A simple and easy recipe for creamy black garlic hummus, with hints of sweetness, nuttiness and umami from the black garlic and white garlic.
I love hummus. Not just because it's somewhat healthy but because it's creamy and buttery and I love dipping and scooping anything and everything. One thing I learned throughout the years is that not all hummus is created equally. Store bought hummus will taste considerably different than freshly made hummus and hummus made from canned chickpeas will also have different flavor and texture than hummus made from dried chickpeas. There's no doubt, homemade hummus tastes a lot better than store-bought hummus. I find homemade hummus a lot creamier, and is usually more flavorful - the fun part is you can play around with the flavors easily by adding ingredients or switching up the toppings and garnishes! This was how my black garlic hummus was born! 🙂
Despite the name, black garlic doesn't actually taste garlicky. It is very sweet, almost like molasses with traces of umami flavor. For this hummus recipe, I added a clove of fresh raw garlic in to give the hummus a garlicky flavor since the black garlic didn't have that garlic flavor. Since black garlic is very sweet, this hummus does have a sweet and savory flavor profile as well - which is very different than your traditional lemon garlicky hummus. So if these flavors are calling to you and you want to try something different, give this hummus a try!
INGREDIENTS FOR BLACK GARLIC HUMMUS
- Chickpeas - For convenience, I like to use canned chickpeas for this recipe but I still boil them with a bit of baking soda to cook them to an even softer consistency. You can use dried chick peas as well, but you should soak them overnight - the cooking time will vary as well. When you are buying canned chickpeas the only ingredients on the ingredients list should be chickpeas and salt, it should not contain any other preservatives (which I find can take away from the flavor).
- Black Garlic - can sometimes be found at a grocery store but it is rare. I found the easiest way to find it is online on Amazon. To make it easier to find, I have provided an affiliate link for it here: Whole Black Garlic on Amazon, but if you can find it locally, then I definitely recommend that instead.
- Baking Soda - I use baking soda for this recipe to cook the chickpeas which help break down the chickpeas skins and make it very soft. This is how we will get the super creamy texture. Don't worry if you don't like the flavor of baking soda, we rinse out the chickpeas after it has finished cooking.
- Tahini - Try to find a good quality tahini for this. Tahini cannot be substituted.
- Olive Oil - Use good quality extra virgin olive oil for this if you can.
WHERE IS THE LEMON JUICE IN THIS HUMMUS?
There is none! 🙂 I found that when I used lemon juice in this recipe, it took away from the black garlic flavor and the sweet and tangy contrast didn't really fit the flavor of the hummus so I omitted it! Keep in mind, this hummus is also a bit on the sweeter side so if you want to balance out the sweetness, you can add lemon juice to it and adjust it to your taste.
CANNED CHICKPEAS vs DRIED CHICKPEAS
Most purists would frown upon using canned chickpeas and would only suggest you only use dried chickpeas for hummus but I am personally not that strict on the form the chickpeas to use for it. Canned chickpeas are not that bad, I like to think of it as having chickpeas that are conveniently pre-soaked for me because I still go through the process of cooking it. So if you are not particularly picky about it I would suggest going the canned chickpeas route! 🙂
One of the biggest cons about using canned chickpeas for hummus is that although they are cooked, they usually are not evenly cooked and not soft enough to make a super creamy textured hummus - to work around that, I boil the canned chickpeas for 20 minutes.
If you have the time and want to go the dried chickpeas route, you definitely can do that too. The main difference is you will need to soak them ahead of time and the cooking time will be increased but they will have a bit more flavor.
HOW TO GET SUPER CREAMY HUMMUS
A few years ago, I would have said removing all the skins from each individual chickpea would give you the creamiest hummus ever (and this is still very true!) but removing the skin off chickpeas is a very tedious task and now I use an easier method - boiling the chickpeas with baking soda! When you add about 1 teaspoon of baking soda in the water it raises the pH of the water which makes the water slightly alkaline which can help penetrate the surface of the bean and skins more easily and allows it to cook it faster to a softer state.
The result is a super soft chickpea which blends into a super creamy texture. You no longer need to worry about the chickpeas skins anymore either because those turn soft as well, so you can blend those in as well and it will still create a smooth and creamy texture.
I do highly recommend rinsing the beans out very well after it has finished boiling before you start blending it to remove any traces of baking soda flavor on it.
Make sure you are not using an aluminum pot when you are using baking soda to boil the chickpeas. The baking soda reacts to the aluminum and may discolor your pots or change the color of your beans from the metals leaching out from the pot from the chemical reaction.
