hummus?

This is the million dollar question that everyone is wondering about. 

There is 3 aspects that can make your hummus smoother.

1 The first aspect is temperature

You want your chickpeas hot and you want your water cold as ice. If you don’t have time to boil chickpeas, still try to add some ice cubes in the water. For some kind of reason it makes the mixture more airy. And blend hummus an extra minute longer in the food processor. But ideally you can even boil canned chickpeas for 10-20 minutes to make them extra softer and get them really hot, the softer boiled and warm they will be at time of blending, the easier it will be to get hummus become extra smooth.

2 Second aspect is adding bicarbonate of soda to chickpea cooking water

This step will soften chickpea skins. Just add half a teaspoon to approx 2 cups of canned chickpeas and boil them for 10-20 minutes. Bicarbonate of soda will make the chickpeas become very soft almost to a point of breaking down. Just remember to wash off the soda water after boiling. You can also use baking powder instead of soda (and increase the amount 3 times as bicarbonate of soda makes about one third of most baking powder mixtures).

3 Third way to make fluffy hummus is high-speed blender

High speed blenders are so powerful they will turn anything into a very smooth mixture. Just be careful not to run it too long. I have messed up my hummus a couple of times using my vitamix and over-mixing it. It becomes like wallpaper glue and there is no way back and no way to save it after this.

How long does it take to make hummus?

1. Only 5 min

From the moment you have the chickpeas ready it takes only about 5 minutes or less. See this video where one of the best Israeli hummus chefs Michael Solomonov makes hummus in under 5 minutes using only one hand.

So if you use canned chickpeas it will be only 5 minutes.

2. You can add bit of extra effort and it would take 20- 30 minutes if you want to invest a tiny bit of time into the chickpeas

That is if you do want to perfect the texture of your hummus and elevate it to make it ultra smooth. Do this: boil your chickpeas for 10- 20 minutes with a bit of bicarbonate of soda that will soften the chickpea skins and it will result in an even smoother texture.

3. It could also take 1 day if you want to make the best hummus from dry chickpeas and you have time to do it all from scratch

Then you will need to soak them 8 hours or overnight and boil them for about 40 minutes together with bicarbonate of soda and this will make the texture even more perfect. Click here for the best video that explains in detail how to cook perfect chickpeas from scratch (instructions in the video are from 00:30-01:30).

Recipe notes and instructions how to make hummus without garlic

Remember that with hummus the order how you make it is very important. So do not make the mistake of adding all the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor all at once. Start with making tahini first. This is important for correct texture and best taste. 

1. Wash the canned chicpeas

Wash and drain canned chickpeas in a colander under running water until there is no more foam and they look like in the picture below. If you have only 5 minutes you don’t need to do anything else and you can proceed to step nr 3 and skip steps 2&4.

2. Boil canned chicpeas with bicarbonate of soda

If you have extra 20 minutes cover the washed chickpeas with water and add half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda (or if you don’t have that use 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder) and boil it for 20 minutes until chickpeas become very soft and the skins are coming off like in the picture below.

3. Make tahini sauce

Add tahini, lemon, salt and ice water into the bowl of a food processor and blend until the tahini turns from beige sand tone into almost white creamy sauce, about 1-2 minutes. Now you have made a sauce that you could use on its own with vegetables, in soups etc, kind of like sour cream. Some people take a spoon of this tahini sauce aside and serve on top of the hummus in the end for a nice contrasting accent for the ready made hummus. You don’t have to do it. Just giving you ideas.

4. Wash boiled chickpeas

If you boiled your canned chickpeas with bicarbonate of soda, first wash them in a colander under running warm water to wash away the bicarbonate of soda. 

5. Make final hummus

Add the canned, washed chickpeas to the tahini sauce. Add an (optional) teaspoon of cumin. Blend for approximately 2 minutes until hummus becomes creamy and fluffy. 

6. Adjust the taste

Add more lemon juice or salt if you want until you hit the delicious hummus mark in terms of saltiness and tanginess to your own liking. 

7. Serve

Serve your garlic-free hummus still warm or at least at room temperature with a drizzle of olive oil alongside warm pitta bread or raw vegetables. Traditionally olive oil is never added into the hummus but drizzled on top of the hummus when served.

Remember to use good quality extra virgin olive oil if you choose to use any oil at all. If feeling adventurous you can sprinkle black pepper, chopped fresh herbs like parsley or some lemon zest on top for variation.

Storage

Store leftover hummus in the fridge in an airtight container. It will last about 3-4 days depending on the fridge temperature and how long you have kept it out.

Frequently Asked Questions

What to do when tahini is separated?

This is totally normal. Tahini is 100% ground sesame seeds. All natural seed and nut butters eventually separate into solid and oil parts. You can simply just stir tahini together with a fork for a minute or 2.

Or another way is to put it all into a food processor and blend it back to its original smoothness in about 10- 20 seconds and then return to the original container. Like in the pictures below.

What can I use instead of tahini?

Many people suggest substituting tahini with any nut or seed butter. I have tried substituting tahini with roasted sunflower seed butter with great success. Just roast sunflower seeds in a dry skillet until golden and blend in a food processor together with lemon juice, salt and ice water until creamy just like you would do when using tahini.

Can I leave out the tahini?

Many people make hummus without using tahini altogether. Here is a link to a tahini free recipe from Ikaria . I have not tried this recipe yet but Ikaria is one of the Blue Zones meaning that they are among the longest lived healthiest people on the planet so I would say its a safe bet that its a good recipe.

Let me know if you try it. You can easily make this Ikarian hummus into garlic-free hummus by simply leaving out the garlic. Like I said garlic is optional ingredient in hummus and used only for its own garlicky flavour and is not essential ingredient like it is for in aioli for example. You can not make aioli without garlic. But you CAN absolutely make any hummus without garlic.

Is hummus healthy?    

Absolutely YES. Chickpeas, sesame seeds and lemon juice are all very nutritious and healthy ingredients. The truth is that chickpeas are so healthy that the American Institute for Cancer Research recommends eating legumes (beans, chickpeas, lentils etc) with every meal. Read that again. Not every day but with EVERY MEAL. So this delicious hummus is a great addition to all habits that lead to a healthy long life. You can read more about it here: https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/beans/

And chickpeas seem to be top winners among other legumes in terms of antioxidant content.

That all means just one thing-EAT MORE HUMMUS.

What pairs well with hummus?

Pretty much everything.

Breakfast

Hummus is great healthy start of the day as a spread on top of slice of whole grain bread topped with some spinach, sliced tomato or cucumber. You can also pile some pickles, sprouts or toasted nuts on tops for even more amazing taste and texture.

Lunch

Hummus is great in wraps, add some spinach, cooked quinoa or other grains, fresh or cooked veggies, pickles and greens or herbs for ultra healthy nutritious lunch.

Dinner

Hummus is great source of protein and works well in grain bowls. Also very good as a nutritious side to oven baked vegetables like beetroot, sweet potatoes or cauliflower. Another iconic Middle Eastern lunch or dinner meal is falafel & hummus in pitta bread with all things pickled.

Party food

Avoid the dreaded garlic breath and use this hummus recipe without garlic as a healthier party dip with tortilla chips or even better with fresh vegetables like raw carrots, cucumbers or paprika.

How to eat more beans?

Want to add even more beans to your diet and more years to your life? Check out this easy lentil soup recipe here.