I absolutely love chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans. These protein-packed legumes have a mild, nutty flavor that goes well in a variety of dishes, including hummus, soups and stews. Because of the time involved in preparing dried chickpeas, most people resort to canned varieties. The trouble with canned chickpeas is that many contain additives for preservation, as well as high sodium content from added salt. Making chickpeas from scratch is a much more natural and healthy way to go, and it’s surprisingly easy. This recipe, photo tutorial and video will show you the whole process, step-by-step.
Here is a simple method for quick-soaking and preparing chickpeas for recipes. Chickpeas are soaked before boiling for two reasons – one, they need to be softened before they boil, and two, pre-soaking helps to make the beans more digestible. You can soak them quickly, as described below, or overnight if you prefer. My friend Gila Ronel, a doula and holistic nutritionist in Israel, soaks the beans for a couple of days until they begin to sprout. She says that the nutritional value improves when the chickpeas are sprouted. If you try this, you’ll need to use cold water, not the quick soak method. Make sure you change the water they are soaking in twice daily to keep bacteria at bay. When shopping for your chickpeas, make sure you use a bulk bin with a high turnover rate. The older the chickpeas are, the less tender they will cook. Beans that have been sitting in a pantry for a year or longer tend to go stale and will not cook up as nicely.
Most recipes call for chickpeas that have been soaked and boiled until tender (falafel is one notable exception– chickpeas should only be soaked for falafel, not cooked). I often make a large batch of cooked chickpeas, then refrigerate or even freeze for future use. I have covered the instructions for storing and freezing below. You will notice that home-prepared chickpeas taste much better than the canned variety, and you’ll have more control over the salt content. Preparing the beans this way is also more affordable… you’ll save over 50% by preparing them yourself. Frugality rocks!
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How to Soak, Cook, Freeze and Store Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 4 cups dried chickpeas (you may use more or less as needed-- 4 cups dried equals roughly 12 cups cooked beans)
- Salt (optional)
NOTES
Instructions
- Before cooking, you will need to soak the beans. You can soak them overnight, if you have the time. Place them in a large bowl and cover with cold water.
- The chickpeas will expand to over double their size, so make sure you cover by several inches of water to allow for expansion. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let them soak overnight. Drain the water and rinse the beans before cooking.
- To quick soak the beans, you will need 1 hour. Place the chickpeas into the bottom of a large pot and cover with water. The chickpeas will expand to over double their size, so make sure you cover by several inches of water to allow for expansion.
- Bring the chickpeas to a boil. Let them boil for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Let the beans soak in the hot water for 1 hour.
- Drain the water and rinse the beans before cooking.
- When you are ready to cook your soaked beans, place them in a large pot and cover with several inches of water. I use about 1 quart of water per 1 cup of soaked beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add salt, if desired. I use about 1/8 teaspoon of salt for every 1 quart of water and 1 cup of soaked beans. You may like more salt to taste, or none at all to keep them "au naturel."
- Let the beans cook for 60-90 minutes until desired tenderness. Certain dishes require very tender beans (like hummus), while other dishes call for firmer beans (like stews and soups that need to be cooked over long periods of time). Adjust cooking time to achieve the desired tenderness for your purposes. If you are freezing the beans, keep in mind that they will freeze best if they are on the firmer side, rather than completely soft. As you cook them, the beans will continue to expand a bit. Keep an eye on the water level and add additional water as needed to keep the beans covered. When the beans are fully cooked, drain in a colander and allow to cool.
- To store cooked beans in the refrigerator, place them in a covered airtight container or a plastic zipper bag without any additional liquid. Cooked beans will keep 3-4 days in the refrigerator.To store the beans longer for future use, freeze them. Remove as much moisture as possible from the beans by patting them dry with paper towels. Place the beans in reusable or plastic zipper bags spread out in single layers; you don't want to pile the beans on top of each other or they will stick to each other. Freeze, laying the flat single layer down to keep the beans from freezing together. You can freeze several bags this way, one laying flat on top of another.
- Alternatively, you can spread out the beans in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment and freeze the beans for 30 minutes.
- Once they are firm, pour them into a plastic zipper bag or airtight container, seal, and put immediately back into the freezer. Using this method, you don't need to put the chickpeas in a single layer-- because they are already half frozen, they will not stick together.
- Frozen beans will keep for up to 1 year.
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Nutritional information per serving is for 1 cup of cooked chickpeas (1/3 cup dried chickpeas)– values and cook times will vary based on how what cooking method is used.
I learned from another site that the water from boiled garbanzo beans works as an egg white substitute in some recipes such as pumpkin pies, especially if you are fresh out of eggs, but happen to have prepared soaked chickpeas, freshly cleaned from an overnight soaking, and washed for boiling. The aquafaba saved from boiling the beans supposedly can be used in a number of ways in recipes for desserts.
I stopped by here to look for tips on preparing garbanzo beans for a variety of dishes, and found the tips here quite useful. I might make either chili or try to make hummus for the first time. I’ve used other kinds of beans to make chili, so this will be nice to try chick peas in making chili. And I plan to try making a vegan mayonaise out of the aquafaba as well, saving $$$ on the price of store bought mayonaise.
