Here's my complete guide for how to cook dried chickpeas from scratch. I use one of four methods - the Instant Pot, the slow cooker, a saucepan or a stove-top pressure cooker - depending on how much time I have on hand, and I'll share them all with you.
I'm also spilling the beans on my best secrets and troubleshooting tips so you can enjoy perfectly tender, plump and juicy chickpeas in dishes like chana masala, chickpea curry and chickpea stew. P.S. You don't even need to soak the beans for my favorite method!
Why cook chickpeas at home?
Cooking dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans, kabuli chana) may seem like a bother and even unnecessary when you can so easily buy canned chickpeas to add to all of your favorite chickpea recipes. But there are so many good reasons why you should consider doing it:
- Your meals will be free of extra salt and preservatives. Cooking dried chickpeas at home keeps out all of those unnecessary additives you often find in canned chickpeas.
- Recipes will taste better. You won't suffer through the aftertaste that canned beans sometimes have.
- Cooking on weeknights will be so much simpler. Having cooked chickpeas on hand will reduce the time you spend in the kitchen on busy days.
- You will save money. I did the math: where I live, a pound of chickpeas costs around $1.99 and a 15 oz can of chickpeas costs between $1.20 and $1.50. A pound of chickpeas yields around 45 ounces of cooked chickpeas, or roughly what you'd get from three cans. So when I cook chickpeas from scratch, I save around 50 percent on average than if I were to use canned chickpeas.
- You can use the chickpea cooking stock. You can add the stock instead of water to your recipes for more flavor, or reduce the stock to make aquafaba for baking. I also add chickpea stock to chickpea hummus.
I never buy canned chickpeas if I can help it, and you don't have to either. Just use one of these four methods to make perfect chickpeas at home each time and use them in salads, pastas, wraps and stews like gochujang chickpeas. I cook up a large batch over the weekend and refrigerate or freeze the chickpeas for another day! I'll have more guidance on how to do that along with lots of other tips in the FAQs below.
Want to cook more beans from scratch? Here are my complete tutorials on cooking black-eyed peas and black beluga lentils.
Recipe card
How to Cook Chickpeas (Four Ways)
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried chickpeas
- 6 cups water
- 1 bay leaf (optional)
Instructions
- Look through the dried chickpeas and discard any stones or spoiled beans. Rinse chickpeas under running water.
Instant Pot method
- Place chickpeas in the Instant Pot liner. Add six cups water to the chickpeas and the bay leaf, if using. Set the Instant Pot to cook on high pressure for 40 minutes. Do a forced release 15 minutes after cooking has ended, or let the pressure release naturally.
Slow cooker method
- Place chickpeas in the crockpot with six cups water. Slow cook on high for four hours or on low for six to seven hours or until chickpeas are tender.
Stove top pressure cooker method
- Soak chickpeas in six cups water overnight or for 10-12 hours. Drain all water from the chickpeas and place them in the pressure cooker. Add four cups of fresh water and the optional bay leaf.
- Pressure cook the chickpeas for six whistles or for about 20 minutes after the cooker has reached pressure. Once all pressure has released, open the pressure cooker.
Stove top method
- Soak chickpeas in six cups water overnight or for 10-12 hours. Strain and place them in a saucepan with six cups water and the optional bay leaf. Bring to a boil.
- Cover the pot, turn heat to a simmer, and let the chickpeas cook for an hour or until the chickpeas are tender but not powdery or falling apart. Check the chickpeas occasionally and skim off any foam that has risen to the top.
Nutrition Information
To print recipe card without images, uncheck "instruction images" after clicking the "print recipe" button.
Chickpea cooking FAQs and troubleshooting tips
No, the chickpeas don't need to be soaked for the Instant Pot and slow cooker methods. The Instant Pot is my favorite method because I am terrible at planning ahead and often forget to soak the chickpeas ahead of time.
Yes! Place the chickpeas in a saucepan, add enough water to cover the chickpeas by two inches, and bring the water to a rolling boil. Turn off the heat, cover the pot with a tight lid, and let the chickpeas stand for an hour. Then strain the water and proceed to cook the chickpeas using the stove top method and fresh water.
Reduce pressure cooking time in the Instant Pot to 35 minutes.
Chickpeas cooked according to the timelines I've described in the recipe card above will produce perfectly tender chickpeas that hold their shape and are great for salads, air-frying, and recipes like curries and stews. If you want even softer chickpeas to blend up for hummus, add five more minutes of pressure cooking in the Instant Pot, and about 10 minutes more more for the stove-top method. For the Indian-style pressure-cooking method add two additional whistles.
Baking soda can reduce cooking time by breaking down the pectin molecules in beans, and it can also get rid of oligosaccharides - carbohydrates in beans that cause gas. These are the reasons some cooks add a bit of baking soda to the pot when cooking beans. While I do use baking soda in some of my baking recipes, I avoid adding it into recipes where it's not absolutely needed because it adds more sodium and can throw your body's natural electrolytes off balance. If you are worried about gassy beans, just soak the beans for eight hours and make sure you discard the water they were soaked in. The beans will also cook faster after soaking.
Yes, strain out all the liquid from the cooked chickpeas, place them in a freezer-safe bag or container, and freeze them for up to three months.
Store cooked chickpeas in the refrigerator for up to five days.
The only herb I sometimes add to chickpeas when I cook them is a bay leaf. That's because when I cook a large batch of chickpeas I often do so before I have decided what recipes I'll be using them in, and I have more leeway when I do use the chickpeas. If you want to season the beans before cooking, do so only if you know what you will use them for. Chickpeas cooked with rosemary would be great for an Italian pasta e ceci but horrible in an Indian pindi chole.
Depending on the recipe you plan to use the chickpeas in, you can add any of the following:
-Half an onion
-A couple of cloves of garlic
-A bay leaf
-Whole spices like a couple of cloves or cardamom pods.
-A couple of sprigs of dried herbs like rosemary, thyme or sage.
-Ground black pepper
Absolutely. Add salt to your taste.
Avoid any acidic seasonings, including lemon juice, vinegar and tomatoes as they will slow down the cooking process considerably.
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