How long to cook chickpeas: cooking times for hummus, soups and salads

1. Soaking chickpeas

An essential step for dried chickpeas: cover the beans with plenty of cold water, as they swell to 2-3 times their size. Soaking them overnight is the most convenient option.

• Water ratio: 1 part chickpeas to 2-3 parts cold water (about 2.5-3 cups of water per 1 cup of chickpeas)
• Time: 8-12 hours; in summer keep the bowl in the fridge so the chickpeas do not turn sour
• Tip: a pinch of bicarbonate of soda softens the water and speeds up the later cooking

2. Chickpeas on the hob

The classic method. Rinse the soaked chickpeas, cover with fresh cold water and simmer with the lid slightly ajar until tender.

• Time: 1-1.5 hours if soaked, 2-3 hours without soaking
• Water ratio: fresh water 3-5 cm above the beans (roughly 1 part chickpeas to 3 parts water)
• Tip: skim off the foam in the first few minutes of boiling and season with salt only at the end

3. Chickpeas in a pressure cooker

The quickest method: high pressure softens chickpeas many times faster. Start counting the time once full pressure is reached.

• Time: 20-25 minutes if soaked, 35-40 minutes without soaking (once full pressure is reached)
• Water ratio: 3-4 cm above the level of the chickpeas
• When to use: whenever you need to cook chickpeas as quickly as possible

4. Chickpeas in a slow cooker

Handy when you want to leave the chickpeas unattended. Cover the soaked chickpeas with water and cook on the stew setting, checking for tenderness towards the end.

• Time: Stew setting 2-2.5 hours or Beans setting 1.5-2 hours; 2.5-3 hours for unsoaked chickpeas
• Water ratio: 2-3 times the volume of the chickpeas
• Tip: soak the chickpeas first for 8-12 hours

5. Chickpeas with bicarbonate of soda

Bicarbonate of soda speeds up softening and helps remove the skins, which is especially important for smooth hummus. The key is not to overdo it.

• Ratio: 0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda per 1 litre of water
• When to use: speeds up cooking, softens hard water and makes peeling the skins easier
• Tip: too much bicarbonate of soda gives a soapy taste, so keep to the measure

6. Chickpeas for hummus

For hummus the chickpeas are cooked until very soft, so they mash easily into a paste. This usually takes 1.5-2 hours for soaked beans, often with a little bicarbonate of soda added.

• Time: 1.5-2 hours, until the beans crush between your fingers with no effort
• Ratio: 0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda per litre of water for a smooth texture
• Tip: peel the skins off the cooked chickpeas for a uniform paste

Recipe: Step-by-step recipe for homemade hummus.

7. Tinned chickpeas

Tinned chickpeas are already fully cooked, so there is no need to boil them. Simply drain the liquid, rinse the beans and warm them through if you like.

• When to use: ready straight away, and for hummus and salads you can use them without cooking
• Tip: always rinse off the brine before use
• Time: warm through for 3-5 minutes if the dish should be served warm

• Always salt chickpeas right at the end of cooking, salt added early makes the beans hard and slows down softening.
• Soak with plenty of water, as chickpeas swell to 2-3 times their size.
• Skim off the foam in the first few minutes of boiling, then the cooking liquid comes out cleaner and clearer.
• Do not pour away the chickpea cooking liquid (aquafaba), it replaces egg white in baking, mousses and vegan sauces.
• Check doneness with your fingers: a soft bean crushes easily with no hard centre.
• For salads cook the chickpeas a little less so they hold their shape, and for pureed soups and hummus cook them longer, until mushy.

• Salting at the start of cooking: the chickpeas stay hard and take a long time to soften.
• Skipping the soak when you are short of time: cooking drags on for 2-3 hours instead of an hour and a half.
• Adding too much bicarbonate of soda: a soapy aftertaste appears and the flavour of the chickpeas is lost.
• Cooking over high heat with the lid tightly closed: the chickpeas fall apart and the foam boils over.
• Adding too little water: the chickpeas swell and become exposed, and the top beans stay half-raw.

Cooked chickpeas crush easily between your fingers or with a spoon, and inside they are soft and uniform, with no hard centre. For salads leave the beans slightly firmer so they hold their shape. For pureed soup and hummus cook until the chickpeas mash into a soft pulp. If the beans still spring back and are hard inside, top up with boiling water and carry on cooking, checking every 15-20 minutes. Remember that cooked chickpeas swell noticeably and turn tender in flavour.

The most common reason is old chickpeas: the longer the beans have been stored, the tougher the skin and the longer the cooking. Hard water with a high salt content also slows softening, and here a pinch of bicarbonate of soda helps. Early salt and acidic ingredients (lemon, tomatoes) in the pot stop the chickpeas from softening, so they are added only right at the end. If the chickpeas simply will not come good, extend the cooking and top up with hot water, not cold, so as not to interrupt the process.

If you do not have 8-12 hours for the classic soak, the hot (express) method comes to the rescue. Rinse the dry chickpeas and cover them generously with freshly boiled water so it sits 3-5 cm above the beans, or bring the chickpeas to the boil in a pan and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Take them off the heat, cover with a lid and leave for 1 hour: in that time the chickpeas will take up almost as much moisture as they would overnight in cold water. Then drain, rinse the chickpeas and cook them like ordinary soaked ones, that is 1-1.5 hours until soft. In the summary table this adds one more row: hot soak 1 hour plus cooking 1-1.5 hours.

