Making crock pot chickpeas is super easy and economical! Just 5 minutes to prep and they store great in the fridge or freezer.
It sure is easy to buy a can of beans when you need it. And trust me, I do that a lot.
I've always got a pantry stocked with cans of beans. Black beans, cannellini beans, refried beans, pinto beans, we are a bean-loving family. Especially my kiddos.
But I do also like to cook my own sometimes. You get to control the sodium level and you can cook them to your desired consistency.
Usually, a bean is a bean is a bean in my book.
But with chickpeas, when you use them mainly for 5-minute hummus and healthy cookie dough, it helps to have extra soft and tender and creamy chickpeas.
And we eat a lot of hummus around here. My kids are particularly found of beet hummus and I make about a dozen different varieties of other types of hummus for appetizers.
Mediterranean layered hummus is great for a crowd, and we also loving making hummus and veggie roll ups, hummus pita pizzas and chicken hummus bowls.
Can't get enough!
So I always need lots of chickpeas around and I'm fond of the homemade kind because they are softer, resulting in a much creamier hummus, in my opinion.
And it's so easy to cook them yourself, from a bag of dried chickpeas. Especially when you use a slow cooker!
Crock pot chickpeas couldn't be easier.
Dump in your rinsed beans, some water and salt and set your crock pot or slow cooker.
I even cook them overnight sometimes. Gotta love a kitchen appliance that's hard at work while you're asleep.
You wake up and you have a big batch of chickpeas ready to go. Honestly, the hardest part is bagging them up once they are cooled.
Alright, let's tackle a few tips so you can have the ultimate success as well.
Tips and Tricks
- Chickpeas: Be sure to rinse and pick through the bags of chickpeas. You'll want to remove any broken pieces and especially any strangely colored beans or possibly small rocks that have gotten into the bag.
- Salt: It may seem like a lot of salt, but it's still far less than you would find in a can of beans. Plus we're making a ton of chickpeas and that's how much you need to get it slightly seasoned.
- Yield: This batch yields the equivalent of about 8 cans worth of chick peas. I bag them up into individual portions to make a "can," which is about 1.5-1.75 cups of chick peas per portion. You could also halve this recipe if you prefer and don't need quite as much.
- Storage: You can store the chickpeas, once cooled, in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the leftovers! Place in a freezer-safe ziplock bag, label and date it, and freeze for up to 5 months. (I tend to store mine in quantities that equal one can, so it's easy to pull out and ready to use.)
I love having a stockpile of chickpeas in my freezer ready to go when I need them. So every couple of months, I make a big batch of crock pot chickpeas.
All of your chickpea needs are covered. Rest easy now. And then go make some hummus! Or BBQ roasted chickpeas. Or easy baked falafel.
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Crock Pot Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 2 (16-oz) bags of dried chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans)
- 14 cups water
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
Instructions
- Rinse the chickpeas in cold water and pick over them to remove any broken or funny looking pieces.
- Dump chickpeas in the insert of the crock pot.
- Add 14 cups of water to the crock pot.
- Sprinkle the two teaspoons of salt over the top.
- Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, until desired consistency. (I like them soft if I'm going to puree them to make hummus.) You can even let them cook overnight.
- Drain the chickpeas well, let cool and then use or store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or the freezer for up to 5 months.
Sandi M
I'm going to try this. It looks like a super easy way to make fresh garbanzos and the bonus will be the homemade sucanat (liquid) that gets drained off which is great for use in vegan baked goods. The idea of having fresh sucanat appeals to me much more than using the liquid left in the can. Thanks!
Kathryn
Great point Sandi - this is a fabulous way to get the fresh liquid - I usually hear it referred to as aquafaba. I'm about to make another big batch of chick peas tonight (because we've run out) and think I'll save some. What's your favorite thing to use it in?!
Raven
Happy Day Kathryn, thank you for this recipe. My issue whenever I make fresh garbanzo beans is all the skins falling off. I don't mind it when making hummus. I've only made garbanzo beans in my crockpot 3 times. I've used canned beans for chick pea salad a few times. I don't care for the skin when I'm using the beans in other dishes such as curry etc. I tried the baking soda method when I made them this week. It did make the beans extra soft (cooling on low for 6 hours then switching to high) I was able to rinse off a lot of the skins. However, once they were done in the crockpot I was back to square one. Picking thru a bunch of skins.
Kathryn
Hi Raven! I hear ya and I feel like those skins are always gonna be an issue, however you cook the beans. I pick away the skins that are loose after cooking and don't worry about the rest.
Raven
Thank you Kathryn! Chat soon.
Be Well,
R
Nebojsa V
Actually, if you soak the chickpeas in cold water over night ( make sure that the peas are well covered with water, they will soak up good portion of it) and then just cook it for like 15-20 minutes and you're done. No need to waste gas or electricity cooking it all night.
Marcus
If so soak them all night, how long do you cook them in the crockpot for? Thanks 🙂
Kathryn Doherty
Hi, I haven't tried soaking them before cooking them, so I can't say for sure. However, I just poked around on Googled and it looks like it would be about 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. Hope that helps!
Kat
Hi! Do I have to use salt? I want to make these for my eight-month-old baby and would prefer no salt. Will this mess up the cooking process somehow though? Thank you!
Kathryn Doherty
Hi Kat, I think it would be fine to skip the salt. (I'm with you - I didn't give my babies any salt until well after age 1). Just keep in mind that if you're only using a small portion for the baby, the rest of the chickpeas will also be without salt. (Adding it after they cook isn't qute the same; doesn't infuse them.) Hope that helps!