Until this past week, I had never cooked dried chickpeas/garbanzo beans before. It’s funny how something so small can be so intimidating, but I guess you stick with what you know until you realize what you are missing. Who knew cooking beans was so similar to having children?!
Then I read this line in my trusty Bean Bible (Amazon), “Dry chickpeas are the most challenging bean to cook.” What’s that, a challenge? It’s on. Determined, I filled a small bag of dried beans in Winco’s bulk section.
I came home and continued reading, “Check that your chickpeas come from a source that sells through its stock quickly. Shriveled, dried-out chickpeas will never get soft, no matter how long you cook them.” Hmmm. My beans were definitely on the shriveled end of the spectrum. I stubbornly pushed on, turning to the official Soaking Chart for Dried Legumes. Let’s see… whole chickpeas… 10 hours?! My resolve started to waver, but I stuck with it.
And guess what? I am happy to report that I successfully soaked and cooked my shriveled little chickpeas. It was neither difficult, nor a disaster. And I’m not kidding when I say that as they were cooling on the counter, I started popping them in my mouth like candy. They were delicious; the flavor and texture were so superior to any slimy bean I had ever dumped out of a can.
Don’t take my word for it. Try this bean for yourself! The steps are the same ones we covered yesterday. I’ll run through them one more time. Repitition is the mother of learning, right?
- Sort 2-3 cups of beans on a rimmed baking sheet and rinse the beans in the cold water.
- I didn’t want to soak these overnight so I switched to the Speed Soaking Method. Brilliant. You can do this with any bean to speed up the soaking time. Here’s how it works: Place the beans in a pot and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer for 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the beans soak in the warm water for 1 hour. Drain the water and rinse the beans.
- Dump the beans back in the pot and cover with several inches of cold water. Bring the water to a boil. Let simmer on medium heat, covered, for an hour or until tender.
- Remove from the heat and stir in salt, if desired. Let the beans cool in the water, absorbing the salt as they cool.
- After half an hour or so, drain the beans and cool completely. Use them immediately or store in the fridge for several days, the freezer for several months.
I froze my cooked garbanzo beans in flat 1-cup portions. I will just pop them out of the freezer as needed for salads, hummus, falafel, or soup. Start to finish, this little cooking experiment took about 2.5 hours of very little effort.
Again, the benefits of cooking your own beans from scratch are totally worth the time involved. They are cheap, tasty, and healthy. And that’s a winning combination in my book.
One of my favorite things to make with garbanzo beans is hummus. For a concoction so simple: garbanzo beans, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, salt… it’s surprisingly addicting. And the best part is, you don’t even have to feel guilty about polishing off an entire container in one sitting. Well, at least my husband and I never do.
The one ingredient that most of us probably don’t have taking up space on our pantry shelves is tahini. It’s just a paste made of pureed sesame seeds. Most 15 ounce jars of tahini cost between $4-$6, but at 1-2 tablespoons per batch of hummus, a little bit goes a long way so it’s a relatively economical ingredient. In most grocery stores it can be found in the organic/natural food section or the peanut butter aisle.
Buying hummus at the grocery store will run you around $3-$5/10 oz. container. I’ve often used coupons for hummus. Combined with a sale, this isn’t a bad deal. We’re perfectly happy with the flavor & quality. However, like many things, making a batch of hummus in your own kitchen is easy and economical.
Spicy Hummus
adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe
1 (14.5 oz.) can garbanzo beans, drained (reserve liquid) or 1 3/4 c. cooked garbanzo beans
1 T. tahini sesame paste
2 T. olive oil
1/2 t. crushed pepper flakes
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. ground coriander
2 cloves garlic, finely crushed or 3-4 cloves Roasted Garlic*
reserved liquid or water
salt, to taste
1/2 lemon, juiced
- Combine beans, tahini, oil, pepper flakes, cumin, coriander, garlic, salt, and lemon juice in food processor bowl or blender; pulse to combine.
- Slowly add enough of the reserved liquid or water (or even more olive oil), pulsing and checking occasionally, to achieve the desired smooth consistency.
