Avocado hummus takes the best of two worlds–smooth, luscious hummus and silky, healthy avocado–to create flavor and texture magic! Find chickpeas with the peels already removed, along with excellent tahini and sumac, at my online shop here. Try my Best Homemade Hummus recipe too!

I’ve always been a critic of anything labeled “hummus” that doesn’t include the very basis of hummus: chickpeas. The very word “hummus” means chickpea in Arabic, so purists like me are hard on posers. But here, the foundation of avocado hummus is my gorgeously smooth hummus recipe, taken a step beyond with one of the ultimate in silky blend-ins, avocado.

Ingredients

Chickpeas. Drain the can, rinse the chickpeas, and remove the peels. Peeling each chickpea sounds like a time-consuming step, but don’t skip it, as it’s necessary in making the smoothest hummus.

Avocados. Choose ripe avocados for this avocado hummus recipe. Younger avocados won’t be as creamy.

Lemon. Juice a fresh lemon instead of bottled lemon juice for the best flavor. You can also swap it out for lime juice for a different citrus note.

Tahini. I’m partial to Lebanese tahini in all of my hummus recipes!

Kosher Salt. To bring out the flavors of all of the ingredients.

Sumac. A dusting of sumac on the finished hummus adds a wonderful tang.

Olive oil. Use the best extra virgin olive oil you can get your hands on! Although it’s used to finish the hummus instead of being mixed in, don’t even think about skipping it!

Pita chips and vegetables. For dipping. Choose vegetables you like, but I recommend any with a good crunch to pair with the creamy dip.

How to Make Avocado Hummus

When it comes to learning how to make avocado hummus, it’s truly one of the most simple dip recipes you can make.

Step 1: In a food processor, pulverize the chickpeas. Stop and scrape down the bowl occasionally.

Step 2: Add the avocado and process until smooth. Add the lemon juice, tahini, and salt and process until smooth.

Step 3: Dollop the hummus into a bowl and create a well in the middle with the back of a clean spoon. Drizzle with olive oil, dust with sumac, and serve avocado hummus immediately with pita chips and vegetables.

Storing Leftovers

Although this avocado hummus dip is best served immediately, you can store leftovers in the fridge. Put leftover hummus in a container, and cover it with plastic wrap, making sure to press down the plastic so it’s touching the entire surface of the hummus.

We want to avoid any pockets of air to prevent the hummus from turning brown.

Start Smooth, Stay Smooth

The way to smooth hummus is to get the peels off the chickpeas. This can be done in a labor-intensive yet simple process of warming cooked or canned chickpeas in a dusting of baking soda to loosen the skins, then rubbing them off in a giant bowl of water multiple times.

I start processing the chickpeas with very little if any liquid, an easier way to smooth them out.

The beauty of adding avocado is that it wants so badly to be smooth and lush. Add avocado pieces after getting the chickpeas pulverized, along with garlic if using, then move on to liquids.

The lemon key

Lemon juice does a couple of things for the avocado (and any!) hummus: the acidity of lemon ramps up the flavor complexity by a lot, balancing off the richness of the tahini. With avocado, lemon also keeps her nice and green.

I always, always finish hummus of any kind with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Using olive oil as a finish rather than blended into the hummus keeps it light and easy. But then the EVOO isn’t optional; I hate to call it a “garnish” because while garnishes are fabulous, at home we might be inclined to dispense with them. There’s no leaving off the olive oil here! It’s essential even though it’s not added to the mix.

Mix-In Joy

Once you start adding ingredients like avocado to your hummus, you just might catch the same bug I have and start thinking of all of the ways!

Consider hummus with beets or hummus with fresh herbs for a color and flavor explosion. Or top classic hummus with sautéed red bell pepper, olives, or spiced meat. Oh, and for dipping, pita chips, which are so great homemade using my pita chips recipe.