Green Goddess Hummus

March 21, 2015 123 Comments

Here she is. The creamiest, dreamiest, greenest homemade hummus I’ve ever met. My standard for great hummus has risen over the years and reached a new height in Israel last fall, naturally.

Store-bought hummus is hit or miss and homemade hummus is usually disappointing. It tends to be too thick and bumpy to compare to the cloud-like hummus that I adore at Middle Eastern restaurants.

I’ve tried various tricks for making creamy homemade hummus over the years, like peeling the chickpeas (who has time for that?) and warming the chickpeas to release starch (which then produces a weird layer of skin on top as the hummus cools).

I finally found a method that works, and oh man! It works. Credit goes to Inspired Taste for this stroke of genius, which I stumbled upon during my most recent search for hummus tips.

Here’s the trick: just blend the tahini and lemon juice into creamy oblivion before you start adding the remaining ingredients. That’s it! Tahini is often kinda lumpy and gunky right out of the container, so cutting it with lemon juice and whipping them together produces a light-as-air consistency that carries through to the finished product.

I’m busy daydreaming about all the creamy hummus flavors I can whip up at home now, but I should probably tell you about this one first. It’s the best homemade hummus I’ve ever tasted. I borrowed the fresh herbs from classic green goddess dressings and whipped them into the hummus for a spectacularly green and equivalently flavorful hummus.

I definitely questioned my green goddess concept when I was tossing expensive packets of fresh tarragon and chives into my cart at the grocery store, but this hummus proved its worth. That said, feel free to hold off on this hummus until your herb garden is in full swing, or change up the herbs to cut costs.

You could use parsley alone or try blending in arugula instead. You could omit the herbs completely for a classic, creamy hummus recipe. Maybe you’ll want to toss in some roasted garlic or play with the seasonings. What flavor are you making first?

Products used in this recipe

Cuisinart 7-cup food processor
Citrus juicer
▸ For more of my favorite cooking tools, shop my healthy kitchen!

Green Goddess Hummus

Author: Cookie and Kate
Prep Time: 3 mins
Cook Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 8 minutes
Yield: 1 ¾ cup
Category: Appetizer
Cuisine: Lebanese

★★★★★

4.9 from 15 reviews

This ultra creamy, healthy hummus recipe is flavored with delicious herbs! Use classic green goddess dressing herbs like me or change it up with other fresh, leafy herbs. (You’ll want to use 1 cup or less fresh herbs, to taste. I think arugula would be awesome.) Learn the trick to making creamy homemade hummus, too! Recipe yields about 1 ¾ cup hummus.

Ingredients

¼ cup tahini
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon’s worth)
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
½ cup roughly chopped, loosely packed fresh parsley
¼ cup roughly chopped, loosely packed fresh tarragon
2 to 3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh chives
1 large garlic clove, roughly chopped
½ teaspoon salt, more to taste
One (15-ounce) can of chickpeas, also called garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 to 2 tablespoons water, optional
Garnish with extra olive oil and a sprinkling of chopped fresh herbs

Instructions

First, you’ll whip the tahini and lemon juice together to make them ultra smooth and creamy. Combine the tahini and lemon juice in the bowl of your food processor (a smaller food processor will be better suited to the job) or high-powered blender (i.e. Vitamix or Blendtec). Process for about 1 ½ minutes, pausing to scrape down the bowl of your processor as necessary.
Add the olive oil, parsley, tarragon, chives, chopped garlic and salt to the whipped tahini and lemon juice mixture. Process for about 1 minute, pausing to scrape down the bowl as necessary.
Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor and process for 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl, then add the remaining chickpeas and process for until the hummus is thick and quite smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes more.
If your hummus is too thick or hasn’t yet blended into creamy oblivion, run the food processor while drizzling in 1 to 2 tablespoons water, until it reaches your desired consistency.
Scrape the hummus into a small serving bowl. Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil on top and sprinkle with additional chopped herbs.
Store hummus in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to one week.

Notes

Hummus technique adapted from Inspired Taste. Green goddess herb mix adapted from Simply Recipes.

▸ Nutrition Information

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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