Chickpeas are easy to cook,with two cooking methods, they're great even for a novice bean chef. We have put together a guide on how to cook beans in a couple of ways, and in addition you will find commonly asked questions and advice.
Yes, chick peas must be hydrated before you can make anything with them. Driedgarbanzo beans can be cooked using a no soak method in your Instant Pot or by pre-soaking them overnight and boiling them in a pot.
Yes, chickpeas require cooking prior to consumption. You will need to hydrate them using a no soak or soak cooking method even before your roast chickpeas. If using Gram Flour - the flour must be brought to 165 degrees before consuming to kill any food borne illnesses.
Grab your Instant Pot and get to work. Chickpeas can be cooked very quickly in an instant pot. Depending on whether you need them super soft to puree into a hummus or a little more firm for soups and salads the amount of time will vary. Dried Chickpeas or Gram Flour (milled chickpeas) must be brought to 165 degrees prior to consumption. See the cooking options below.
Instant pots are a game-changer in our world of chickpeas. Not only do they speed up cooking time because there is no need to soak the chickpeas, but because they are cooked in steam more nutrients stay with the bean rather than release into the water and run down the drain.
Using an Instant Pot the total cook time for garbanzo beans is down to just 50 minutes. 50 minutes makes a great hummus bean - it's nice, soft and easy to puree. However, if you are looking for a more firm bean for salads or soups you will want to shorten the cook time to around 44 minutes and make adjustments from there to cook to your preference.
The beans will double in size when steamed so be cautious how many you put in the pot - they can grow out of control quickly. A great way to save too many chickpeas is to put them into bags in your freezer. That way you can make a large batch of chickpeas for hummus recipes, chickpea salads, or even your favorite chickpea curries.
There are 8 ounces of cooked garbanzo beans in a 15 ounce can. So how do we take dry beans to hydrated beans? You start with 1/2 cup of dry beans, which will hydrate to one cup of chickpeas. One cup of chickpeas equals 4 ounces of hydrated beans. So if you are looking to equal a 15oz can of garbanzo beans you need to start with one cup of chickpeas.
- Measure one cup of dry garbanzo beans.
- Cover the chickpeas with enough water by an inch in your pot.
- Rinse the dried chickpeas, strain and add the desired amount to your Instant Pot - remember the beans will double in size so if you are looking for 2 cups, cook only one cup of dried beans. Add water to the Instant Pot, enough to coverthe chickpeas by an inch of water.
- We used the wire basket that came with the instant pot just to make it easy for straining both during the rinse and at the end of the cook time. It is fine to cook them directly in the bottom of the pot under water you will just have the extra step of straining them once they are done cooking .
- Set the manual pressure cook button to 45 minutes then do a quick release on the steam. The quick release lasts about 8 minutes. When the float valve drops you can open the Instant Pot. 45 minutes will make soft hummus ready chickpeas.
- If you are looking for a more al dente or firm bean you will set the Instant Pot to 38 minutes.
The pre-soak method is much easier to control the tenderness of the Chickpea. As they are cooking you are able to sample the beans so that desired tenderness is reached.
- Add desired amount of chick peas in a pot the night before you would like to cook them. Add enough water to cover chickpeas one inch over the beans. Leave them soaking until ready to cook.
- Cook chick pea beans for up to one hour. At the 45 minute mark test the beans to see if desiredfirmness or tenderness has been reached. You will want a soft chickpea for pureeing into hummus. Cook a more firm chickpea to add to salads and soups.
The most important rule in cooking chickpeas is to never add salt to your water. This is a finishing step and is to be done only after the garbanzo beans have reached desired tenderness and at that it is not necessary. Cooking beans in salt may result in a toughening of the outer shell and in some cases can impede the bean softening.
