Chicken Free Instant Pot Chickpeas
Dried chickpeas cooked from scratch in the Instant Pot are a revelation — creamy all the way through, with none of that chalky bite you sometimes get from canned or under-cooked beans. Smashed garlic, a bay leaf, and a touch of ground cumin do quiet, fragrant work in the pressure cooker, giving the chickpeas a subtle depth that makes them genuinely delicious on their own. The natural pressure release is the real secret here, letting the beans finish gently so they stay intact and perfectly tender rather than blown out and mushy. Once they're done, you've got a versatile base ready for hummus, grain bowls, roasted snacks, soups, or just a drizzle of good olive oil and some flaky salt. That reserved cooking liquid is liquid gold too — starchy and savory, it's worth keeping for thinning out stews or adding body to a sauce. Completely plant-based and built entirely around pantry staples, this is the kind of foundational recipe that quietly makes the rest of your week's cooking easier and more satisfying.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- 1 lb dried chickpeas
- 5 cups water
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp olive oil (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Sort through the dried chickpeas and discard any shriveled ones or small stones. Rinse under cold running water in a colander until the water runs clear.
- 2
Add the rinsed chickpeas, water, kosher salt, smashed garlic, bay leaf, ground cumin, and olive oil, if using, to the Instant Pot insert.
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