I absolutely love chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans. These protein-packed legumes have a mild, nutty flavor that goes well in a variety of dishes, including hummus, falafel, soups and stews. Most recipes call for cooked chickpeas– this mean, chickpeas that have been soaked and boiled till tender (falafel is one notable exception– chickpeas should only be soaked for falafel, not cooked). Because of the time involved in preparing dried chickpeas, most people resort to canned varieties when cooking. The trouble with canned chickpeas is that many contain additives for preservation, as well as high sodium content from added salt. Making the chickpeas from scratch is a much more natural and healthy way to go, if you can find the time to do it.
Here is a simple method for quick-soaking and preparing chickpeas for recipes. Chickpeas are soaked before boiling for two reasons – one, they need to be softened before they boil, and two, pre-soaking helps to make the beans more digestible. You can soak them quickly, as described below, or overnight if you prefer. My friend Gila Ronel, a doula and holistic nutritionist in Israel, soaks the beans for a couple of days until they begin to sprout. She says that the nutritional value improves when the chickpeas are sprouted. If you try this, you’ll need to use cold water, not the quick soak method. Make sure you change the water they are soaking in twice daily to keep bacteria at bay. When shopping for your chickpeas, make sure you use a bulk bin with a high turnover rate. The older the chickpeas are, the less tender they will cook. Beans that have been sitting in a pantry for a year or longer tend to go stale and will not cook up as nicely.
I often make a large batch of cooked chickpeas, then refrigerate or even freeze for future use. I’ll go over the instructions for storing and freezing below. You’ll notice that home-prepared chickpeas taste much better than the canned variety, and you’ll have more control over the salt content. Preparing the beans this way is also more affordable… you’ll save over 50% by preparing them yourself. Frugality rocks!
How to Soak, Cook, Freeze and Store Chickpeas
You will need
- Dried chickpeas
- Salt (optional)
- Large pot
Before cooking, you will need to soak the beans. You can soak them overnight, if you have the time. Place them in a large bowl and cover with cold water. The chickpeas will expand to over double their size, so make sure you cover by several inches of water to allow for expansion. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let them soak overnight. Drain the water and rinse the beans before cooking.- To quick soak the beans, you will need 1 hour. Place the chickpeas into the bottom of a large pot and cover with water. The chickpeas will expand to over double their size, so make sure you cover by several inches of water to allow for expansion.
Bring the chickpeas to a boil. Let them boil for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat. Let the beans soak in the hot water for 1 hour. 
Drain the water and rinse the beans before cooking.
When you are ready to cook your soaked beans, place them in a large pot and cover with several inches of water (I use about 1 quart of water per 1 cup of soaked beans). Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add salt, if desired-- I use about 1/4 teaspoon of salt per 2 quarts of water/2 cups of soaked beans. You may like more salt to taste, or none at all to keep them "au naturale."- Let the beans cook for 60-90 minutes till desired tenderness. Certain dishes require very tender beans (like hummus), while other dishes call for firmer beans (like stews and soups that need to be cooked over long periods of time). Adjust cooking time to achieve the desired tenderness for your purposes. If you are freezing the beans, keep in mind that they will freeze best if they are on the firmer side, rather than completely soft. As you cook them, the beans will continue to expand a bit. Keep an eye on the water level and add additional water as needed to keep the beans covered.
When the beans are fully cooked, drain in a colander and allow to cool.
To store cooked beans in the refrigerator, place them in a covered airtight container or a plastic zipper bag without any additional liquid. Cooked beans will keep 3-4 days in the refrigerator.- To store the beans longer for future use, freeze them. Remove as much moisture as possible from the beans by patting them dry with paper towels. Place the beans in Ziploc bags spread out in single layers; you don't want to pile the beans on top of each other or they will stick to each other. Freeze, laying the flat single layer down to keep the beans from freezing together. You can freeze several bags this way, one laying flat on top of another.
Alternatively, you can spread out the beans in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment and freeze the beans for 30 minutes. 
Once they are firm, pour them into a plastic zipper bag or airtight container, seal, and put immediately back into the freezer. Using this method, you don't need to put the chickpeas in a single layer-- because they are already half frozen, they will not stick together.
Frozen beans will keep for up to 1 year.