- Transfer to a smaller bowl and serve with vegetables, pita bread or crackers. Refrigerate leftovers for up to a week.
* I found this is one of the best places to use roasted garlic. The first time I tried making hummus, I used a clove of fresh garlic. It overpowered the dish, adding a bitter bite. Even when I minced it as finely as possible, it was too strong. We love garlic so that’s saying a lot. Try it either way, but by using roasted garlic, you’ll definitely get a more mellow, sweet garlic flavor.
If you’re looking for more hummus inspiration, check out 1 Mom’s Mission’s recipe.
Hummus is a delicious low-fat alternative to mayonnaise in sandwiches or wraps or served as an appetizer or snack. I even serve it for dinner with pita bread, vegetables, and sometimes grilled meat.
Leave a comment, question, or tip! Oh, and has anyone ever frozen hummus before? I’ve read it can be done, but I am skeptical it holds well. Opinions?
{ 39 comments… read them below or add one }
Your photos are excellent in this post. new camera? keep up the great work. thank you.
I love these bargain homemaking segments! I know not everyone has time to do this, but it is appreciated by those of us that do. I have always soaked beans for chili and ham with pinto beans, but had not thought outside the box for garbanzo beans…or the fact that you could cook and freeze instead of getting canned.
I cook all my beans from dehydrated beans and have for sometime. There’s no better way to achieve the perfect flavor and texture. Chickpeas have the most noticable difference in my opinion. I highly recommend adding a cup or two of broth during cooking (veggie or chicken are my favs, and concentrate “better than boulon” brand is inexpensive and convient). The salt in the broth helps beans keep their integrity during cooking (more so with black beans, white beans and similar), and adds a nice flavor.
My favorite way to eat up my chickpeas is tossed with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and some shredded parm, either with brocolli or over pasta with a little olive oil.
love that you posted this! I have made it from scratch before, but I seem to forget that for the convenience of buying it already made
I am totally going to do this. Thank you for the inspiration!
I have a general question about beans. I am very excited and want to do this, but the chili recipe that I have, you poor the beans and liquid from the can in – what do you suggest replacing the liquid with?
If I use canned beans I always rinse them regardless of what the recipe states. The small amount of liquid in the can shouldn’t matter too much and if they are flavored beans, I always figure I can adjust the seasonings myself.
If you are still concerned, just add some beef or chicken broth (even in a chili recipe I doubt many would notice if you added a tad bit of chicken broth). Or just go with water. It is really hard to mess up chili.
Hope that helps!
Wonderful post. Love making beans from scratch. We eat them a few times a week, so making big batches and freezing them makes it very easy and economical. The flavor cannot really be described unless you do it and it makes me feel good that I control how much salt and other ingredients go into my beans. With pinto beans I make huge batches of “Not really refried” beans. With black the same, but leave the broth and do not mash, add onions, tomatoes and cilantro at the last minute and season to taste. Great to go with any Mexican dish.
I have not tried the garbanzos, but plan on trying now! Thank you.
This is even giving me the desire to try and cook beans-something I have never, ever even thought of before!
I did do the cooked chicken and it worked great.
Appreciate all your sharing-it’s really helpful.
I know some people feel they only get “junk” food from couponing-but I am eating way better than I did before because of it-whole grain noodles, beans (canned so far), and various whole grain rices-I add some or all of these to canned soup (which I have in great abundance!).
I may just have to try making hummus for the first time.
I have frozen and thawed store-bought hummus before with no problems. Never tried making my own; now I will!
Hummus does NOT freeze well ;( AT least not the way I make it! I never have any left after a couple days anyway!
I agree with the first comment – excellent pictures! And thanks for the inspiring post.
THANK YOU!!! My daughter has allergies and Costco’s version is out! SIGH. Did you know that WATER packed tuna has soy in it! ANYway, I wanted to try to make hummus but didn’t know where to look!!!! Thanks again. Can’t wait to be brave… AND save money!