HOW TO PREVENT YOUR HUMMUS FROM TASTING BITTER
A good hummus has a decent amount of tahini but that being said I found that putting too much tahini can actually make the hummus taste bitter or give the hummus a bitter after taste as well so balance is key.
Sometimes it can also be the brand of tahini as well, so if you find tahini you like - stick with it. 🙂
LOOKING FOR MORE SNACKS? TRY THESE!
- Crispy Candied Walnuts
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- Toasted Sesame Guacamole
- Lotus Root Chips
DID YOU MAKE THIS BLACK GARLIC HUMMUS?
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Recipe Card
Black Garlic Hummus
Recipe Notes
- Make sure you are not using an aluminum pot when you are using baking soda to boil the chickpeas. The baking soda reacts to the aluminum and may discolor your pots or change the color of your beans from the metals leaching out from the pot from the chemical reaction.
- Do not add any salt to the water when you are boiling the chickpeas. The salt prevents the beans from getting soft.
- If you are using dried chickpeas, soak them overnight.
- 1 cup of dried chickpeas equals roughly 2.5 cups of hydrated chickpeas
- If you add lemon juice, add about ⅓ cup of lemon juice (1 lemon) but reduce ⅓ cup of water.
Ingredients
- 1 540ml can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans (approx 2.5 cups)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 2 bulbs black garlic (approximately 2 tablespoons)
- ¾ cup ice cold water (add more if needed to make it smoother)
- 5-6 tablespoons tahini
- 1 teaspoon salt (add more if you like your hummus savorier)
- extra virgin olive oil (to drizzle as garnish)
Instructions
- Add water to a pot about half full, and set the stove to medium heat. Try to use a large pot, the chickpeas tend to foam up during the boiling process and can easily overflow. Wait for the water to boil.
- Drain the chickpeas from the can, and rinse it out
- When the pot of water is boiling, add in the chickpeas and baking soda and give it a stir and let it boil for 20 minutes with no lid.Keep an eye on the pot and do not leave the area, it may foam up and overflow if it boils. If it starts to foam up, I like to blow on the foam, which shrinks it down a bit. or skim off the foam. Reduce the heat slightly to a gentle simmer to prevent foamy boil-ups.
- Set the heat to medium-low heat, and let the beans cook on a low simmer.
- Once the chickpeas have cooked for 20 minutes and are all super soft, drain them and rinse them with hot water to remove the baking soda.
- Then add in the chickpeas (skin and all), garlic, black garlic, tahini, and salt, and blitz it until smooth.Turn off the food processor, and scrape the sides down.
- Turn the food processor back on, and slowly add the water in while it is still blitzing until everything is creamy and smooth. If it is too thick or you like it smoother, add more water in a few tablespoons at a time (no more than 3-4 tablespoons)
- Put it in the refrigerator for a firmer consistency.
- Drizzle some good quality extra virgin olive oil over the hummus and top it with sesame seeds, parsley or smoked paprika and serve it with veggies, fresh pita or pita chips!
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is calculated using online tools and is an estimate*
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Kristin says
I followed the recipe and it tasted ok but was the consistency of soup. No one ate it. I think 2/3 olive oil is too much and boiling them isn’t necesary.
Karen says
Love this twist on hummus, using black garlic. Personally found it a bit too sweet (I did use 3 cloves instead of 2 because they seemed a little small) and felt it needed a little acid. So I added a little lemon juice, being careful not to add too much so as not to overpower the flavor of the black garlic. Will top with sumac when serving.
Joyce Lee says
Hi Karen!
Ah yes, black garlic is a bit of the sweet side, it's funny how different it tastes from traditional garlic!
I'm happy you tweaked it with some more lemon juice until it was the right flavor for you!
Black garlic is definitely a unique ingredient and I wished it was a bit more popular!
Thanks so much for coming back to share this with me! 🙂
Jean says
Hi Joyce, tried this today and my dad absolutely loved it! It has the creamiest texture and it tasted amazing! Thank you for this amazing recipe 🙂 cheers!
Joyce Lee says
Hi Jean!
I'm so happy you came back to share this with me! I am super happy to be able to share this with you both! Say hi to dad for me!
Michael Peters says
I’m looking forward to trying this. I get my black garlic from a local farmer here in NJ. They always have it and its outstanding. NJGarlic.com
Joyce says
Hi Michael!
Oh neat! Buying local is always the way to go, so glad it can be found locally! I definitely will need to check them out! Thank you for sharing! 🙂