How to Cook Chickpeas?
You have probably heard of chickpeas, or at least seen them in your kitchen or food. Chickpeas are a favorite staple in my kitchen. Today you will learn how to cook chickpeas!
What are chickpeas?
Chickpeas are a kind of legumes having a round shape, commonly with a beige color. They are also commonly known as garbanzo beans. You can also find other varieties like green, red, or black chickpeas.
Chickpeas contain numerous nutrients that have a beneficial impact on your health. Like other legumes, e.g., lentils, they contain high amounts of protein and fiber. Chickpeas also contain several minerals and vitamins.
Chickpeas are available at nearly every grocery store I’ve been in. You can get dry or canned chickpeas for a very reasonable price. Also, you can buy chickpeas in bulk online here.
Let’s move towards the ways to cook chickpeas.
How to cook chickpeas?
It’s easy to cook chickpeas by yourself and maintain the texture that you prefer. Here, I am sharing some of my favorite methods to cook chickpeas. This way, you can experiment and find which method you love the most.
We will discuss cooking chickpeas in a crockpot or slow cooker, pressure cooker (Instant Pot), and stove.
All the methods work perfectly fine. However, you may find one of them is best for you, or you may switch methods depending on your day.
Chickpeas also need to be soaked, depending on your cooking method. You can soak chickpeas in two ways:
Long soaking beans:
This method takes around ten hours or overnight along with two hours for cooking. You must cook long soaked chickpeas on the stovetop.
Quick soaking beans:
It needs less time, around three hours, and you need to cook the beans on the stove.
Keep reading to get more insight into it!
Will the quantity of chickpeas change after cooking? Yes! One cup of dried chickpeas will be roughly three cups of cooked chickpeas.
Cook chickpeas on the stove
You are required to soak the dried beans first before cooking on a stovetop.
Cleaning chickpeas:
It is essential to first look through the chickpeas before soaking because they sometimes contain several unwanted things such as rock and dust.
After that, you need to wash them thoroughly to remove the extra dust, and then soak them.
We have previously discussed the two soaking methods. You can employ any of them depending upon how much time do you have. For instance, if you need the beans tomorrow, then you can apply the long soak method. You can also pick the quick soak method if you are in a hurry.
Long Soak Method: Take a large bowl and add beans into it. Cover the bowl with lots of water, because the beans’ size increase when they rehydrate. You need to soak them for eight hours or overnight.
Quick Soak Method: The initial steps are similar. Add the clean chickpeas to a pot and cover them with lots of water. Then, boil them for five minutes. After boiling, take the pot off of the heat and allow the beans to soak in the water for one hour.
After your chickpeas have been soaked, drain, and rinse them properly.
Cooking soaked beans on the stove
Add chickpeas to a big pot with plenty of water and boil them. Simmer them on low heat for around one and a half to two hours till they become tender. You can keep the lid on or off the top. However, it’s good to put on the lid by leaving some space for air to escape.
Chickpeas cooked without a lid will be a bit hard and are best for chili or salad, while the ones with the lid on and left with some space will be softer, creamier, and break easily. These chickpeas are good for stews, or when you need the beans to be soft and creamy for dishes like hummus.
You can cook the chickpeas by themselves, or add some extras for flavor. Add a few garlic cloves or bay leaf. It’s also a good idea to add an onion, celery, or some carrot. You can also put in some salt, but don’t add it at the start as it can make beans slightly firm. It’s good to add salt when thirty minutes are left in cooking.
Cooking chickpeas in a slow cooker
You can use a slow cooker for cooking chickpeas rather than cooking on the stove. For this, you don’t need to soak the beans. Instead, add all the ingredients to the slow cooker and move away. Easy peasy!
You need to add seven cups of water for one pound of dried chickpeas to a slow cooker. The cooking times depend on the amount of heat. You can cook the beans for three to four hours on high heat, or six to eight hours on low heat.
Cooking chickpeas in an Instant Pot
Here you have a choice of cooking soaked or unsoaked chickpeas.
Cooking soaked chickpeas in a pressure cooker: Add soaked beans along with a significant amount of water to the pressure cooker. Cover it tightly and cook for twelve minutes on high pressure. Then, release naturally for 10 minutes. Don’t open the lid until you are sure that all the steam is released through the valves.
Cooking unsoaked chickpeas in a pressure cooker: Take a pressure cooker and add one pound of dried chickpeas with six cups of water. Close the lid tightly and cook them for 50 minutes, then release for ten minutes naturally.
Again, open the cooker when all the steam is released through the valves. Don’t open the pressure cooker when it contains pressure. It’s best to have a look at the user manual of your pressure cooker.
How to store cooked chickpeas?
• Take an airtight container to refrigerate them with no liquid and keep them for 3 to 4 days.
• You can also freeze them. First, dry the beans and cover them with foil or parchment paper in a single layer. After freezing for 30 minutes, you can store them in a freezer for around three months.
Vegan Chickpea Recipes
You have learned about cooking chickpeas and can quickly cook them. You can use the cooked beans to make salads, soups, hummus, or even roast them with red pepper or agave. Here are my favorite vegan chickpea recipes:
Butternut Squash Chickpea Curry
Conclusion on how to cook chickpeas:
Chickpeas are used in numerous recipes around the world. They have several benefits for your health, so it’s good to contribute them to your diet.
You can cook them quickly at your home and employ them in various recipes. But you can also store them for up to three months. But freshly cooked chickpeas always offer a great taste.
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