PLEASE, PLEASE keep this recipe available especially for those who may never needed to freeze, prep or otherwise preserve food! I am an old timer but found this recipe just exactly what I needed. Thanks so much.
I always go back to this to review when cooking chickpeas/garbanzo beans for hummus or freezing for a lot of different dishes. It’s just the perfect way to do them. When you make hummus with your cooked chickpeas it tastes so much better than using canned. I prefer the quick use of beans by can…but in the case of hummus it seems to make a huge difference to people’s taste buds! I also appreciate that the link is still online for us!
So glad it’s been helpful Jane!
Hi.. if I want to use frozen chickpeas in a salad, and forgot to put them in the fridge to thaw, and don’t have a microwave…. could I just soak them in warm/hot tap water for a few minutes? Would a few minutes in a toaster oven be better? Other suggestions?
Hot tap water will thaw them eventually, but you may need to change water a couple of times to thaw them completely. They’ll thaw faster in a small saucepan over heat. Toaster oven will dry them out a bit, best to use water.
I’ve always loved hummus but wasn’t a fan of chickpeas in general and didn’t know why. Then I made a dish called fatteh which required cooking canned chickpeas for 20 min.and found my answer. I prefer my chickpeas softer.
Then I made this recipe! I may occasionally used canned chickpeas when I’m in a hurry, but I’ll be making these chickpeas on a regular basis and freezing them in 1 1/2 c. quantities. So happy I found this recipe – thank you!
Hello, thank you for these instructions!
I want to add the chickpeas to a slow cooker recipe, should I soak the beans then add them directly to the slow cooker in place of cooking them first?
It depends on the slow cooker recipe and how long it cooks, what temp, etc. You want to make sure that the beans get cooked through, which they might not with some shorter-cook slow cooker recipes.
I’m crazy for garbanzo beans/chickpeas, but did you know they have another name? My kids were always wary of what strange stuff emerged from the kitchen, so I tried to find fun ways to introduce new foods; hence our family’s moniker for chickpeas: Butt Beans. I mean, have you ever really looked at one? Thanks for the step-by-step instructions, tips, and storage methods!
Followed the recipe, just at a smaller proportion. The chickpeas went dry in the freezer. All I could do with them at that point was roast them.
Every other bean, I can freeze successfully, just not chick peas. 🙁
Sorry to hear that Mel! I’ve never had that issue with chickpeas.
Thanks for the great web site! I’m sad to read that there are “recent events” that have limited your time. Unless of course the event is a happy one, like the arrival of a child.
In any case, all the best and thank you for your work!
Cute recipe. Three enough, but five for recipes from people who took the time to explain in details the process.
Thanks for sharing.
I am so glad I came across this site. I have a new found love of chickpeas. I love them in the air fryer. I just purchased a big bulk of them and needed a great recipe on what and how to freeze them. I am in the hunt for a good hummus recipe.
Love your instructions and tips. Shalom
This is my go-to website for starting the chick pea cooking! I have it bookmarked and it’s so easy to prepare chick peas for any recipe. It’s true that “making” your own chick peas rather than using canned ones really improves the flavor for hummus or anything with chick peas in it! Thank you for taking the time to post this how-to with photos and details and also the video. I make enough to use the day of and freeze a few cups for later. For stir-fry with veggies they are delicious too!
Hi,
I soaked the dried beans on Sunday for 10 hours on my counter, changed the water 3 times. Drained them and put them in the fridge. It is now Wednesday, I meant to use them on Monday, would they still be good?
Hi Tanya, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. Yes, they would still be good.
Hello!
I am attempting to make a beer-infused hummus for a friend who is a huge fan of both ? all the recipes I found online turned out to not taste like beer almost at all, so I thought about soaking dried chickpeas in beer, then/or perhaps cooking them in beer, to really bring out the flavour in the hummus. What do you think? Do you think there’s any chance it would work or should I not waste my money and time on trying?
Thank you, hope to hear back!
Hi Margaret, that’s a great question– I’m really not sure. You might want to pop over to my friend’s blog, The Beeroness. She is an expert on all things beer-related and might be able to help.
How about baking the already well-soaked and rinsed beans covered with water in a covered glass dish in the oven for two hours at 250 degrees? That seemed to work well for some other beans. Have not yet tried garbanzos.
I haven’t tried it that way but it might work – just not sure on the timing. You would need to cover them with enough water that they won’t dry out during the slow cook.
Hi, I left my chickpeas soaking for about 3 days….I forgot about them. There was a lot of foam on top and they smelt, would you say they ok to use?
I would toss them… they need a fresh change of water every 12 hours or so to stay fresh.
Hi Torey,
Thanks for all the chick pea info!
I remembered to soak my chickpeas, but neglected the boiling phase. I’ve continued to simmer the dish for a couple of hours and the peas remain quite crunchy. The dish is edible, but not nearly as good as anticipated.
Any suggestions re: how to quickly soften them, or should I put the big pot back on the stove and continue the active simmer?
Thanks!!
Susan
Great question. If the rest of the dish won’t suffer from a prolonged simmer, you can continue to simmer them in the completed dish. Unfortunately I don’t know of any way to speed up the process – and boiling them in water is the most efficient way to soften. However, if you keep them on a low simmer for an extended period of time they should eventually soften. Good luck!