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.
Tracy says
Soaked dried beans for 24 hours, rinsed and added fresh water, 1 tsp salt and a few sprigs of fresh thyme, get it boiling then turn heat down to simmer for about an hour and a half (remember to stir it up occasionally) or until beans are tender. A little salt and small amount of fresh bundled herbs during the boiling process can add a nice flavor to your humus.
Bob says
Never buying cans again
tenda membrane says
Hi there every one, here every person is sharing these kinds of familiarity, so it’s good to read
this website, and I used to go to see this webpage every day.
Alan says
Nice info.
Please do another one on roasting chickpeas. Crunchy !
Cheers from Wales.
janeBerlin says
Tori, This chickpea cooking instruction was great. My chickpeas came out perfect after about an hour and 10 minutes. Now I am looking for a chickpea cracker recipe. I had those at ‘Poppy’ restaurant in Seattle last year and they were fantastic. Thanks! – JaneB
Aurelia says
I feel that is among the so much vital information for
me. And i am glad reading your article. However should commentary on some general
things, The website taste is great, the articles is really nice : D.
Excellent activity, cheers
Sheryl says
If you add baking soda to the beans when soaking overnight the cooking time will be much reduced. This tip was in a Lebanese Recipe I have for hummus.
Mary Ann Barbot says
I have never liked canned chickpeas, so rarely ate them.I have been trying to make some healthy changes in my diet so decided to cook them from scratch using your method. I couldn’t believe the difference in taste. They are so yummy! In fact, since I finished cooking them this morning I went ahead and had a bowl with almond milk and honey for breakfast instead of my routine oatmeal. Delicious! I was glad to read they can be easily frozen so I will definitely be making in larger batches so I can make them a regular staple to my diet.
reza says
Thanks to the blogger or (Tori right?) person who wrote this post. I am just not as familiar as I am with easier legumes/beans like lentils. I am for one afraid it will take 3 or more hours to get them soft enough to be desirable. Secondly I hate the issue of foaming over and spilling liquid on the stove when cooking chickpeas.
This should be an excellent addition to lamb shank stew that I’m planning on making! Other ingredients: tomatoes, garlic, basil, oregano, black pepper, and Omani lemon.
Yoana says
Hello,
that’s really helpful information, thank you! will definitely help me learn to make DIY hummus!
Quick comment/question though.
I’d personally avoid using plastic bags/products for storing/freezing food as plastic products leak potentially dangerous toxins.
Is there a way to preserve food/chickpeas in this case in glass cans?
I might be opening a huge topic with this, worth a whole blog post.
Either way, thanks and I look forward to your reply!
Yoana
Lori Hagen says
Drain your chickpeas after cooking and arrange in a single layer on a cookie sheet and place in your freezer. Once frozen, put in the container of your choice. I do this with berries as well.
reza says
a verY Intelligent warNing Yoana- thank you for informing whoever has nOT thought about that! I can only hope the toxins are a minimum, because I have not had the energy to chop and arrange purchased bread into freezer-safe bags; I just put the bag I purchased it in into the freezer ^:(
lara says
I store in recycled glass jars (jam jars are perfect serving sizes so when you defrost, you’re only defrosting a small portion.)
Camilo Martin says
As far as I know, food-grade plastics do not release toxins unless heated (and usually that is above the boiling point of water). In particular, fats will help this process (so hot fatty stuff and plastic is an absolute no-no).
Storing/freezing stuff in food-grade plastics (note plastic is a category of materials) shouldn’t be harmful. That said, there’s nothing preventing you from using glass to store everything you would in plastic.
Oh, one consideration is that glass isn’t flexible – so don’t fill a glass jar with liquid and freeze it. As long as there’s air, that air can compress itself to accomodate, so then it would be safe.
Star says
Hi Yoana,
Did you ever figure out an alternative to storing in plastic? I am also trying to find good alternatives.
