Fish Free Instant Pot Chickpeas
Dried chickpeas cooked from scratch are in a completely different league from the canned version — creamier, more flavorful, and satisfying in a way that's hard to explain until you try it. The Instant Pot does all the heavy lifting here, turning a pound of dried legumes into a tender, perfectly seasoned batch with almost zero hands-on effort. Smashed garlic, a bay leaf, and a touch of ground cumin infuse every chickpea as it cooks under pressure, so these taste like something you actually put thought into. The whole setup is naturally free from any seafood or fish-derived ingredients — just pantry staples and water — making it a clean, worry-free base for a huge range of meals. Once they're done, you can toss them into salads, blend them into hummus, roast them for a crunchy snack, or freeze them in batches for later. Don't skip saving that cooking liquid either — it's rich and subtly spiced, and it adds real depth to soups and stews. This is the kind of foundational recipe that quietly makes everything else you cook taste better.
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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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