big pot of cooked chickpeas with a wooden spoon on the side

Hopefully you know by now HOW MUCH WORTH KEEPING chickpeas! I’ve used this in a TON of recipes and they are seriously one of my all time regular foods to eat.

Up until the past few years, I always bought canned chickpeas because they’re simply so so unfussy. And while I still genuinely like them canned, I also love how simple and incredibly cost effective it is to buy raw chickpeas and cook them yourself at home.

I’m going to walk you through lots of different ways to cook them, how to soak them, and even show you some of my regular ways to use them. Let’s dive RIGHT in, shall we?

What are Chickpeas:

Chickpeas are legumes! In their raw form, they almost feel like beige round rocks and are quite hard uncooked. You cannot eat them raw as they contain toxins (removed during the cooking process) and are simply too hard to chew or digest properly. While typically beige, they do come in other colors including red and green.

Since chickpeas are so high in protein and fiber, they are used quite commonly in vegetarian cooking as a kind of meat substitute such as in this Chickpeas Salad, this Chickpea Noodle Soup, and this Chickpea Pot Pie.

Garbanzo beans vs Chickpeas:

Since I use chickpeas in my recipes on a regular basis, I OFTEN get asked, are garbanzo beans chickpeas? And the answer is YES: chickpeas and garbanzo beans are the same thing but only a different name.

While the average person seems to most commonly refer to them as CHICKPEAS, most stores/ brans label them as GARBANZO BEANS. I suggest that when you are looking for them in a store, be on the lookout for both words since they truly are used so interchangeably.

wooden spoon filled with chickpeas hovering over a pot of chickpeas

Chickpeas Nutrition:

Chickpeas are nutritionally rich and high in protein and fiber. Here’s a speedy breakdown of the basics and why these legumes are so great:

How to cook Chickpeas:

Cooking chickpeas is quite similar and follows a similar process as other beans. I have a detailed recipe card for you down below as well as a video but let’s go over the basics!

FIRST you need to soak your beans. I’ve experimented several different ways but no matter what, you simply CANNOT skip this step! But you do have 2 options: 1) long soak the beans overnight or 2) short soak the beans by boiling them for 3 minutes and then soaking them for only 1.5 hours. Both work well but you have to pick one.

Next up, you cook them. My recipe card below goes over how to cook chickpeas on the stovetop. But I have several different methods for you!

glass bowl filled with chickpeas covered in water

Stovetop Chickpeas:

As I mentioned, I have a detailed recipe card below all about cooking chickpeas on the stovetop but here’s the gist of it:

After soaking them, simply add the chickpeas in a large pot with water or broth as well as any desired seasonings. Simmer for ~1.5 hours or until the chickpeas are soft and at your desired tenderness.

Instant Pot Chickpeas:

This is actually my REGULAR way to cook raw chickpeas!

I have a detailed blog post all about cooking chickpeas in an instant pot that you can read HERE.

To do this, add the soaked chickpeas into your pressure cooker with water or broth along with any other seasonings. Cook on manual HIGH pressure for 13 minutes and natural release the pressure for 5 minutes. Since the instant pot will take a while to pressurize, this ends up taking about 35 minutes total.

Slow Cooker Chickpeas:

This is not my go-to method of cooking chickpeas honestly, but it can be done. I’ve found that it results in mushier chickpeas (which could be ideal depending on how you are planning to use them).

For this method, you actually CAN skip the soaking step and simply add the chickpeas into a slow cooker with 8 cups of water. Cook on high for 3.5-4.5 hours or on low for 6.5-8 hours.

Air Fryer Chickpeas:

This is kind of a bonus! You CANNOT actually cook chickpeas from raw in the air fryer (that I have successfully tried). However, you can cook COOKED chickpeas in an air fryer to get them ultra crispy and savory!

To do this, follow THESE detailed directions by mixing cooked chickpeas with some oil and seasoning. Place them in the air fryer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring half way through.

spiced crispy chickpeas in a white skillet

Oven Roasted Chickpeas:

Similar to the air fryer chickpeas, you cannot cook chickpeas from raw in teh oven, however, you can get them DELICIOUSLY crispy this way!

To do this, simply follow these unfussy directions!

Can you freeze chickpeas?

Why YES, you can! To freeze the cooked chickpeas, simply spread them out on a silicon or parchment lined baking sheet (this avoids them sticking). Place in the freeze and freeze for 1/5 hours. Place the flash frozen chickpeas into a resealable container and store in the freezer for a few months.