Instructions on how to cook chickpeas in the slow cooker – my new favorite way of cooking any legume. 
When I have a stash of cooked beans in the refrigerator, I can make a lot of dinners with little advanced planning. And that makes for a more stress-free week for me. I wrote an earlier post about How to Cook Dried Chickpeas and Other Legumes, which was focused on stovetop cooking methods. That post included tips for getting the best texture, and what to do when your beans won't soften.
But these days, I admit I cook my chickpeas in the slow cooker or in an electric pressure cooker (such as the Instant Pot) more often when I cook up a fresh batch of beans. If you're looking for tips for cooking up your next batch of beans in an electric pressure cooker, read this post first!
If you have a slow cooker, there are a few advantages of using it over stovetop methods.
Advantages to Cooking Dried Chickpeas in the Slow Cooker:
- Cooking dried chickpeas in the slow cooker is much more hands off than cooking them on the stovetop. This frees you up to do some errands while they cook :-).
- Thanks to a slower heating process with a slow cooker, foaming is largely if not completely eliminated. I discussed in the above linked post the fact that excess foaming often affects the texture of the beans.
- There's no fiddling around with the burner temperature with a slow cooker. It's truly plug and go. I don't know about you, but I sometimes try most of the stove dial before getting it just right. Sometimes the water boils over, providing me an unwanted cleaning opportunity. Then I turn the dial down and the pot doesn't even simmer.
Why Do Some Dried Beans Never Soften When Cooked?
One of the common complaints I hear from readers cooking dried beans, is that their beans don't soften, even after prolonged cooking. There are a number of things that can cause this:
- The beans were improperly stored, or are too old. For example, beans stored for longer than 12 months, including the time stored before you purchased them, are particularly at risk.
- Dried beans sometimes harden more firmly if grown in an unusually hot, humid growing season.
- Acids harden the skins of dried beans, therefore it's best to wait until they completely soften before adding tomatoes, citrus, vinegar, or other acidic ingredients.
- Beans may not soften when cooked in hard (or mineral-rich) water. If your tap water falls in that category, I recommend using store-bought vegetable broth as your cooking liquid instead of water.
Tips for Cooking Dried Beans That Won't Soften:
- Pre-soak the beans overnight. This should be done in conjunction with the following recommendations.
- Use vegetable broth if your tap water is categorized as hard water.
- Add 3 tablespoons salt per 1 gallon water, but don't do this in addition to baking soda (see the next note).
- Add 1/4 tsp – 1/2 tsp baking soda per 1 gallon water, although there are some risks: 1) if the beans were normal, you will end up with a mushy bean; 2) the flavor of the beans may taste slightly chemical to some people; 3) the cook time dramatically shortens, so check on them at regular intervals; and 4) eliminate the salt if you add baking soda, as the combination guarantees a mushy bean that easily falls apart.
- Don't add anything acidic to the beans during the cooking process.
- Use a pressure cooker, like the Instant Pot, and add 10 minutes to the recommended cook time.
#1 Best Tip for Beans That Split Open During Cooking
Another common complaint I hear is although the beans soften, they split and slip from their skins. Pre-soaking is one of the most important steps when cooking dried chickpeas. And using a brining liquid for this step is by far best of all. There’s no need to worry about an overly salty flavor, as the beans don’t absorb much saltiness. And the salt does not translate into a tougher cooked bean. Instead, the brining liquid promotes a consistent cooked bean texture far surpassing either pre-soaking without salt or skipping the pre-soak step. It also helps to prevent some beans from splitting during cooking. Additionally, pre-soaking typically makes the beans easier to digest and promotes a faster cook time, so it’s worth taking a little extra planning for this step. Here’s what always works for me: Cover the beans with 2 inches of water (about 1 quart), add 1 tablespoon salt and either (1) cover and soak over night, or (2) cover and simmer for 2 minutes, remove from the heat, cool for 4 hours and rinse well.
More General Tips for Cooking Dried Chickpeas in a Slow Cooker:
- Cook time for cooking dried chickpeas in a slow cooker is dependent both on the type, size, and age of bean, and the slow-cooker equipment you're using. I cut a couple of beans in half to check for doneness before draining them.
- If you want to shorten the cook time, cover the beans with a couple of inches of water in a heavy pot for an overnight pre-soak. If you forget to do a pre-soak, but still want to shorten the cook time, simmer the beans for 10 minutes, drain, and add to the slow cooker with fresh water or broth.
