Who’s living their best bean life right now? Take a break from bean soups and stews, and mix things up a bit with some creamy, dreamy, homemade hummus. The key to really smooth hummus is cooking the chickpeas until they are almost falling apart, and blending everything together while the chickpeas are still hot. This method works especially well if you are working with dried chickpeas, but canned will work too. My preferred method is to use dried chickpeas and cook them in the Instant Pot to save time, because I’m extra grateful for any little convenience these days. The hummus will firm up as it cools, so don’t worry if it’s feeling a tad soupy after it’s blended. Garnish with a big drizzle of olive oil, sumac, and some extra chickpeas mixed with fresh herbs if that’s your thing. Or just stress eat it straight from the blender un-showered and braless, because that’s what I’d do.

Hummus

Ingredients:

Chickpeas

1 C dried chickpeas (or 2 15 oz cans of chickpeas)

6 C water

2 tsp kosher salt

Hummus

1/3 C lemon juice

3 cloves garlic

1/3 C tahini

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1/4 C cold water

2 C cooked chickpeas

1 C reserved hot cooking liquid

Optional Garnishes:

olive oil

sumac

za’atar

fresh herbs

chickpeas

Chickpeas Instant Pot Cooking Method:

Place the chickpeas, water, and salt in the Instant Pot. Secure the lid and make sure valve is set to sealing. Using the manual or pressure cook function, set timer to 40 minutes. When the time is up, quick release the pressure valve. You want the chickpeas to be extremely soft, almost to the point of falling apart, so if they aren’t done after 40 minutes, re-secure the lid, making sure the valve is set back to sealing, and pressure cook for an additional 15-20 minutes. Quick release the pressure valve once the time is up. Drain the chickpeas, reserving 1 cup of the hot cooking liquid.

Chickpeas Stovetop Cooking Method:

Place the chickpeas, water, and salt into a large pot or dutch oven. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer until the chickpeas are extremely soft, almost to the point of falling apart. Approximately 2+ hours if using dried chickpeas, and about 20 minutes if using canned. Drain the chickpeas, reserving 1 cup of the hot cooking liquid.

In a food processor or blender add the lemon juice and garlic, and pulse/blend until the garlic is minced and the lemon juice is frothy. Add the tahini, salt, and cumin, and blend together. Slowly stream in the cold water while the food processor or blender is running, and blend until the tahini is smooth and has increased in volume. Add 2 C of the cooked chickpeas and the reserved cooking liquid. Blend until the hummus is creamy and smooth. Garnish as desired with olive oil, sumac, za’atar, fresh herbs, or more chickpeas and serve with warm pita bread or veggies.