We Taste-Tested 18 Tubs of Hummus—Here Are Our Favorites

There is always hummus in my fridge. Eaten with pita, crackers, or fresh vegetables, it makes a delightfully easy snack or light lunch. Though homemade hummus isn’t difficult to make (and I do my best to soak and cook chickpeas for it whenever possible), I often purchase hummus when I’m too tired or simply do not have time to whip up a batch. Luckily for me, there are many solid hummus options available in grocery stores these days. The question is: Which ones are worth buying?

To find the very best hummus, we sampled 18 different brands of plain hummus—no red peppers, no olives, or any other flavoring beyond the classics. We placed each in bowls, then sampled them in random order without knowing which hummus was which. After tasting our way through 18 tubs of hummus, we tabulated the results and crowned a winner—along with several other worthy contenders—that we’d be happy to snack on.

The Criteria

Hummus should be thick and creamy, and it should taste like chickpeas and olive oil, with rich nuttiness from tahini. It should be savory but not overly salty. There should be a hint of acid from lemon juice, but not so much it makes your mouth pucker. Garlic and cumin are welcome, but they shouldn’t be the dominant flavor. And though store-bought hummus doesn’t have to taste homemade, it should be delicious enough to eat with nothing more than a spoon.

Overall Winner

Esti Original Recipe Hummus

Our editors enjoyed the smooth, creamy texture of this hummus and its prominent tahini flavor, and thought it was a nicely balanced spread that had just the right amount of acidity. “Tahini flavor is very present here in a good way,” our editorial director Daniel noted. “A slight sweetness I’m not sure I love but otherwise good.” Our associate editorial director Megan thought it was a fine hummus overall and liked its creaminess. Our senior social media editor Kelli liked that she could taste the lemon juice, and I especially liked the velvety texture of the spread.

Runners-Up

The Best Hummus for Cumin Lovers: Zahav’s Restaurant Recipe Hummus

Every single taster made a note of the strong cumin flavor in this hummus. “Cumin-y but I like it,” Kelli mused, while Daniel wrote: “Cumin-y, fine if you want that.” Megan thought this had “too much cumin,” but noted that it was probably the right amount for our associate visuals director and resident cumin lover, Amanda, who we’ve been teasing about her cumin love since we tested salsas. As for this hummus’s texture, everyone agreed it was nicely creamy and smooth—just the way hummus should be.

The Best Hummus for Sesame Fans: Bowl & Basket Original Hummus

This hummus from Shoprite’s Bowl and Basket brand came topped with fragrant sesame seeds. Though Kelli wasn’t a fan of the seeds, I liked the crunch it provided and thought it highlighted the flavor of the tahini. Megan, Daniel, and I all liked the flavor of this hummus; similarly to Megan, I appreciated that this was a thick and fairly creamy “tahini forward” hummus with “no funky flavors.”

The Best Hummus for Garlic Lovers: Good & Gather Classic Hummus

If you’re a real garlic lover, you’re probably reaching for the roasted garlic hummus. But if you’re looking for a classic hummus with heavy allium notes, then this store-brand spread from Target might be the one for you. All our tasters thought this had strong allium notes; while Kelli and I felt indifferent about the garlic-forward flavor, others were less enthusiastic. “This has some kind of garlic flavor thing going on but I don’t think it’s working as well as it could,” Daniel noted. But it very well might be the best hummus for you if you like your spread with the sweet, savory funk of garlic!

The Contenders

• 365 Organic Original Hummus
• 365 Original Hummus
• Abraham’s Traditional Hummos
• Boar’s Head Traditional Hummus
• Bowl & Basket Original Hummus
• Cava Traditional Hummus
• Cedar’s Original Hummus
• Esti Original Recipe Hummus
• Good & Gather Classic Hummus
• Ithaca Classic Hummus
• Ithaca x Graza Hummus
• Little Sesame Classic Hummus
• Nature’s Promise Organic Hummus
• Sabra Classic Hummus
• Trader Joe’s Creamy Dreamy Hummus
• Trader Joe’s Organic Hummus
• Tribe Classic Hummus
• Zahav Restaurant Recipe Hummus

In Conclusion

As is the case with many of our taste tests, our editors all have different opinions on what their ideal hummus is. Some, including Kelli, enjoyed seasonings such as cumin, paprika, and garlic in their hummus, while others wanted nothing more than chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, and salt. Others, including me, prefer an extra creamy and tahini-forward hummus. We all, however, agreed that good hummus should not taste rancid, sweet, overly tart, or like bottled lemon juice. 

Most store-bought hummus is made with cooked chickpeas; water; tahini; olive, sunflower, or canola oil; lemon juice concentrate; and salt. Some contain citric acid, which provides tartness and can prevent food from oxidizing. Guar gum is also a common ingredient used to thicken and emulsify hummus and other products, including yogurt, ice cream, and sour cream.

Our editors generally found hummus containing citric acid to be much too sour, and preferred spreads made with lemon juice or lemon juice concentrate. While some tasters (including me!) did not mind the thickness that guar gum gave certain hummuses, others found the hummus made with the gum slightly too dense and difficult to scoop with a chip or cracker. Ultimately, we enjoyed most of the hummus brands we tasted and would be happy to reach for any of them in a pinch.

Our Testing Methodology

All taste tests are conducted with brands completely hidden and without discussion. Tasters taste samples in random order. For example, taster A may taste sample one first, while taster B will taste sample six first. This is to prevent palate fatigue from unfairly giving any one sample an advantage. Tasters are asked to fill our tasting sheets ranking the samples for various criteria. All data is tabulated and results are calculated with no editorial input in order to give us the most impartial representation of actual results possible.