Do I have to soak my beans?

Short answer: no, you don't have to soak your beans. Longer answer: try to remember to soak them because the cook time will be significantly reduced and your cooked beans will be easier to digest.

Can I make this recipe with other beans?

This bean would be great with white beans! You could also flavor lentils this way, keeping in mind that the cook time would be a lot shorter.

Why aren't my beans becoming tender?

You may just need to keep cooking them longer than you expected. The type of pan you use, how long you let the beans boil before turning down the heat, and whether or not you covered them while simmering are all factors that can affect cook time. However, if you've purchased beans that were stored for a long time (or if you kept them in your pantry for awhile before cooking them), they may just be slightly stale. When this happens to me, I generally turn the whole pot of beans into a hummus or blended soup. Try to buy your dried beans from a retailer that sells lots of beans so you know they're fresh!

Can I freeze cooked chickpeas?

Yes! You can freeze cooked chickpeas in their liquid, ideally in a plastic deli container or in a sturdy wide mouth glass jar that isn't filled all the way. Label them and try to use in a few months.

Easy Lemon Garlic Herbed Chickpeas (Cooked from Scratch)

Easy Herby Lemon Garlic Chickpeas

a pot of uncooked chickpeas with herbs and lemon slices

If you don’t know how to cook chickpeas from dry or you’re looking for a tasty way to use up that jar of chickpeas in your pantry, this recipe is for you! I’ll show you how to transform these protein-rich dried beans into a tender and flavorful meal with step by step instructions and tips.

Author: Jillian

Ingredients

Scale

1 lb dry chickpeas
2 quarts water
3/4 tbsp salt
5 garlic cloves
bundle of 6–8 sprigs herbs of choice (I used rosemary, thyme, and oregano), tied with kitchen twine*
3 lemon slices
several cracks of black pepper
a drizzle of olive oil (around 1-2 tbsp)
more lemon juice

Instructions

If you remembered to soak your beans overnight, drain them and rinse them well. Otherwise, add the beans to your pot along with the water, salt, herb bundle, lemon slices, black pepper, and olive oil.
On the stovetop, turn the heat to high and bring the pot of chickpeas to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low or medium-low in order to maintain a steady simmer.
Cook for 60-90 minutes or longer if needed, until the chickpeas are very tender.
Taste and add the extra lemon juice and salt if desired.
Discard the herb bundle and the lemon slices. Discard the garlic cloves, leave them as is, or remove them and smash them with a fork before stirring back into the pot.

Notes

*if you don’t have kitchen twine, you can leave the herbs loose and pick them out later.

Find it online: https://plantandsoul.com/easy-lemon-garlic-herbed-chickpeas-cooked-from-scratch/