I love to make our own hummus too and we always freeze it with no big problems. I make a huge batch and freeze in smaller 2-cup portions. After it thaws there does seem to be a little (very little) amount of water or extra liquid that pools on top, but easy to mix back in! Worth it for the time saving!!! I definitely recommend to try freezing!
Great tip on using roasted garlic for Hummus!
OK – soaked mine all day then cooked in the evening & left on the stove overnight. DELIGHTFUL! never liked garbanzos before but love these… will now try soaking then roasting as someone said those taste super yummy as a snack… keep up the recipes!
I soaked my dried garbanzo beans and made this hummus today (without the coriander, since I don’t have it) and it was FABULOUS!! Even better: I have enough cooked beans measured out for 3 more batches, AND my roasted garlic is ready to go for a QUICK snack! Thank you so much for posting this!!
Regarding garlic: “It overpowered the dish, adding a bitter bite. Even when I minced it as finely as possible, it was too strong. ” I saw this little piece of info on the food network… so who knows how reliable it is… but apparently the tinier you chop garlic the more taste comes of it so perhaps that is why it kept being so strong in your hummus!
First time making my own garbanzo beans and I was looking to see if the cooked beans could be frozen for later use….and up came your web-site…..Thank you for answering all the question that I had in one spot
I will be back to check to more helpfull hints….
Martha
For chickpeas that are soft and that’ll puree nicely for hummus, add 1 tsp. baking soda during soaking. This is common practice in some regions of the Middle East. I like adding a squeezed 1/2 lemon during cooking (and save the lemon juice till later). I prefer using the pressure cooker. I’ve tried cooking the chickpeas in the microwave as well. They come out pretty good.
Just googled “cooking garbanzo beans” and landed on your page. The beans had already soaked all night and are now on the stove. Very clear instructions and photos. I will try the hummus recipe this afternoon.
I’m back, an hour later, hummus is done! It is soooo delicious. Thanks for the information. This was really easy, too. I’ll be making this one regularly.
your spicy hummus recipe, is that 2 and 3/4 cup garbanzo beans if you use the dried ones? why so much more than if you use canned?
Oops! – It should read 1 3/4 cups. I fixed it. Thanks!
I swapped sriracha for the pepper flakes because I like a little spice and I don;t think I get it from pepper flakes. It came out great!
i bought dried chickpeas for the first time. i wasn’t sure what i was going to do with them until i happend upon this site. i prepared everything (including roasted garlic) in the food processor aside from the beans. i let both the bowl of soaking beans and the bowl of prepared ingredients set in the fridge overnight. i did this to really let the flavors of the ingredients that are to be mixed with the beans saturate eachother. after cooking the beans and incorporating them with the prepared mixture (which was sooo easy since everything was already prepared) i had a bite. didn’t need to add a thing. no salt, no pepper, nothing but the basics listed above.
THIS RECIPE IS AWESOME!!!
thank you! i will be buying chickpeas and preparing this recipe for years to come!
Thank you so much for the info! I made my first batch of garbanzo beans and I am happy to report that they are resting happily in my freezer. It was a minor miracle any made it there. They tasted so good right out of the pot. It was as easy as you said it would be. And thanks for the hummus recipe. Can’t WAIT to try that one.
We adore hummus in our house, but with four kids I have to make it from scratch. It’s way to expensive to buy. That’s also the reason I leave out the tahini. I can’t seem to get it at a good price. How much do you pay for your tub? How long does it keep? I’ve heard of other ppl putting in sesame oil instead to give it the flavor. I’ve never tried the coriander, but I do think the cumin MAKES the taste. We also love the intense garlic so I’ve not roasted ours. I think that would be good with another flavor like sundried tomatoes or cilantro. Here’s my recipe in case you want to check it out…
http://fromchapelhilltochickenville.blogspot.com/2010/01/homemade-hummus-photo-tutorial.html
@Aimee if you don’t mind buying online, head over to some place like Amazon. I get tahini at a great price there, cheaper than from the grocery store. There’s several brands to pick from but my favorite is Sesame King Tahini Paste. Big jars and there’s enough product turnover the tahini remains soft without a ton of oil separation. I find the ones sold in the grocery store have just been sitting there too long and it’s like trying to stir a brick.
