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4.23 from 9 votes

How to Cook Dried Chickpeas

This is close to a fool-proof method for cooking dried chickpeas on the stovetop or in the oven, along with troubleshooting tips if they won't cook or soften.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Soak Time4 hours
Total Time1 hour 40 minutes
Course: Appetizer or Main
Cuisine: American, Indian, Middle Eastern
Keyword: how to cook dried chickpeas
Servings: 3 cups
Calories: 100kcal
Author: Susan Pridmore

Equipment

  • Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dried chickpeas or garbonzo beans (they're the same thing)
  • 3 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
  • ½ yellow onion, peeled
  • 2 teaspoons garlic paste, or 2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
  • 1 dried chipotle pepper

Instructions

Inspect the Beans

  • Spread one cup dried chickpeas on a baking sheet and remove any stones, damaged beans, or other grit. Place the beans in a colander and rinse.

Pre-Soak the Beans: There are a couple ways to do this, and they both work well.

  • Pile the dried beans into a Le Creuset or other heavy-bottomed pot, cover them with 2 inches of water (roughly 1 quart), add 1 tablespoon kosher salt and soak overnight, OR
  • The day you plan to cook them, pour the beans into a heavy-bottomed pot, cover with 2 inches of water, add 1 tablespoon kosher salt, cover and bring to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes, and turn off the heat. Allow to sit for 4 hours before cooking, OR 

Prepare the Cooking Broth

  • Drain the water from the pre-soaked beans. Rinse the beans, return them to the pot, and cover them with at least three inches of fresh water. Add the remaining ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and the remaining ingredients. Use the liquid remaining at the end of cooking for a base for making vegetable broth.

Simmer the Beans

  • Bring the water to a boil, reduce to a slow simmer, and cook until the beans are tender. As mentioned above in the post, keep an eye out for foaming. This is more typically seen in the first 20 minutes than later. Skim the foam from the surface, and reduce the heat. If necessary, keep reducing the heat until foaming ceases. 
  • Cook time varies according to several factors: 1) the type of legume you cooking; 2) the age of the chickpeas or other legume, 2) the dryness of where you live, 3) your water, and 4) your altitude. A good rule-of-thumb is 1 ¼ - 1 ½ hours for pre-soaked chickpeas, with some legumes taking up to 2 ½ hours. Non-presoaked chickpeas can take 4 hours or longer to cook, with some legumes taking longer. 
  • Cut a bean in half to test for doneness. It should be soft while maintaining its shape.

Oven Methods of Cooking Dried Beans

  • Once the beans come to a rapid simmer, cover and place in a 350° F oven. This promotes a more even cooking. The cooking time should be approximately the same, but could be a bit longer

Cool Down

  • When the chickpeas are cooked, turn the stove off, keep the pot covered, and allow the chickpeas to completely cool in the leftover broth. This last soak adds flavor and promotes a creamy texture.

Storage of Cooked Chickpeas

  • Once cooled, whatever you don’t think you’ll use quickly – throw in a freezer-safe container and freeze. It’s great having a stash in the freezer, as they thaw quickly and can be used for a quick, healthy week-night dinner, or added to a soup. I don’t recommend keeping cooked chickpeas in the refrigerator for longer than 4 days.

Notes

The dried pepper in the listed ingredients doesn’t add any spiciness, just a little smokiness.
Alternate vegetables and herbs can be added to the cooking broth to infuse more robust flavors to the beans. If you use herbs that easily fall apart such as thyme or oregano, however, wrap them in cheesecloth before adding to the cooking broth. This makes for easy removal at the end of cooking.

Nutrition

Calories: 100kcal