How to Cook Dried Chickpeas - Easy!
Learn how to cook dried chickpeas the easy way – in the slow cooker or crock pot. Just 5 minutes of prep and 4 ingredients stand between you and these tender homemade chickpeas. Great for homemade hummus dips, tacos, burrito bowls, curries, and more!Recipe can be scaled up or down by using the slider if you hover your mouse over the number of Servings.
Equipment
- 1 Slow Cooker or Crock Pot (for cooking garbanzo beans / chickpeas)
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Dried Chickpeas – picked over and stones removed; don’t rinse
- 6 Cups Filtered Water (substitute: vegetable broth or chicken stock)
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1-2 cloves Garlic – smashed & peeled; OPTIONAL
- ½ whole Yellow Onion – root left intact & peeled; OPTIONAL
- 1 whole Dried Bay Leaf - OPTIONAL
Instructions
- Add Everything to Slow Cooker: Add the dried chickpeas to the bowl of a slow cooker or crockpot. Next, pour the water or broth over the garbanzo beans in the bowl. Then drop the cloves of garlic and half an onion into the bowl. Sprinkle the kosher salt all over the chickpeas.
- Cover and Slow Cook: Cover the slow cooker or crock pot and cook the garbanzos on HIGH for 3 hours or LOW for 5 hours, or until the chickpeas are tender. (Note: Not all slow cookers and crock pots are created equal. The garbanzo beans may take up to 4 hours to cook on HIGH and 7 hours to cook on LOW.)
- Drain: Use a colander to drain the cooked chickpeas, reserving the aquafaba (cooking liquid) if desired and discarding the onion, bay leaf, and garlic cloves.
- Dry: Transfer the drained chickpeas to a large kitchen towel or layer of paper towels and dry the chickpeas.(Note: You can gently massage the garbanzo beans to free them from their papery skin, if you prefer.)
- Use or Store: Use cooked chickpeas in your favorite recipes or store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Alternatively, you can store the dried and cooled cooked chickpeas in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Notes
- Cooking Liquid - I typically use a mixture of broth and water (4-cup box of broth + 2-Cups filtered water) for this recipe as it gives the chickpeas some flavor; however, you can use just one or the other. Or feel free to add some white wine or whatever flavorful liquids you love
- Garlic, Onion, & Bay Leaf - all are entirely optional; however, they will lend lovely savory flavor to the garbanzos.
Nutrition
Calories: 123kcal Carbohydrates: 21g Protein: 6g Fat: 2g Saturated Fat: 0.2g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g Monounsaturated Fat: 0.5g Sodium: 408mg Potassium: 295mg Fiber: 6g Sugar: 4g Vitamin A: 33IU Vitamin C: 2mg Calcium: 45mg Iron: 2mg