I’m cooking a huge pot of garbanzo beans right now and this is the first time they have seemed cooked in the middle but with a tough skin on the outside? I’m not sure what the problem is.
I make hummus a similar way but I like to cut up red bell peppers and toss them with some oil onto a cookie sheet and roast them. They are so good blended up in the hummus!
I just found this site today.
I’ve not tried freezing hummus yet, but I can’t imagine it would be difficult because you’ve frozen the chick peas.
I have, however gone a step further and made my own tahini. One of my local grocery stores sells sesame seeds in bulk, I toast them and put them in a food processor w/ some olive oil. It keeps for almost ever in the fridge.
I’ve been making my own hummus for a while as well as my own tahini (easy with toasted sesame seeds and a bit of sesame oil). I read in Julia Child’s book where she says to remove as many of the skins as possible. You do this after cooking, of course! This is very time consuming but not difficult. I find that it does increase the flavor of the hummus nicely. If you remove the skins and try eating a few, you will notice they have little flavor and therefore you will know that the skins dilute the mild flavor of the chickpeas. If you have extra time and are a pefectionist or just want a little extra “love” in your hummus, try it.
A friend of mine from Lebanon came over and we made her version together. Super simple. She begins with about 1 1/2 cup dried garbanzo beans. Add plenty of water and simmer on the stove until very soft. This may take from 30-45 minutes, depending on the quantity of beans, the size of your pan. No presoaking is required. She drains ALL of the liquid off. Dump beans in the blender/food processor. Add several Tbsp lemon juice, 1-2 tsp salt (honestly, if you don’t add enough salt, it doesn’t seem to taste right), throw in a couple of garlic cloves, and add olive oil until it is the desired consistency. It takes a fair amount of olive oil to blend. I might add Tbsp or so of sesame oil or tahini, but not always. This is the basic recipe. For added zing, think about adding layers of flavors to the savory (salt) and acid (lemon juice) already in the hummus. You might add red hot pepper flakes, chipotle, cumin, paprika, or dill. It’s fun to experiment.
I ,too, have discovered the fabalous taste of using dried Garbanzos to make Hummus My next step will be to make sesame paste. I like adding roasted red peppers, garlic, lemon juice and a some smoked paprika. If you like a little kick, a little bit of Sambal Oelek (fresh chili paste) does the trick.
I googled dried garbanzo beans and ended up here. Great site, and I’m looking forward to exploring further.
I thought I’d share another use for garbanzos in a spread. I have to credit a great little restaurant – Mangia in Kenosha, WI – where I had this years ago. Just start with four simple ingredients: garbanzos, olive oil, garlic and salt. Crush the garbanzos with a fork or pulse all the ingredients in a processor. I stop mixing before the beans are completely pureed. This gives the spread a more rustic textured mouth feel that’s great with a good rustic bread of any kind.
I got some garganzo beans from my brothers a while ago and I diden’t know what to do with them I look up on google and this is amazing site I put some in to a stew and
Quick question. If you soak the beans overnight, do you have to cook them before making hummus? Or can you just soak overnight and then add everything to the food processor?
Thanks!
Jen
Agree – fresh garlic is overwhelming in hummus. I have made hummus for years and just use garlic powder. I am certain roasted garlic would be wonderful, just like the difference between cooking your own garbanzos or buying canned – different! But, in the effort to not have to roast garlic, that is what I do. Great info and pics as already stated!
Just a note to let yo know that tahinni is also very easy to make & stores in the fridge for months. I always make my own ever since they were out of it at Trader Joe’s. Pour sesame seeds in a food processor (they can be raw or toasted), start blending & add EVOO a little at a time until it’s the consistency you want. Blend several minutes to get a smooth product, and done! I buy sesame seeds in bulk, so they are not very expensive.
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