Nitrate & Nitrite Free Pressure Cooker Chickpeas
Dried chickpeas cooked from scratch are a revelation — creamy all the way through, with none of the metallic edge you sometimes get from canned varieties. That matters a lot when you're avoiding nitrates and nitrites, since many processed and preserved foods sneak those additives in through canning brines, cured ingredients, or packaged seasonings. Here, every single ingredient is clean and straightforward: just chickpeas, water, garlic, a bay leaf, salt, and black pepper. The pressure cooker does the heavy lifting, driving deep flavor into each legume while cutting down the long stovetop simmer to a manageable hands-off session. A natural pressure release keeps the skins intact and the texture luxuriously tender rather than blown out and mushy. Once cooked, they're endlessly versatile — toss them into salads, blend them into hummus, or fold them into soups using that reserved cooking liquid, which is rich and subtly garlicky in its own right. Batch-cook a pound on the weekend and you'll have a wholesome, additive-free protein ready to pull from the fridge all week long.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- 1 lb dried chickpeas
- 6 cups water
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- 1
Place the dried chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with at least 3 inches of cold water. Soak for 8 hours or overnight, then drain and rinse through a colander.
- 2
Add the soaked, drained chickpeas to the pressure cooker along with 6 cups of fresh water, the salt, smashed garlic, bay leaf, and black pepper.
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