Instant Pot Chickpeas are ready in 1 hour with no soaking required! Step by step instructions how to cook garbanzo beans at home so you can ditch canned beans, save money, and always have them on hand for meal prep, salads and anything!
This foolproof method results in tender, buttery chickpeas ready to be used in favorites like chickpea avocado salad or garlic hummus recipe!
Table of contents
I have been making Instant Pot chickpeas from the first day I got my Instant Pot. Knowing I can take dried beans and cooking them without soaking was what sold me!
Since then I have made black beans in Instant Pot, Instant Pot kidney beans, and turned dried pinto beans into Instant Pot baked beans and Instant Pot refried beans all with no soaking involved.
The whole idea behind a modern day electric pressure cooker is to save time and energy, but if I can save money and eat healthy along the way, you bet I’m doing exactly that!
Buying dried chickpeas in bulk and cooking them yourself is also cost effective! With the Instant Pot there is no time waiting around pre-soaking and chickpeas come out intact, yet tender and creamy.
Not to mention they taste so much better!
Why You’ll Love The Instant Pot for Cooking Chickpeas
- Budget friendly: Buy in bulk plus organic dried chickpeas are way more affordable than organic canned chickpeas.
- Tastes better: No metal taste from a can or waxy taste from a box.
- Fast and easy: No pre-soaking and recipe ready in 30 minutes vs. cooking dried beans on the stove which takes 6+ hours!
- They’re healthy: Low sodium plus high in protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals like iron, folate, and zinc, to name a few.
Ingredients Needed
Instant Pot chickpeas recipe is one of those non-recipe recipes. It’s more of a guide or a “how-to” because there are only 2 ingredients!
- Dried chickpeas: Be mindful of the “age” of your chickpeas. Old beans may take longer to cook!
- Cold water: You’ll need just enough to cover the chickpeas by an inch.
That’s it!
How to Cook Chickpeas in the Instant Pot
The process is so simple, Instant Pot chickpeas is one of my favorite Instant Pot recipes for beginners! All you need are chickpeas aka garbanzo beans and water.
Rinse: Rinse dry chickpeas to remove any dust or debris.
Prep: Add 1-3 cups of chickpeas with cold water keeping the ratio of 1 cup beans: 3 cups water in mind. Water needs to cover beans by 1 inch and not surpass max fill line.
Cook: Cooking time is 25 minutes on High Pressure.
Wait 10 minutes before you do pressure release: Then quick release the remaining pressure by turning the valve to Venting. You can also just leave it to natural release completely on its own until the pin drops.
Variations
I love to cook my Instant Pot garbanzo beans in unsalted water and then season them in dishes later. However, here are some ways to jazz up your Instant Pot chickpeas for added flavor while they are pressure cooking.
- Garlic: 1-2 garlic cloves, peeled. Or for max garlic flavor use a whole head of garlic, peeled and crushed.
- Onion: Another way to add flavor, add a whole onion, halved. Add with garlic for even more savory flavor.
- Salt: Add a teaspoon to bring out the flavor.
- Replace water with stock: For additional flavor, stock may work well for soup, but maybe not so much for chickpea cookies.
Expert Tips
- Fresh is best: There is such thing as “old” beans and rice. They take longer to cook. So once you find a reliable source of beans and my recipes work for you, stick to those beans.
- Look in bulk: The bulk section of a grocery store is anyone’s gold mine. That’s where you’ll find the same food that comes in a package but without paying for the cost of extra packaging, plus they tend to be more fresh.
- Save the cooking water: Use it as a broth in chicken chickpea stew or in other dishes.
- Don’t soak your chickpeas: This recipe time has been tested for unsoaked chickpeas. If you soak your garbanzo beans, they’ll turn out too soft.
FAQs
No, the Instant Pot does that work for you. The idea behind soaking the beans is to rehydrate them so they don’t take as long to cook. Some people also find that soaked chickpeas makes them easier to digest.
It is most likely due to the water to bean ratio being off. Remember it is 1 cup of beans to 3 cups of cold water. If you are using too much water, the beans will continue to absorb as much as they can, especially if there is more than enough in there.
You also want to make sure to use cold water so that they cook evenly and the cooking time is as accurate as possible. The warmer the water, the faster they’ll cook.
So, this would be a case of the bean to water ratio is off again, only this time you may have added too little water for the number of beans you had in there.
Either that or your valve wasn’t set to sealing and there was too much steam being released without realizing which means it never really came to pressure. Old beans could also be the culprit!
Not necessary to spend time doing this extra step! That being said, some swear that it makes smoother hummus. If that’s you, place drained chickpeas in a bowl of water and gently rub to remove the skins.
How to Use Chickpeas
Wondering what to do with your chickpeas now that you’ve perfected cooking them? I prefer to use chickpeas in savory dishes and the list below is a good place to start!
- Salads: Chickpea salad, tuna chickpea salad or toss into any of these healthy salad recipes.
- Soups: Replace any beans with chickpeas, browse my collection of healthy soup recipes.
- Vegetarian main dish: Quinoa falafel is a favorite plus it’s freezer friendly!
- Hummus: Once you make homemade hummus, you’ll never buy store bought! Try this sweet potato hummus.
Make Ahead and Storage
Storing: Instant Pot chickpeas refrigerate well for up to 5 days.
Freezing: I like to freeze chickpeas and use them instead of grabbing a can.
Transfer the beans, using a slotted spoon, to a large colander placed in a sink and drain. Then measure 1.5 cups (the equivalent of 15 oz. can) into freezer friendly storage bags. Let the air out, seal, label, and freeze for up to 6 months.
