Dried chickpeas are a great source of protein and are easy to incorporate into your meals.
Dry or canned chickpeas?
Whether I use dry or canned chickpeas depends on how much time I have. I am more likely to use canned chickpeas when I don’t have much time on my hands. However, if I plan ahead and know that I want to use chickpeas on a particular day then I will soak the chickpeas.
I try to use dried chickpeas as often as possible because it is much more cost effective and produces less waste. One thing to keep in mind is that chickpeas double in size. So if you are using dried chickpeas, be sure to pick a bowl that is large enough after the chickpeas absorb the water. One can of chickpeas generally yields 1 ½ cups of chickpeas. Given that chickpeas double in size, I use ¾ cup dry chickpeas to get the equivalent of 1 can.
How to cook dry chickpeas?
There are two ways you can soak dry chickpeas ahead of time:
Overnight
Place the chickpeas into a bowl and add a generous amount of room temperature water. Place the chickpeas into a bowl and add a generous amount of room temperature water. Cover the bowl and put aside for 8 hours – I usually leave it overnight but you could soak it first thing in the morning and use it in the afternoon. This requires a bit of forethought and organisation which doesn’t always happen for me.
The day of using them
Place the chickpeas into a bowl and add a generous amount of boiling water. Cover the bowl and allow the chickpeas to soak for at least 1 hour. I say at least 1 hour but the more time you have the better. The longer the chickpeas soak, the less cooking time they will require.
Once your chickpeas have soaked, drain and rinse them. Place them in a pot, add plenty of water to cover the chickpeas then bring to a boil. Boil the chickpeas until they become soft.
What to make with Chickpeas
If you enjoy chickpeas as much as I do, take a look at some of my recipes that use chickpeas including this Chickpea ‘Tuna’ Sandwich and Traditional Chickpea Falafels.
