The creamiest, easiest hummus recipe made without having to remove the shells from the chickpeas! Instant Pot and stovetop directions included.
***Originally posted Mar 19 2018
I was first taught to make hummus with a can of drained chickpeas, and I continued to make it this way for many years. What I could never sort out was what accounted for the difference in the texture between my homemade hummus, and the hummus I would have at restaurants and buy in grocery stores.
The hummus I made at home was always a bit more 'rustic'. No matter how long I ran the mixture in the food processor, or what ratio of ingredients I used, I could never quite replicate the smooth, creamy texture of the hummus I was served in Middle Eastern restaurants.
Perhaps you have made hummus before, and you have noticed the same thing.
How do you make hummus creamy?
If you want to get the perfect creamy hummus the trick is in removing the 'skin' of each and every chickpea before you blend them up. I have definitely tried this, and the results are amazing, but it takes A LOT of time. More time than I think anyone wants to spend getting the perfect hummus, no matter how delicious it is.
A quick way around this that I have found is to use chana dal instead of chickpeas.
What is chana dal?
Chana is a varietal of chickpea that is grown in Pakistan, India, and other places in Southeast Asia. It is a bit smaller than the garbanzo bean that you may be used to, and it comes dried, split and without the skin!
If you have an ethnic food section in your grocery store, take a look for them there - you should be able to find them along with other dried beans. We get ours at our local Asian food store.
Believe me, they are a game changer when it comes to making hummus!
How to make chana dal hummus (Instant Pot directions)
Add the chickpeas and water to the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. There may be extra water in the pot when the chana dal has finished cooking. If there is, drain this out.
Transfer the cooked chickpeas to a food processor along with the rest of the ingredients. Process for 5 minutes or until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
How to make chana dal hummus (Stovetop directions)
Add the chana dal to a large pot and cover with water by 2 inches. Cover and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the chana dal is soft.
Strain the water from the chana dal, and place them into a food processor along with the remainder of the ingredients.
Process for 5 minutes or until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Dietary Considerations
This recipe for chana dal hummus is suitable for the following diets:
- vegan and vegetarian
- clean eating
- gluten free, dairy free, and allergy friendly
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Chana Dal Hummus
Equipment
Ingredients:
- 1 cup chana dahl (split chickpeas) - dried
- 4 Tablespoons tahini
- 3 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cumin
Instructions
Instant Pot
- Add the dried chickpeas to a pressure cooker with 3 cups of water. Cook for 15 mins. There may be extra water when the chickpeas have finished cooking. If there is, drain the water from the chickpeas
- Transfer the cooked chickpeas to a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients. Process on high for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth and creamy
Stovetop
- Add the chana dal to a pot and cover with water by a couplke of inches.
- Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cook the chana dal for 25-30 minutes or until it is soft.
- Drain the water from the chana dal, place in a food processor along with the remaining ingredients and process for 5 minutes or until the mixture is smooth.
Nutrition
* nutritional information is calculated by online tools and may not be 100% accurate.
Valentina says
First of all, I love the title of "resident hummus maker!" And second, I'm so happy to know the secret to smooth hummus. I will try it this way -- sounds like it's totally worth the extra time it might take.
Courtney says
It’s actually shorter!! At least compared to manually removing the skin from each chickpea as I was doing before 🙂
Allison - Celebrating Sweets says
I have always wanted to make hummus. This sounds perfect, I think I'll finally try it!
Courtney says
Enjoy!
Jill says
Pinning to try. I like the idea of searching to find chana rather than peeling all the chickpeas in a can - which some recipes say to do!
Iryna says
Hummus sounds so easy to make! I definitely need to try making it one day. Me and my kids love it along with some crackers and veggies.
Ellen says
I'll have to try your recipe because I feel the same way about the rustic texture with regular chickpeas. i really enjoy a creamy texture to hummus.
Lara says
I love using chana dal over canned chickpeas, even though it is dried, just because there are no skins, they get weird in everything. Never tried hummus though, can’t wait. Can you give me an approximation of how much hummus you get from one recipe?
Renee Gardner says
Thank you so much for introducing me to chana dal! I love hummus, but even without the skins standard chickpeas just don't get that rich creamy texture. In fact, I removed the skins once and won't do it again. The difference wasn't enough to make it worth my effort. I can't wait to try it with the chana dal and see for myself!
Courtney says
You're welcome 🙂 It takes a LOT of time to get that skin off the chickpeas! And you are right, the difference is not really worth the time spent. Enjoy!
Lu says
Just wow...
And I’ve eaten almost all of it?
Courtney says
I’m so happy you’ve enjoyed it!!
Janie says
I just made this tonight to serve with Naan bread as an accompaniment to red lentil and couscous soup. It turned out delicious, but I had to add a LOT more liquid than called for in the recipe. It was so thick that my food processor nearly stopped! I added extra EVOO, lemon juice, tahini, and then hot water to get it to the correct consistency. I used exactly the ingredients called for, and cooked Chana Dal for the first time. I did drain the dal, but wished I had saved the liquid for thinning the hummous. I live in a dry climate and wonder if that could have anything to do with how thick (and sticky) the mixture was before thinning. Anyone else have this issue? Would love to make again but I will carefully adjust the recipe next time. Thanks for a great recipe!
maxine h james says
I agree with you. I wish I had saved the liquid too. The flavor was great but it is really thick. I used my vitamix and it was still very thick. I'm not in a dry climate.
Lisa Neighbour says
I had the same issue, and I added more lemon, oil and water until the food processor whirled up everything nice and smooth. I added at least 250 ml of extra liquids.
Matt says
Bought a 4lb. bag of chana dal on a whim while I was doing some dry goods shopping at the start of the COVID shutdown. Two months later I finally cracked into the bag when I found this recipe. Thank you so much. I've made a lot of tweaks, but even following your recipe to the letter produces far better hummus than I had ever made before. I don't think I'll ever go back to whole chickpeas for hummus.
Courtney says
You are so welcome! I'm so happy that you've enjoyed it!!
maxine h james says
Tasted very good but so thick. I wish I had saved some of the cooking water to thin out some. I portioned some and tried to add sun-dried tomatoes and olives but it was still so thick but the flavor both ways was incredible.
Uttam Mukhopadhyay says
Thanks Courtney for a great recipe. The best thing about chana dal is that the Glycemic Index is just 8 (on a scale of 100) as compared to 36 for chick peas. Huge implications for people with high blood sugar or for low-carb dieters. (white bread and potatoes are in the 100+ range, for comparison). Chana dal is my favorite dal at home (at least once a week) and I certainly prefer the taste of this hummus to that with chick peas. I bought an Israeli organic tahini sauce from Walmart but had to use canola oil instead of olive oil because the extra-virgin I found in the kitchen was too peppery. Also forced to use lime instead of lemon (what I found in the fridge). Will definitely get some lemon next time. for I got a little of the lime flavor that i could do without in the hummus. Healthy and delicious. Thanks!
Courtney says
You are so welcome Uttam! Thanks for the info on the glycemic index. I had no idea about that!
Uttam Mukhopadhyay says
Sorry, forgot to rate it. 5+
Uttam Mukhopadhyay says
A tip: wash the chana dal a few times. Pour water in the chana dal, stir with your hands, drain the water, and repeat 3-4 times. White powdery stuff will wash away and the dal will taste much better.
Lisa Neighbour says
Best hummus We've ever made, and the family says it tastes better than the restaurant we usually buy it from! Yay! It's easy to make, just don't cover the pot if you're cooking the chana on the stovetop, it will certainly boil over😂