To thaw: Place them on a counter for a few hours or in the fridge overnight. To thaw quickly, place them in a bowl with hot water for 5 minutes and then drain! Easy-peasy.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot corn on the cob
- Instant Pot beets
- Instant Pot baked potatoes
- Instant Pot minestrone soup
- Instant Pot shredded chicken
Browse all healthy Instant Pot recipes.
Instant Pot Chickpeas (No Soaking Required)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried chickpeas rinsed & drained
- 3 cups cold water
Instructions
- In Instant Pot, add chickpeas and cold water. You can eyeball water just enough to cover chickpeas by an inch.
- Close the lid, set pressure vent to Sealing and press Pressure Cook on High or Manual for 25 minutes (8 quart model) or 30 minutes (6 quart model).
- After 25-30 minutes, Instant Pot will beep, display will say OFF and now let it bring pressure down for 10 minutes. I do not recommend to do Quick Release by turning pressure valve to Venting position. It will make chickpeas mushy and chickpea broth will spray all over your kitchen.
- Open the lid. That’s it!
Notes
- Store: Cooked beans refrigerate well for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Transfer chickpeas with a slotted spoon to a large colander placed in a sink to drain. Measure 1.5 cups (equal to a 15 oz can drained) into storage bags, let air out, seal and freeze for up to 6 months.
- To thaw: Place on a counter for a few hours or in the fridge overnight. Or place in a bowl with hot water for 5 minutes and then drain. Easy-peasy.
- Broth: Do not discard the liquid. It is a delicious and nutritious veggie broth. Use as a base for making any soup or stew.
Softness has nothing to do with the amount of or the salting of the water and everything to do w/ cook time &/or freshness of beans. You can have much extra water and still undercook them. Old beans may never fully soften. Add salt if you want. It is acids that may prevent softening, not salt. I suppose you can have insufficient water to fully rehydrate the beans, though I have never had that issue.
Perfect. I use the broth to make hummus (from your hummus recipe). I blend it all in the instant pot. My family loves your hummus. Thank you!
That is so amazing to hear! Glad you enjoyed my recipe!
I did an entire pound of dried chick peas with about 8 cups of water and with the time stated. They may have been in pot a bit more then 10 before I released pressure. They were great. Not over cooked, a bit of bite, great in a salad, but also will be good if need to cook a bit more in a recipe. So much better then canned. I like the instruction you give on freezing them in recipe ready amounts, and I plan to do that. Thank you.
Worked great!
Awesome!!! I love freshly cooked IP chickpeas and use this recipe a lot.
Chickpeas came out perfect! Thank you for sharing!
Fantastic! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
How many cups of cooked chickpeas does this recipe yield? I’m looking to have 2 cups of cooked chickpeas, wondering what ratio I should use?
I wouldn’t cook less than 1 cup for the sake of proper texture. You can always refrigerate or freeze leftovers. I believe they triple.
Worked great for me! And when they were cooked, I made hummus. So yummy!
That’s awesome Meriah!
Super easy recipe, chickpeas turned out great! Thank you!
You’re welcome Irina!
Hi Olena! I used this recipe before and followed the instructions. Very happy to have this version of healthy chickpeas not from a can. I am not a fan of can food with very few exceptions. This time though, I soaked the chickpeas overnight forgetting that I didn’t need to. Shall I reduce the cooking time in IP for soaked chickpeas?
Yes. I would cut cook time in half.
Thanks for the great recipe. I used my Instant Pot for the first time to make these chick peas and they turned out perfect!!. Love how easy this was to make and really appreciate the information on the ratio of beans to water – that was something I struggled with soaking and cooking beans on the stovetop or slow cooker. I’m a convert, will not go back to fixing beans that way now that I know how super easy it is to cook with the instant pot following this recipe. I did have a question though, do you save and freeze the liquid for soup base?
I’m so happy to read this! Thanks for your positive feedback, Lynn! Dried beans are my 2nd favorite feature after frozen meat of IP.
YES! I do save broth for soups, forgot to mention. And freeze.
Skeptical as I am that no soaking is just as good as soaking, I will try this. The aquafaba is liquid gold, yes!! I have been convinced that the broth is better after cooking soaked beans rather than washed dry beans. I will report back. I always cook 1 pound of chick peas that I now know is 2.5 cups, so I’ll stick to that. It’s a large amount of beans and great broth. I fill the IP to just above the soaked beans because they’re not going to get any bigger when cooking and because I want rich, undiluted broth. Now I will follow your directions of 1C dried beans = 3C water, so 7.5 cups of water for 2.5 cups of dried beans. I will report back, Olena! Giving this 5 starts because you’re probably going to be right! (I’m very curious as to how far above the cooked beans will be the water level. The less water, the tastier the broth. So let’s see!)
Yes you are right. SHould be fine with less water. It’s just a guideline.
Worked completely fine! In a large steel bowl, 2.5C dried washed chickpeas and 7.5C water. I let the beans sit on the counter for an hour in the cooking water because I wanted to use IP for something else first. The beans expanded and there was of course less water in the bowl when I lowered it into 6-quart IP. After 30M HP, I let it sit for 2 hours because I was busy, tried a few beans — cooked to perfection — and lifted it out of IP. Ended up with 4C of aquafaba, which is interesting to know that 3.5 cups of water are in those 2.5 cups of beans, highlighting even more why these beans are so healthy. They’re a water-filled food, a very very good thing! OLENA, YOU’RE FABULOUS!
Happy to hear.:)
Perfect Instant Pot chickpeas. Not mushy at all. Perfect cooking time. Thank you!!!