- When using a slow cooker, I recommend pre-heating the broth in the microwave oven or on the stove. This getting the cooking process started a little more quickly.
- I used to be in the no pre-salting camp, but changed my opinion after many, many batches of beans. I now recommend adding 1 teaspoon kosher salt for every 1 cup dried beans when beginning the cooking process.
Important Note:
A toxin known as kidney bean lectin, is found in many beans – and is particularly high in kidney beans. In fact, ingesting just a few improperly cooked kidney beans can make you very sick. Unfortunately, slow cookers don't heat the beans to a high enough temperature to rid them of the toxin. In fact, it can make it even worse. Other beans, including white kidney beans, broad beans and lima beans, contain the same toxin in smaller but still dangerous amounts. This is easily solved by boiling them for 10 minutes, draining, and rinsing before adding them to the slow cooker. Be sure to use fresh broth or water to cook them. This risk does not apply to chickpeas in the slow cooker.
Myles says
I am so looking forward to a month of slow-cooked pork and beans, provided of course that Susan will allow pork to sneak into her slow cooker. Oh, well, good for the heart, I guess, and the more you eat….
C.Max
Matthias says
Hi,
you write that garbanzo beans do not contain the dangerous toxin called phytohaemagglutinin. Have you found any background info on that? I can only find that everybody mentions kidney beans whenever they bring this topic up, but nobody explicitly mentions that lentils and garbanzo beans are safe for slow cooking.
Best,
Matthias
laurasmess says
I’ve always been a bit put off by cooking times for dried legumes.. I have to admit that I’ve bought canned chickpeas for convenience on many occasions! I do always feel that it’s worth cooking legumes from scratch though. They’re so much tastier 🙂 This slow cooking method sounds fantastic! And when preparing chickpeas ahead… slow cooking them whilst doing other things… there’s not a whole lot of frustration whilst waiting for them to cook! Yay. Love this recipe Susan. Yum! x
cheri says
What a funny story, don’t get me wrong, I feel for you but your story has so many humorous parts to it. Will have to start cooking beans in a crock pot, sure makes since. When all is said and done you probably don’t want to calculate the cost of the bags of ice, too painful.
Kathy says
Yup, that was a Very humorous story! I laughed pretty hard! Thank You for that very good laugh, which i don’t have enough of… From one Vegetarian to another Wimpy Vegetarian! And the ideas about Beans!
Lynda - TasteFood says
Good luck with the remodel. Can’t wait to see the results!
Hannah says
I’m loving my slow cooker and making chick peas in it is brilliant. Good luck with your remodel! Can’t wait to hear about it. 🙂
apuginthekitchen says
Good luck with the re model, hope to see some before and after posts.
I have to admit I usually buy my beans canned, I don’t have a slow cooker but have been meaning to buy one for the longest, I love your recipe, it’s simple and healthful and one thing I love about chickpeas is how they are not just versatile but they hold their shape and texture when cooked, Love using them in salads as well as hummus!
lapadia says
Slow cooking dry beans = brilliant, I agree! Good luck with your Kitchen make over, love reading your story 🙂
carol says
Don’t know if good or bad, but middle eastern families add bi-cardonate soda to the water when soaking overnight, rinse well the next day and the boiling process is shortened dramatically. worth trying
matt says
you may have worked it out already, but the trick to dealing with the foam that comes off beans is too add half or a whole onion chopped, something in the onion stops the foam from boiling over and messing up the oven top.
p.s i always soak my beans
share it round
cheers
matt
Matthew says
Don’t cook kidney beans, white beans, or broad beans this way or you will poison yourself! They have a toxin that needs to be deactivated by at least 10 minutes of vigorous boiling. People have gotten seriously ill from eating slow cooked kidney beans. http://www.foodreference.com/html/artredkidneybeanpoisoning.html
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
You’re right, Matthew! I’ll add that warning. I’ve cooked navy beans like this, and black beans and pintos. But kidney beans harbor the highest levels of the toxin phytohaemagglutinin, also called kidney bean lectin. A slow cooker just can’t get them hot enough, and in fact can make it worse. I’ll add that note – thanks so much for drawing it to my attention!
Barbara Swinney says
I just cooked a pot of white beans in the crock pot on high. We have eaten quite a few of them. Now I read that they may have the toxin in them. We always heat them in the microwave before eating them. Will re-boiling the crock pot beans on the stove top get rid of the toxin? What are the symptoms of having the toxin in your system? How will you know if it is present.