Thanks,
Star
Michelle L McVey says
You can freeze anything in glass canning jars. You just have to leave the some space at the top of the jar, like an inch to allow for expansion and wait to put the lid on until after its frozen.
Kim says
Hi Tori: Wonderful blog. Tried everything as instructed. Loved, loved, loved the result. Only thing I did not do was use baking soda. Carrying it a step further for making hummus, I have a suggestion. Bake a full bulb of garlic until it becomes a little caramelized on the top edges. Use one full bulb for about two cups cooked chic peas; add lemon, (real) virgin olive oil and parsley/cilantro to taste. If you cook the garlic this way it’s a lot easier for those with sensitive tummies. To bake bulb: cut top off garlic at the point where the individual cloves start to thicken (usually about top 1/8th). Place in tin foil. Pour olive oil over top to moisten (should pool a little at the bottom of bulb); I sprinkle with pepper now but you can leave this if you prefer not to have a pepper taste. Pull the tin foil together at the top of the bulb making sure the tin foil seals. Cook in moderate oven/toaster oven. Throw everything into blender – voila! Gotta go and get some now. Keep up the good work.
Pascale says
Hi
if you use ” ”, please do correct for “au naturel”.
Thanks for your recipes Tori!
P.
Tori Avey says
Thank you for the heads up!
Jteague says
Tori’s use of quotation marks is actually correct. I believe this rule changed by the 1990s.
Linda says
Thank you Tori for all of the information. The comments were most helpful as well. I too had a problem with hard chickpeas after soaking and cooking for hours . I had purchased them at a reputable Health Food Store in my hometown of Antigonish so thought I must have done something wrong. I realize now they must have been old and had no life left in them. It was a huge stockpot full so a waste of time and effort. I too was advised that salt would STOP the softening process so always soak without. I had never heard of using turmeric or baking soda in the water so I have just tried BOTH in my cooking pot. I am looking forward to the results.
T
Nancy Drew says
I live on a farm and our well water is very hard. I can NOT cook beans to a soft stage with it. If you are still having problems with your beans not cooking to a soft stage try using filtered water.
Deby says
this was a marvelous tutorial! A friend bought me 2 bags of dried chickpeas because she knows how I adore hummus. I have been leery of soaking the entire bag because I didn’t want to make a gallon of hummus (slight exaggeration there). Now that I know how to effectively freeze the remainder I’m doing my happy dance and getting ready to make hummus tomorrow! Thank you!
Kelsi says
Your photos are disproportionately large for the width of the column. Resize immediately.
Tori Avey says
Kelsi, I’m not sure what you’re talking about. Can you please tell me what browser you are using? Are you on mobile or desktop? If on mobile, what device/OS? On my end the photos look just fine.
Susan says
I think this is a joke. Nobody could be that rude and Imperious.
Kriss says
Why do you boil them twice, first for 5 min. and then for 60-90 min.?
Kourtnie says
OMG, SAVE the cooking juice!!!! It is the BEST egg substitute for baking and you can make all sorts of goodies with it.
Mike Roundy says
Using a electric pressure cooker will take about an hour and a half. I like to add a can of lite coconut milk, curry and cover the beans with an inch of water. Set the timer to 60 minutes and when it is done you have a mild curry. It takes about half an hour for the cooker to come pressure and the the timer starts. No need to soak at all.
Tina E says
I am so happy to find your website
I am looking forward to prepare
A cup of dried chickpeas
Your site is just what I needed
I love cooking from scratch
And probably asking you
About recipes on hummus
Thank you so much
Tina
Jamie says
That’s like a poem 🙂
Natalia says
I stumbled upon this page because I made hummus but only after trying my hummus and realizing the taste was totally off did I learn that on top of soaking the beans overnight you have to *boil* them to actually cook them haha – I was eating raw garbanzos basically. Thanks so much for detailed post!! RIP my first batch of hummus.
Tori Avey says
LOL! Wow that must have been some interesting hummus. Glad this cleared things up for you! 🙂