Instant Pot Chickpeas No Soak!

Love chickpeas, but not how long they take to cook? These Instant Pot chickpeas (AKA garbanzo beans) are the answer! With this EASY no soak method, you can go from dry beans to perfectly tender in about 1 hour. Perfect for batch cooking, meal prep and freezing.

Tired of spending money on canned chickpeas? Not to mention the flavour of canned is just not the same as dry. And of course, many canned goods come with added ingredients that you might want to avoid.

Well, you’ll never need to buy canned chickpeas again with this fool proof method to get PERFECT chickpeas, every time!

Use them in chickpea curry, soup, salad, hummus and SO MUCH MORE.

Jump to:

• Why this recipe works
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Storage
• Common Questions
• Variations
• Dishes that use chickpea water
• Equipment
• Expert Tips
• Delicious ways to use them
• 📖 Recipe

Why this recipe works

I spent two full days cooking my way through a 10kg (Costco) bag of dry chickpeas. So I ran a LOT of tests.

• I tried soaking vs. no soaking. (HINT: No need to soak.)
• I tested several different cook times. (In intervals of 5 minutes from 35 to 60 minutes.)
• I tried quick releasing vs. various amounts of natural release times. (Don’t quick release. It’s MESSY!)

And I’m sharing the method to get PERFECT chickpeas, every single time. They’re not too hard and not too soft. They’re just right. 😉

Ingredients

All you need to is dried chickpeas. No salt, no spices, no oil. Just the beans, also known as garbanzo beans. (And of course, water.)

Instructions

(This is a summary with step by step photos, full recipe measurements and instructions are in the recipe card below.)

Begin by weighing your chickpeas. You want to use 1 pound, or approx. 2 ¼ cups if you don’t have a kitchen scale. Then sort and rinse the dry beans thoroughly. (photo 1)

Place the rinsed chickpeas in your pot and cover them with 6 cups of water, or approx. 1.5 inches of water above the top of your beans. (photos 2-3)

Close the lid and seal the release valve. Then pressure cook on high for 40 minutes, followed by a natural release of 10 minutes.

After the 10 minute natural release time, you may quick release the remaining pressure and remove the lid, once safe to do so. (photo 4)

Immediately transfer the chickpeas, using a slotted spoon or small hand held colander or strainer to a large bowl. This way, you can reserve the cooking liquid for other dishes. (photos 5-6)

NOTE: The chickpea water (also known as aquafaba) makes a delicious and nutritious broth for soup.

Enjoy the chickpeas straight away, for use in a variety of dishes.

Or let them cool at room temperature before storing.

Storage

Allow your chickpeas to cool before storing.

HINT: Place them in shallow bowls to cool faster.

Once cooled, you may refrigerate or freeze. Your Instant Pot chickpeas will keep refrigerated for 3-4 days in zip top bags or sealed containers.

To freeze, pat your beans dry with a clean dish towel. Then measure approx. 1.5 cups of cooked chickpeas and store in zip top bags or freezer safe, air tight containers. This is equivalent to about a 15 ounce can of chickpeas, which makes for convenient portions for future meals.

Make sure to push out the extra air from your zip top bags, before freezing so they keep longer, and the bags will be less likely to break. Keep frozen for up to 3 months.

Common Questions

Variations

I prefer to cook my beans in plain, no salt added water, so that they can easily be adapted to other dishes later. But if preferred, you may try one of these variations for added flavour.

• Use low sodium vegetable broth to cook your beans, instead of water.
• Add a teaspoon of salt to your cooking water for salted chickpeas.
• Add a chopped yellow onion and minced garlic to your cooking water for flavoured beans.

Dishes that use chickpea water

Also known as aquafaba, this magical liquid can be used for a variety of other dishes. So don’t dump your cooking water! Here’s some ideas for you.

• Use the aquafaba in place of oil to make these crispy air fried chickpeas.
• Make a soup and use your chickpea water as the broth for added flavour and nutrients.
• Or make these amazing chickpea brownies!

Equipment

I use a 6 quart Instant Pot but you can easily make this in an 8 quart as well. Just make sure the dry chickpeas are covered by 1.5 inches of water.

I’ve also successfully doubled this recipe in my 6 quart, so you’ll have no trouble doubling in an 8 quart.

NOTE: When doubling in the 6 quart, add 5 additional minutes of natural release time to prevent splattering.

Expert Tips

• Don’t soak the chickpeas first. There’s no need, and they’ll be too soft.
• Use chickpeas that are fresh and haven’t been sitting in your pantry for years, for the best flavour and most desirable texture. (Super old beans and legumes can require hours of cooking and still not get soft.)
• Make sure to sort through and rinse your dry chickpeas before cooking.
• Don’t dump the cooking water. Use it for broth, or a variety of other dishes.
• Do not quick release. Let your Instant Pot naturally release for 10 minutes first, or the chickpea liquid will splatter all over the place.

Delicious ways to use them

If you tried this recipe, please let me know about it in the comments below. I always love hearing from you! Don’t forget to Subscribe to This Healthy Kitchen to be among the first to get my new recipes! You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter to see more delicious food and get all the latest updates.

Buon appetito

Rosa

📖 Recipe