Beans, chickpeas and lentils: how to soak, how long to cook and how to make hummus
Which pulses need soaking and which don't, a cooking-time table, whether salt really stops beans softening and why acid does. Why undercooked red kidney beans are dangerous, how to reduce bloating, dry-to-cooked yields, perfectly smooth hummus and freezing.
Why cook pulses from dry
Canned pulses are convenient, but dried ones cost 3–4 times less, taste better and hold their shape better. 100 g dried beans gives 250–300 g cooked — the same as a standard can.
Pulses are cheap plant protein (20–25 g per 100 g dried), fibre, iron and magnesium. Cook a big batch at once and freeze it, and they're as handy as canned.
To soak or not
Soaking nearly halves cooking time, helps beans cook evenly and reduces the compounds that cause bloating.
- Soak: beans, chickpeas, whole peas, broad beans, soybeans — 8–12 hours or overnight.
- No need: lentils of any colour, split peas, mung beans — they cook quickly anyway.
- Use 3–4 times as much water as beans: they swell 2–2.5 times.
- In a warm room, soak in the fridge or the beans may start to ferment.
- After soaking, drain and rinse the beans.
How long to cook
Timing depends on variety and age: old beans that have sat for a long time take twice as long and may stay hard. Taste to check — cooked beans are soft and creamy inside with no chalky centre.
- Red lentils: 15–20 minutes, no soaking — they collapse into a purée.
- Green and brown lentils: 25–35 minutes — they hold their shape.
- Black (beluga) lentils: 20–25 minutes.
- Split peas: 40–60 minutes.
- Mung beans: 30–40 minutes.
- Chickpeas (soaked): 1–1.5 hours.
- White and red beans (soaked): 1–1.5 hours.
- In a pressure cooker: chickpeas and beans 15–20 minutes at pressure.
Salt and acid: fact and myth
The old advice "don't salt beans until the end or they won't soften" is a myth. Research shows the opposite: salt in the soaking water (1 tbsp per litre) makes the skins softer and thinner, and the beans cook more evenly and split less. You can salt the cooking water from the start too — the beans taste better.
Acid, however, really does stop beans softening. Add tomatoes, vinegar, wine or lemon juice only once the beans are tender. Hard water (lots of calcium) slows cooking too.
Red kidney beans: always boil hard
Raw and undercooked red kidney beans contain phytohaemagglutinin, which causes severe food poisoning: vomiting and stomach pain within 1–3 hours. Even a few raw beans can cause symptoms.
The toxin is fully destroyed by vigorous boiling. So after soaking, kidney beans must be boiled hard for at least 10 minutes, then simmered until tender. The danger is a slow cooker on low: at 80 °C the toxin isn't destroyed and even becomes more active. Boil first, then put them in the slow cooker.
Canned kidney beans have already been heat-treated and are safe.
How to reduce bloating
Bloating comes from oligosaccharides — complex sugars that aren't digested in the stomach but ferment in the gut. You can't remove them entirely, but you can cut them down noticeably.
- Soak and discard the water — some oligosaccharides go with it.
- Cook until completely tender: undercooked beans are harder to digest.
- Add cumin, fennel, bay leaf, ginger or asafoetida while cooking.
- Start with small portions and increase gradually — the gut adapts within 2–3 weeks.
- Red lentils and mung beans are the easiest to digest.
Perfect hummus
The secret of hummus as smooth as cream is well-cooked chickpeas and ice-cold water.
- 250 g cooked chickpeas (from 100 g dried or 1 can), still warm.
- 3 tbsp tahini (sesame paste).
- Juice of 1 lemon, 1 garlic clove, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp ground cumin.
- 3–4 tbsp ice-cold water.
- First blend the tahini with the lemon juice and garlic for 1 minute until pale. Add the chickpeas and salt and blend for 2–3 minutes. Add the iced water a spoonful at a time until the hummus is fluffy and creamy.
- Serve with olive oil, paprika and herbs.
What to make with pulses
- Lentil soup: red lentils, onion, carrot, tomatoes, cumin — 25 minutes, then blend.
- Dal: red lentils with turmeric, ginger and garlic, finished with spices fried in oil.
- Beans in tomato sauce: white beans, tomatoes, onion, paprika — a great breakfast with egg and bread.
- Falafel: soaked but uncooked chickpeas blended with herbs and spices — cooked chickpeas make falafel fall apart in the oil.
- Salads: lentils with roast vegetables and feta, beans with tuna, chickpeas with cucumber and tomatoes.
- Crunchy chickpeas: dried cooked chickpeas with oil and spices, 30–40 minutes at 200 °C. A snack instead of crisps.
Storage and freezing
Dried pulses keep up to a year in a sealed jar somewhere dry and dark. Longer is possible, but they cook worse and slower.
Keep cooked beans in the fridge for 4–5 days in their cooking liquid so they don't dry out or split. Freeze in 250–300 g portions with a little liquid for up to 6 months. No need to thaw: straight into soup, stew or the pan.
Rinse canned pulses before use: it removes up to 40% of the salt and the tinny taste. The chickpea liquid (aquafaba) can be kept for meringues and egg-free baking.
Questions and answers
Why won't my beans soften even after 3 hours?＋
Most likely the beans are old or the water is very hard, or tomatoes went in too early. Add a pinch of baking soda and keep cooking; next time buy beans with a recent packing date.
Can I skip soaking chickpeas?＋
You can, but they'll need 2–3 hours and will cook less evenly. In a pressure cooker, unsoaked, about 40–45 minutes.
What can replace tahini in hummus?＋
A spoon of peanut butter, or olive oil with a pinch of ground sesame. The flavour will differ, but it works.
How many lentils per serving?＋
60–80 g dried for a side or main, 40–50 g for soup.
Are sprouted pulses good for you?＋
Yes, sprouted mung beans and lentils are easier to digest. But sprouting needs hygiene: keep sprouts in the fridge and eat within 2–3 days. Never eat raw kidney bean sprouts.
Try it in practice
More kitchen secrets
Sushi and rolls at home: restaurant-style rice, fillings and safe fish
Which rice to use and how to rinse it, the water ratio and seasoned vinegar, how to cool rice properly. How to roll maki and inside-out rolls that don't fall apart, which fish is safe raw, fillings without raw fish, baked rolls and storage.
Read the articleHow to assemble a cake at home: level layers, soaking syrup, smooth sides and drips
How to cut a sponge into even layers, how much soaking syrup each layer needs, why to pipe a dam and do a crumb coat, how to smooth a cake with a scraper, how much frosting a 20 cm cake needs, how to make chocolate drips, stack a tall cake and transport it in one piece.
Read the articleHomemade ice cream without a machine: rich vanilla, sorbet and banana ice cream
Two-ingredient ice cream with condensed milk, a classic custard-based vanilla, why ice crystals form and how to prevent them, sorbet with the right amount of sugar, frozen-banana ice cream, ice lollies and storage tips.
Read the article