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
My understanding is that the white beans that can cause a problem are white kidney beans. If they aren’t kidney beans, you should be fine. According to the FDA, onset of symptoms can take a few hours. Nausea and vomiting are the first symptoms, and can be followed by diarrhea a few hours later. If you did cook white kidney beans, they harbor 1/3 the amount of toxin that is harbored by red kidney beans. All symptoms tend to resolve themselves within a few hours of onset. Everything I’ve read indicates that other white beans should not cause any distress. I hope this helps!
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
I should add that re-boiling seems to me to be a good thing to do, although I haven’t actually found that in my research. But that’s exactly what I would do.
Dee says
In reference to the red kidney bean toxin I can state from experience that boiling/cooking the beans in chili after they were cooked in a crock pot did not cause any illness or digestive problems . I did this unintentionally a few times till I found out about the toxin. I make navy and black eye beans in a crock once a week for use in morning smoothies. I rinse the cooked beans well then freeze. We have eaten them cooked that way for over two years for 90% of the mornings with no problem.
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
Great information, Dee! Thanks so much for sharing. I cook navy beans and cannelini in the slow cooker all the time with a pre boil for toxins, but haven’t done that with kidney beans. Thanks for your comment!
Rose Lindeman says
Hii,
Thanks for giving such amazing cooking tips. I also love to eat kidney beans.Kidney beans are rich in dietary fiber which helps reduce cholesterol and sugar. Its intake is particularly considered good for the diabetics and for individuals suffering from hypoglycemia. As I am diabetic person so its beneficial for me a lot .
Regards,
Rose Lindeman
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
You’re so welcome! I hope the tips work for you. I make a fresh batch of beans this way almost every week 🙂 I didn’t know this was good for diabetics and those with hypoglycemia – thanks for adding that knowledge here!
Jocelyn Novakowski says
wow! Really pleased so far! I had no idea how to cook dried chickpeas, this step by Step guide is perfect. I did mine on the stovetop and added the salt, onion and garlic as you suggested. Did not have any dried chipotles but added one dried small red pepper and as I had a small jar of pickled jalepones with only a couple of jalepones left in it, I threw in the whole jar, juice and all. My husband suspected they would be vinegary tasting, but they aren’t. They are currently cooling in the cooking liquid and we are both scooping some out to eat already. The added vegetables to the cooking liquid and salt really did add a lot of flavour. The jalapeño flavour comes just after swallowing the pea, surprisingly. Can’t wait to see how they taste once I roast them!
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
What a fantastic idea to add the pickled jalapeños, juice and all! I’m going to try that on my next batch! You’ve made me so curious about it. Thanks so much for letting me know how it worked for you, and thanks for the genius idea!
Nora V says
Can I ask why is every single recipe on internet has such a long story before you get to the actual recipe? With all do respect if I want to read how you remodeled kitchen I wouldn’t be looking for a recipe to cook something. I find it quite annoying that theactual recipe is all the way on the bottom.
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
I appreciate where you’re coming from – I sometimes feel the same way. But many, and probably most, of us who host blogs and pay for all the associated costs out of our pockets are doing this to not only share recipes, but to also have a platform for personal self-expression. It’s not a magazine, although many magazines also includes stories, and not intended to be anything other than a bloggers way of sharing a piece of their life. If we were required to only share a recipe, I think most of us wouldn’t do it at all. I know I wouldn’t. My advice, if this is truly annoying, is to either find a way to scroll quickly to the bottom, or find other sources for recipes that you enjoy.
Jeanette says
I just found your site, and so glad I did. I just slow cooked some old kidney beans and was wondering why they didn’t get soft! Thanks for the tips. I just made my first crockpot garbanzo beans and it only took 5 hours to cook with the baking soda trick. Thanks!
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
Welcome to my site! I’m so glad you had success this time! Garbanzo beans are perfect this way. Just be aware that when cooking kidney beans, they should be boiled first for 10 minutes before cooking them in the slow cooker. They contain a toxin called Phytohaemagglutinin that can cause digestive distress, and boiling them first releases this toxin. It’s possible that your slow cooker runs hot, but I would still recommend boiling that type of bean first.
Akamatra says
Hello there! I just found your blog and I love it! I also love my two slow cookers as they provide me with yummy meals with no effort! I am going vegetarian for Lent so I was hoping to find a way to cook chick peas in the slow cooker. The one time I tried I had soaked them in water overnight and then cooked them for 8 hours on low. Guess what didn’t happen! They didn’t cook, lol. They weren’t old but they are organically grown I don’t know if that makes a difference. I am not giving up, I will try to cook them on high this time!