When it comes to water, the rule is the same for any soak: soaked chickpeas are tipped out, rinsed and cooked in fresh water that covers the beans by 3-5 cm (roughly 1 part chickpeas to 3 parts water), topping up with hot water as it boils away. A little salt (about 1 tsp per litre) can be added to the soaking water itself: it slightly softens the skins and does not hinder cooking, unlike salt added at the start of cooking, which makes chickpeas tough.

In summer, soak chickpeas in the fridge. In the warmth, pulses start to ferment and turn sour over 8-12 hours: the water goes cloudy, foam appears and there is a sour smell. The fridge prevents this.

Falafel is the one case where chickpeas are absolutely never cooked. For it, dry chickpeas are soaked in cold water for 12-24 hours (you can add a spoonful of bicarbonate of soda for softness), and then, while still raw and merely swollen, they are ground in a blender or mincer together with onion, garlic, herbs and spices. Balls are shaped from this raw mixture and deep-fried: the chickpeas cook through during frying.

It is important not to confuse the two approaches. For hummus, chickpeas are cooked until very soft, whereas for falafel you use them raw and soaked. If you make falafel from cooked or tinned chickpeas, the mixture turns out too wet and loose, the balls fall apart in the oil and soak up fat. Boiled chickpeas are no good for falafel, only raw soaked ones.

In the fridge, cooked chickpeas keep for 3-4 days. It is best to store them right in their cooking liquid or in a tightly sealed container: that way the beans do not dry out or become leathery. If you leave the chickpeas uncovered, the surface goes tough and they spoil faster.

For longer storage, chickpeas are frozen. Tip the cooked chickpeas into a colander, let the water drain and pat them slightly dry, spread them in a single layer on a board or tray and part-freeze for 1-2 hours, then pour them into a bag or container. Frozen loose this way, the beans do not clump into a lump, and you can take out just the portion you need. In the freezer, chickpeas keep for 3-6 months.

You do not have to thaw them before cooking: frozen chickpeas can go straight into soup, stew, braised vegetables or a frying pan, and they warm through in a few minutes. For a salad or hummus, let them thaw in the fridge or pour boiling water over them.

Bloating after pulses is caused by oligosaccharides (raffinose and others), which the body breaks down poorly. A few tricks help keep the discomfort to a minimum:

- always soak the chickpeas and always tip away the soaking water, do not cook them in it;

- cook them in fresh water until completely soft, as undercooked chickpeas are harder to digest;

- add cumin, fennel, bay leaf or a pinch of asafoetida while cooking: these spices traditionally make pulses easier to digest;

- a pinch of bicarbonate of soda in the cooking water also slightly reduces the amount of gas-forming substances, but do not overdo it or you will get a soapy aftertaste;

- remove the skins from the cooked chickpeas: the tough coats are the hardest of all to digest. The easiest way is to tip the warm chickpeas into a bowl of water and rub the beans lightly between your palms, the skins will come away and float up, and you simply pour them off with the water. This same trick gives perfectly smooth hummus.

Start with small portions so your gut flora can get used to them: over time the reaction usually eases.

Go not only by the clock but also by how soft they are, since different dishes call for different chickpeas:

- part-cooked, about 30 minutes after the water returns to the boil, the beans are still firm inside. Good for when the chickpeas will finish cooking in the dish itself. Raw soaked chickpeas can even be added straight to soup and finished off in the stock over 1-1.5 hours;

- soft but holding their shape, 45-60 minutes, the chickpeas keep their shape and do not fall apart. Ideal for salads, side dishes, snacks and frying with seasonings;

- very soft and easy to mash, 90-120 minutes, the beans crush easily into a paste. Needed for hummus, purées, fillings, cream soups, patties and rissoles.

In a multicooker, soaked chickpeas are done in 1.5-2 hours on the Beans/Pulses or Stew setting, while setting it to 2.5-3 hours only makes sense for unsoaked chickpeas. Always check doneness with your fingers: a crushed bean should be soft inside, with no hard core.

One cup of dry chickpeas (about 200 g) yields roughly 500-550 g cooked: the beans take up water and increase 2-2.5 times in weight and 2-3 times in volume. This is handy to bear in mind when shopping, as you need noticeably less dry chickpeas than the finished dish would suggest.

The calorie content of cooked chickpeas is about 130 kcal per 100 g in most domestic tables (USDA data puts it closer to 160 kcal, the spread being down to how well cooked they are and how much water they have absorbed). In 100 g of cooked chickpeas there is roughly 8-9 g of protein, about 27 g of carbohydrate, 2.5-3 g of fat and plenty of fibre, so they are very filling and often replace meat in fasting and vegetarian dishes.

The glycaemic index of cooked chickpeas is low, around 28-35, they raise blood sugar gently and suit carbohydrate-controlled diets and diabetes. You can work out the glycaemic load of your portion using the glycaemic index calculator on our site.

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