Lemon Tahini Hummus
A cold chickpea and tahini meze with fresh lemon, a little garlic and a measured olive-oil finish. Fifteen illustrated steps show every ingredient addition and the blending sequence.
This lemon tahini hummus is a cold meze made with ready-cooked canned chickpeas. Tahini and lemon are blended first with garlic and salt; the chickpeas and cold drinking water follow. Olive oil is reserved entirely for the final surface swirl, so there is no hidden extra oil in the dip.
The method has 15 photo steps, including draining, rinsing, preparing the garlic and lemon, each addition, blending, chilling and finishing. It makes six meze portions. There is no cooking stage and no need to peel every chickpea; a good food processor gives a creamy result with a little natural texture.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Blending the tahini with lemon, finely grated garlic and salt before adding the chickpeas distributes the strong flavours. Cold water loosens the mixture so the processor can work through it. Scraping the bowl between blending intervals catches unprocessed pieces, and a short chill makes this a ready-to-serve cold meze.
Before you start · Equipment
Kitchen scale, fine sieve, small bowl, fine grater, citrus juicer, seed strainer, food processor with fitted lid, flexible spatula, shallow covered food container, refrigerator thermometer, shallow serving dish and tablespoon.
Everything you’ll need.
Get your ingredients ready, then follow the quantities in the recipe below.
See ingredient amounts
This guide describes the original 6 meze portions. Use the recipe card for amounts adjusted to your chosen yield.
A cold meze in fifteen stages
The method separates draining, rinsing, aromatic preparation and every measured ingredient addition. Blending, chilling and finishing also have their own photos.
Use the drained weight
A can labelled 400 g does not contain 400 g drained chickpeas. Rinse, drain and weigh enough to reach the stated amount. Do not use the weight of the canning liquid in the recipe.
Stir the tahini before measuring
Sesame paste separates during storage. Stir the entire jar until uniform, then weigh the recipe portion. Unmixed dry paste changes the consistency.
Blend safely and patiently
Keep the lid fitted whenever the processor runs. Switch off and unplug before scraping or handling the blade. A little fine chickpea texture is normal; this recipe does not promise a perfectly textureless purée.
Chill before making the serving swirl
A short covered chill prepares the hummus for cold service. Move it into a shallow dish, make grooves with a spoon and add the measured oil just before serving.
Keep portions cold
Keep hummus covered at 4°C or below. Three days is a cautious home-storage recommendation, not a shelf-life test. Take out only what you plan to serve and apply the two-hour limit, or one hour in a hot room above 32°C.
About the ingredients
- Canned chickpeas
400 g means drained, rinsed and drained again, not total can weight. Use ready-cooked chickpeas. Typically two 400 g cans supply enough; check the drained yield. No chickpeas are reserved for garnish.
- Hulled tahini
Stir the jar well before weighing 80 g. Use plain smooth roasted-sesame paste, not sweetened sesame spread. Sesame is an allergen.
- Lemon and garlic
Measure 50 g strained fresh lemon juice and 4 g peeled finely grated garlic. There is no zest or lemon-slice garnish.
- Water and salt
The processor receives 80 g cold drinking water and 3 g added salt. Discard the can liquid and rinse water. Brand sodium varies.
- Olive oil finish
All 15 g olive oil is drizzled over the chilled hummus. There is no hidden processor oil or extra garnish. Optional bread and dippers are excluded from nutrition.
How to make Lemon Tahini Hummus
Drain and rinse canned chickpeas, prepare garlic and lemon, then add tahini, lemon, garlic and salt separately. Blend the base, add chickpeas and cold water separately, then blend again. Transfer and chill, make a serving swirl, finish with the measured oil and serve cold.
1. Drain the canned chickpeas
2. Rinse, drain and weigh
3. Grate the garlic
4. Squeeze and strain the lemon
5. Add the tahini
6. Add the lemon juice
7. Add the grated garlic
8. Add the measured salt
9. Blend the tahini base
10. Add all the chickpeas
11. Add the cold water
12. Blend until creamy
13. Transfer, cover and chill
14. Spoon into a dish and make swirls
15. Add the oil and serve coldWatch How To Make It
chefzelish.com
Lemon Tahini Hummus
A cold chickpea and tahini meze with fresh lemon, a little garlic and a measured olive-oil finish. Fifteen illustrated steps show every ingredient addition and the blending sequence.
Ingredients
0 / 7 readyIngredient amounts for 6 meze portions
Hummus
Measured finish
Let’s make it.
- Prepare ingredients
Drain the canned chickpeas
Wash hands and use clean equipment. Open enough cans of ready-cooked chickpeas to yield 400 g after rinsing and draining; usually about two 400 g cans. Tip into a sieve and discard the canning liquid. This recipe does not use dry or undercooked chickpeas.
