Instant Pot chickpeas (garbanzo beans) are easy to make and the recipe is hands-off. Make a big batch and freeze in smaller portions. Use them as you would canned garbanzos. Pressure cooking chickpeas is a healthier way to enjoy them compared to buying the canned version.
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Chickpeas are my favorite legume. I love to eat them plain! But they’re even tastier in curries (see my chana masala), salads, soups (see my Moroccan chickpea stew), or fritters (like falafel).
The words Chickpeas and garbanzo beans can be used interchangeably.
Garbanzo beans have become particularly popular as people have switched to vegetarian and vegan diets because they can provide a significant amount of protein.
Yes, canned chickpeas are convenient. But they also have preservatives, and they tend to be a tad overcooked and mushy. By pressure cooking the garbanzos, you can tailor the cooking time to cook them to the right amount of doneness.
Ingredients and Tips
🧂 Ingredients Needed for Making Chickpeas
💡 Ingredient and Recipe Tips
🧽 Washing: Washing beans is essential because there can be rocks and other foreign objects in a package of dry beans.
⏳ Cook Time: The chickpeas will be cooked but not very soft at the 1-hour mark. To get soft, fall-apart chickpeas, cook them for 75 minutes.
🧂 Salt: Some claim that adding salt increases cooking time, but I haven’t noticed a difference. I add one teaspoon of table salt per cup of dried garbanzos. For low-salt, add ½ teaspoon.
🥫 Canned vs Dried: Yes, canned garbanzos are convenient. But they also have preservatives and sodium, and are overcooked and mushy.
💦 Soaking: The longer you soak the chickpeas, the lower the cooking time. Soaking chickpeas for 10 or more hours allows you to pressure cook the chickpeas in less than 20 minutes! You can soak the traditional way or use my Instant Pot hack for soaking beans. But you don’t need to soak the chickpeas before pressure cooking.
❓ FAQS
If your recipe calls for a can of chickpeas, that’s equivalent to 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas. ½ cup dried chickpeas make 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas.
Close the lid again, pressure cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, and then do a natural release. Chickpeas that were in storage for too long lose moisture and become dry.
If you happen to have a batch that’s tough to cook, soaking the garbanzo beans and adding ¼ teaspoon of baking soda to the cooking water might help.
½ cup dried chickpeas makes 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas (about one can).
⏲️ How to Make Chickpeas in the Instant Pot
- Add washed and drained chickpeas to the inner pot.
- Add water to the inner pot. Close the lid and pressure cook for 60 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Open the lid. (If they’re not cooked enough, pressure cook for another 15 minutes.)
- Drain and use chickpeas in recipes, or cool them and freeze in a Ziploc bag for future use.
See the recipe card below for detailed instructions.
Instant Pot Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans)
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried chickpeas washed and drained
- 2 cups water (or enough to cover 1 inch above chickpeas)
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
Instructions
- Add chickpeas, water and salt to the Instant Pot inner pot.
- Close the lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 55 minutes.
- Do a Natural Pressure Release (NPR) and open the lid. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods]
- Drain the liquid and use the beans in any recipe that calls for cooked chickpeas.
Notes
- Please keep in mind that cooking times for beans can vary based on the age of the beans, whether they are organic, what cultivar or variety they are, and the model and size of Instant Pot. So you may need to pressure cook, natural release, check for doneness, and then pressure cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.
- This recipe can be doubled or tripled depending on the size of your Instant Pot. Keep in mind that you should not go over the ½ mark (including liquid) for foods that expand.
Nutrition
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I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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Margaret says
My chickpeas turned out great! I’m wondering if you always recommend draining the liquid after cooking, or can it be used in recipes, such as soups? Thank you.
Neena Panicker says
Margaret, I usually drain the liquid but I do also make curries in one step by cooking the chickpeas for twice the time without soaking/draining. So it’s something I recommend you try and see how you like it.
Gerald Knauss says
Thank you for your posts, they are very detailed, I appreciate that. Just got my Instant Pot Pro 6 Qt model and cooking up various dishes. Bought 5 lbs of chickpeas from Amazon and cooked up 4 cups of them today for 55 minutes on high pressure cook, with a 40 minute nature rest period (10 min/cup). They were perfect and taste so good! Thanks again for the inspiration and instruction. 😉
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Awesome, Gerald – enjoy your new IP!
Gerald Knauss says
Neena, do you have a favorite recipe for making hummus and naan? If so, we would all like to your interpretation on how to make them. 🙂
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Gerald, I’ll put them on my list 🙂 Thank you for your comment.
Brian HENNESSEY says
Is there some reason you’re throwing out the cooking liquid?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Brian, I generally don’t use the cooking liquid but you can definitely reserve it and use it in your recipes. I’ll make a note in the blog post. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.