Matt says
Great chickpea recipe!
I’m now gonna try to make it before my GF gets home (I’m in the dog house for forgetting our anniversary!!!) This is her favorite so hopefully it will do the trick.
Keep up the great work!
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
I hope it worked!! And thanks!
Jean MarianiSear says
I use 2 cups of dried cece beans, soak overnight with some baking soda, drain and rinse them in the morning. Then I refill the clean beans with more water and a little more baking soda and add the basin to the crockpot. At night I dip out as many beans as will fit my food processor about 3/4 full. I add tahini, a couple heads of roasted garlic, zest and juice of an organic lemon and a lime, about 1/3 cup pot linker, sea salt, cumin, paprika, turmeric, white pepper and fresh ground black pepper. Whiz until smooth, adding olive oil till you reach a smooth paste. Add more pot likker if needed.
Take most of the rest of the beans, still cooking on low, and put into a blender or reuse the food processor. Add pot likker and spin until you have a very smooth puree. Pour back into the big pot and stir the creamy soup you just made. Add a handful of orzo or ditalini to the pot and let the starch thicken the soup, then chop a fat bunch of kale leaves and wilt in. Season like the hummus or play with something else, please yourself. Beans and greens soup and hummus from one pot!
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
Wow!! that sounds amazing! I’d love to try it on my next batch! Thanks for sharing this 🙂
Fiona Crawford says
what is Pot Likker?
Alois Cruickshank says
Yesterday I cooked Chickpeas. That is I tried to. I let them soak overnight and used the slow cooker as described. above in “How to Cook Chickpeas in the Slowcooker ” Against my better judgement; I used salt at the beginning of the cooking process. Would that I had not done so! More than 12 hours later, I ended the experiment with chickpeas that are extremely al dente. I’ll consume them one way or another, but for guests, they’d never do The chickpeas were not too old, just bought and with a use before date of March 2020. Why on earth would you suggest using salt at the beginning? And why was I fool enough to think it would work?
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
I’m so sorry you had this experience. I can understand how frustrating it is to have something turn out unsatisfactorily after such an investment of time. I’ve used salt at the beginning for years and have never once had a problem with beans undercooked – especially given how long you cooked them. These days I even do a brining solution for the pre-soak. I rinse them and then salt again for cooking. In fact I made a batch yesterday. There are a number of studies reporting that salting before cooking not only doesn’t deter the cooking process, but actually promotes a more even cooking, improves flavor, and reduces bean splitting. Since this is July 2020, and your package says to use by March 2020, it’s possible that the age of the beans contributed to the problem. Also, your water might be more mineral heavy, which also makes it difficult for dried beans to soften. In that case, I recommend bottled water or store-bought vegetable broth. You can also try adding a tiny amount of baking soda to the water. Below are some articles on salting vs unsalting at the beginning of cooking.
https://beaninstitute.com/cooking-with-dry-beans-food-science-insights-and-strategies-from-dr-guy-crosby/
https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/09/salt-beans-cooking-soaking-water-good-or-bad.html#:~:text=Long%20story%20short%3A%20For%20the,on%20for%20the%20testing%20details.
https://www.thekitchn.com/think-salt-is-the-enemy-of-perfect-beans-think-again-196470
https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/soaking-salting-dried-bean-myths-article
https://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/when-to-salt-your-beans/
lauren says
not sure who to believe… the Indian Journal of Agricultural Biochemistry found the lectin content of chickpeas to be in the range of 1160 to 1375 hau/g grain… here is the Source: https://www.healwithfood.org/chart/lectin-content-beans-high-vs-low.php#ixzz6UhGoJfZz
i just made a pot of chickpeas in my slow cooker on high for 4 hours until soft…. should i know throw them out? or boil them on the stove? so confused. i did not pre-boil. i did not soak over night. i just rinsed and put in slow cooker and added hot water from my kettle and turned the slow cooker to high.
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
It’s hard to wade through all the information out there these days, and make sense of it. Here’s a link to an article on the Mayo Clinic site on lectins:
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-what-are-dietary-lectins-and-should-you-avoid-eating-them/
Bottom line, I always cook kidney beans (red or white) on the stove to cook them, or in the pressure cooker where I know they’re coming to a boil. I never cook them in my slow cooker. All other legumes, I cook in the slow cooker. Your pot of chickpeas you cooked in the slow cooker on high should be fine to eat right now.