- Prepare ingredients
Rinse, drain and weigh
Rinse the chickpeas under cool running drinking water, then let drain thoroughly. Weigh 400 g drained rinsed chickpeas into a clean bowl. Keep all 400 g for the dip; do not reserve any for garnish. Refrigerate any excess chickpeas separately for another use.
- Prepare ingredients
Grate the garlic
Peel and weigh 4 g garlic, then finely grate it into a small clean dish. Do not use a whole large bulb or add extra garlic later.
- Prepare ingredients
Squeeze and strain the lemon
Wash and dry the lemon before cutting. Squeeze and strain enough juice to give 50 g. Remove seeds. No zest or lemon slices are added to the hummus.
- Blend the hummus
Add the tahini
With the processor switched off, fit the blade and scrape all 80 g thoroughly stirred hulled tahini into its empty bowl. The sesame paste should be uniform rather than dry sludge from the bottom of the jar.
- Blend the hummus
Add the lemon juice
Pour all 50 g strained lemon juice into the tahini. Keep the processor switched off for additions.
- Blend the hummus
Add the grated garlic
Scrape all 4 g grated garlic into the processor bowl.
- Blend the hummus
Add the measured salt
Add all 3 g fine table salt. This is the whole added salt allowance; canned chickpeas and tahini can also contain sodium.
- Blend the hummus
Blend the tahini base
Fit the lid and process for about 45–60 seconds until the base is evenly blended and slightly lighter. Stop, switch off and unplug before opening or scraping. The base may thicken at this point; the water added later loosens it.
- Blend the hummus
Add all the chickpeas
With the processor stopped and unplugged, add all 400 g drained rinsed chickpeas to the blended base. There are no reserved whole-chickpea toppings.
- Blend the hummus
Add the cold water
Pour all 80 g cold drinking water over the chickpeas. Rinse water and canning liquid are not substitutes in this measured recipe.
- Blend the hummus
Blend until creamy
Refit the lid and process for 2–3 minutes, pausing to scrape down once or twice. Stop, switch off and unplug before opening, scraping or reaching near the blade, and refit the lid before restarting. Continue until creamy with no large whole chickpeas; a little fine texture is normal. Do not add extra oil, water or seasonings.
- Chill and serve
Transfer, cover and chill
Switch off and unplug the processor. Carefully remove the blade, then scrape all hummus into a clean shallow covered container. Refrigerate at 40°F(4°C)or below for at least 30 minutes, until chilled throughout. Keep the 15 g oil separate until serving.
- Chill and serve
Spoon into a dish and make swirls
Transfer all the chilled hummus into a shallow serving dish. Use the back of a clean spoon to spread it and make shallow circular grooves. The surface is still plain; the oil goes on next.
- Chill and serve
Add the oil and serve cold
Drizzle all 15 g extra virgin olive oil into the grooves and serve cold as six equal meze portions. No paprika, parsley, sesame seeds, whole chickpeas or extra oil are included. Bread and vegetable dippers are optional extras outside this recipe and nutrition estimate. Keep covered leftovers at 4°C or below and use within 3 days as a cautious home-storage limit, not a validated shelf life. Refrigerate within 2 hours of leaving the fridge, or 1 hour above 90°F(32°C); discard portions left out longer.
Nutrition per serving
1 of 6 equal meze portions, including all finishing olive oil. Estimates may vary with ingredients and brands.
- Calories
- 196 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbohydrates
- 18.9 g
- Fat
- 11.3 g
- Saturated fat
- 1.5 g
- Fiber
- 5.5 g
- Sugar
- 2.9 g
- Sodium
- 351 mg
Checked 10/18/2026. Values are per the serving described above, regardless of recipe yield.
Notes from the kitchen.
Helpful tips
20 minutes active preparation and 30 minutes chilling; no cooking.15 illustrated stages. Processor power and chickpea brand affect smoothness.
Make it your own
Use ready-cooked canned chickpeas and plain hulled roasted-sesame tahini. Dry chickpeas, unhulled paste or sweetened sesame spread are not direct substitutes. Contains sesame.
Storage & freezing
Keep covered at 4°C or below and use within 3 days as a cautious untested home-storage limit. Refrigerate within 2 hours of taking out, or 1 hour above 32°C. Lemon juice does not make this shelf stable.
At the table
Six equal meze portions include all 15 g finishing oil. Bread, crackers, vegetable sticks and additional garnish are excluded; no actual cooked/finished weight claimed.
A little something delicious.
Keep this recipe close for the next time the craving strikes.
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