Thanks for this pic tutorial, I used to avoid cooking these at all costs but they are my favorite bean (especially in hummus…OMG) Hope all is well Tori! Can’t wait to see what you’ll be cooking up around the holidays!
xxo em
How do you prepare dried chickpeas to eat as a snack? They sell them in the market but I’ve always wanted to know how to make them at home.
I will definitely cover this in a future blog Avital, maybe I’ll do it next week. They are great roasted as snacks, and so healthy too!
thanks for all the info and tips! Shabbat Shalom from Eilat
I use a similar method. I boil and soak the garbanzos, then cook in a pressure cooker to save time. This works with beans in general (pintos, white, &c).
Shabbat Shalom Tori. I always love your blog. What time would you recommend for using a slow cooker? I have 3 of them + their just sitting, waiting for good low cost recipes.
i can’t believe how timely your post is, it has been in the back of mind to do some searching on how to prepare garbanzo beans, so I wouldn’t have to use the canned variety! Great post. Thanks so much!
LOVE your blog!!! The part I really think is best is that you show pictures step by step – I never have to think “Hmmm, wonder if I am doing this right?!” You make it so easy to be a healthy cook! THANK YOU!!!
Is it possible just to soak it overnight and then start using it from there? Is boiling it necessary?
Hi RV, it depends on what you’re making. Foods like falafel can and should be made directly after soaking, whereas hummus needs to be cooked. It really depends on the recipe, however more dishes require them to be cooked in addition to soaking.
I love chickpeas! I soak them over night. Cook them for 15 minutes in pressure cooker. Then peel the skin off or else I am in agony with colic. Spice them up with a tin of tomatoes, cook them for another 15 minutes in the pressure cooker. I’m allergic to milk and soya so use chickpeas as a bread replacement.
I have cooked and frozen beans a few times however when I use them in stews I find them quite dry. Is there anything I can do to prevent them from being dry?
Do you know what the weight substitution would be if I wanted to replace a 300g can of chickpeas with beans I will soak and cook myself? What weight of dried beans would I need? thanks
Hi! If i freeze these in batches and then defrost in the fridge how quickly to i have to use them? Still 3-4 days? And if i make into hummus still 3-4 days? Thanks so much!
Thanks for the instructions! I make chickpea patties for my baby son, as part of our Baby-Led Weaning, and discovered, to my horror, that the canned variety had too much salt!!! I’ve just followed your instructions and now have half a kilo of chickpeas ready to be frozen.
Hi! This post is so helpful and I check it every time I make a new batch of chickpeas. Today I am freezing some of my batch for the first time (I got a little over zealous with how many I soaked) and I am not sure how to defrost them for later use. Any tips?
Hi Mollie! It depends on what you’re making with them. If you’re adding them to a soup or stew, you can go ahead and add them frozen, they’ll defrost quickly in the hot liquid. If you’re using them for hummus or salads, just keep them in a cold water bath in the sink till they’re thawed. It shouldn’t take too long to thaw them.
Oh dear, chick peas, so simple and straight forward and only a little common sense needed,which clearly some of the people above seem to lack.
Sorry meant to sat that I have always been told not to salt them while boiling them as it makes them tough. But the toughest thing is remembering to soak them the day before you need them. Therefore cook too many and freeze some.
Re: your previous comment – I don’t think it’s a matter of common sense; it’s just that some people (me included) never learned this kind of thing growing up. Luckily I was able to learn later in life, and now I can share the information with others. I’m glad people feel comfortable asking for advice here. My mom always said there are no stupid questions.
As for the salt, I’ve never heard that it makes them tough but that’s interesting. I’ll try it without salting next time to see if it makes a difference. I do agree that remembering to soak is important, and so many times I don’t have the foresight to do that. That’s where the quick soak method outlined above can come in handy, as well as freezing several batches ahead of time.
New to chickpeas. If a recipe calls for 2 cups of chickpeas, soaked – Is that 2 cups of dry peas or 2 cups of the soaked peas which would generate larger chickpeas since they swell.
I want to use a portion of previously cooked (to firm) and frozen chickpeas for hummus. Can I defrost them, and then cook them a little longer until they are softer?
Or when I originally cooked them, should I have cooked some firm and some softer, depending on the usage?
Hi Jessica, there is no harm in cooking them more after defrosting. Enjoy!