How to Cook Chickpeas in the Instant Pot

Pressure cooking dried chickpeas in the Instant Pot is a quick and easy way to prepare this healthy legume.

Chickpeas, also known as Garbonzo beans, are members of the bean family and packed with nutrition. They are often found in Indian and Middle Eastern recipes, such as curry, falafel and hummus. In the United States, they are often roasted until crunchy, making them a popular, healthy snack. They are also used in many soup and salad recipes and are used to make vegetarian burgers. It’s also becoming popular for pasta to be made out of chickpea flour, instead of wheat flour. Check out our “Complete Guide to Cooking with Chickpeas” to learn more about chickpeas, their health benefits, and how to use them.

Here in the United States, chickpeas can be bought at the grocery store in two different forms: canned or dried. Canned chickpeas are already soft and ready to use, but dried chickpeas need to be cooked before being added to a recipe. I have found that the quickest and easiest way to do this is in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker.

Full disclosure, chickpeas are one of those foods I eat because they’re healthy, not because they taste great. Sure, if you put enough seasonings on them they can taste good, but by themselves…they nasty! My entire life, however, I had only ever had canned chickpeas. Once I tried Instant Pot chickpeas, my mind (or rather stomach) was changed. Turns out freshly cooked chickpeas are 100% better tasting than canned ones. Do yourself a favor and try it out!

Tips for Cooking Chickpeas in the Instant Pot

• It’s a good idea to rinse the chickpeas before placing them into the Instant Pot. This removes any dust or debris that may have settled on the beans in storage.

• Typically water is used to cook the beans, but broth could be substituted if you want to add a specific flavor. You could also add any type of seasonings in with the beans to create more flavor.
  
  
• Sometimes people recommend adding in baking soda when cooking dry beans, with the hopes that they cook faster. We’ve tried this idea out and I would not recommend doing it. Yes, they cooked faster, but their flavor and texture was awful. You can read more about that experiement here.

• The length of time it takes to soften the chickpeas to desired texture depends on personal preference. The times I have given are for chickpeas that are soft, but have a little bit of chew still to them. If you are planning on mashing your chickpeas, you’ll probably want to cook them at least an additional 5 minutes to make them even softer. If you like your chickpeas chewy, you’ll want to cook them for less time. Experiment a bit until you find the perfect time for you.
  
  Cook time also depends on if you have pre-soaked your beans or not. See section below for more info.

• 1 cup of dried chickpeas makes about 3 cups of cooked chickpeas.

• There are about 1.5 cups of beans in a can of chickpeas.

To Soak or Not to Soak

One of the most common questions when it comes to cooking dried beans is whether or not beans need to be soaked before cooking. And honestly, the answer is complicated. From a taste and texture standpoint, I have found when cooking dried beans in the Instant Pot, soaking dry beans is not necessary. The final results are basically the same. (This is different than when cooking on the stove. Soaked dry beans turn out a lot better on the stove).

The real benefit of pre-soaking beans comes down to cook time. Soaked beans cook significantly faster than unsoaked beans. There are different methods on how to soak. For example, some suggest soaking overnight in cold water, while others suggest a quick 1-hour soak in hot water. Once again, I have found that in the Instant Pot, either option results in a similar cook time.

Honestly, the best soaking (or no-soaking) method is the one that works for your schedule. Perhaps it’s easier for you to soak your beans all day while you are at work and then come and only have to cook them for a short amount of time. Maybe you have lots of time in the evening and always forget to do things in the morning (me!). You can easily toss the beans in the Instant Pot unsoaked. They will just take longer to cook. But trust me, either method will result in tasty chickpeas.

I have a whole series of posts answering all your dried bean questions. You can find out all about soaking, salting, and various cooking methods. Check out “The Ultimate Guide to Cooking Dry Beans” to learn way too much info about preparing the perfect dried beans.

What to do with Cooked Chickpeas?

Here are some of my favorite recipes from around the web:

Easy Chickpea Curry from A Couple Cooks

Better than Store-Bought Hummus from Inspired Taste

Chickpea Burger from Nora Cooks

Chickpea Tikka Masala from Foodie with Family

Crunchy Oven Roasted Chickpeas from Yay! for Food

Mediterranean Chicken and Chickpeas Bowl from Iowa Girl Eats

Need a Pressure Cooker?

There are a lot of great options out there, but the Instant Pot Ultra is my favorite. I love being able to make yogurt in it!

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