No, you don't have to soak beans before you cook them. If you forget, you can simply start the cooking process, but expect them to take longer to cook than if you had soaked them first. It can take up to twice the time if you don't soak them first.
Chickpeas can be cooked from dry or pre-soaked in a pressure cooker. If you soak them for 12 hours, then they will cook in minutes, but you can also skip the soaking altogether. Chickpeas can be pressure-cooked from dry in 40 minutes, plus the time it takes for the pressure to rise and fall.
Place the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover them with water by a good few inches then leave them overnight (8 to 24 hours). Quick soaking method. This takes only 1 hour before cooking. Put the chickpeas in a large pot and cover them with plenty of water, bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.
For the quick soak method, add the beans to a large pot, cover them with several inches of water and bring them to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes then take the pot off of the heat and let the beans sit in the water for 1 hour.
Method 1: Traditional soak
Place the bowl in the fridge and leave the chickpeas to soak overnight (anywhere from 8-24 hours). It's not recommended to soak chickpeas or other pulses in the fridge for much longer than 48 hours, as they may start to ferment.
So as I mentioned above, the minimum time that you have to soak chickpeas is ideally 5 to 6 hours. For best results, you can soak the chickpeas overnight. So if you soak them in water at night before going to sleep, you can drain the water in the morning to use them in recipes.
Overnight, With Baking Soda
Cover 1/2 cup of chickpeas with several cups of water in a large bowl, add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, and let sit for 12 hours. Many guides will tell you that adding a teaspoon or so of baking soda to soaking water will aid with the softening of dried chickpeas.
If you forgot to soak your beans the night before you plan to cook them, the hot soak method can come to the rescue. Cover the beans with water, bring to a boil and boil for three minutes. Remove them from the heat and let them soak in the hot water for an hour. Then drain, rinse, add fresh water and cook.
While not every recipe calls for soaking beans before cooking them, if beans give you gas, soaking can help. Soaking overnight and then discarding the soaking water leaches out sugars in beans that are responsible for gas production.
– Set aside for about an hour. In an insulated casserole, the chickpeas should soak in an hour. In any other container, it may take about 2-3 hours.
For every 1 cup (250 mL) of chickpeas, soak with 3 cups (750 mL) water. Chickpeas need to be soaked for at least four hours or preferably for 8 hours. To keep things easy, soak them overnight. Throw out the soaking water by putting chickpeas into a strainer and rinsing them well.
From Cook's Illustrated: Dissolve 3 tablespoons salt in 4 quarts cold water in large bowl or container. Add [one pound] beans and soak at room temperature for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well.
Try this trick: In a pan add 1 cup of water and bring it to a rolling boil. Transfer the water to a pot with a lid or an air tight container and quickly add washed chole to it. Cover the lid with a heavy object and seal in the chole and water as quickly as possible.
They should be soaked for eight to ten hours at most. Some say that beans should be only be soaked for 4 hours, but 12 hours is the upper limit. If you soak the beans for longer than 12 hours, you run the risk of the beans losing both their characteristic flavor and texture.
Soak the beans a minimum of 6 hours and any time up until 10 hours. What you are really looking for is the skin to easily slide away from the bean and to be able to squeeze the bean and have it be somewhat soft and ready to cook. This quick soaking method makes prepping dry beans a breeze.
So, what's the answer
The answer is that no, dried beans do not necessarily need soaking overnight. It comes down to personal preference and how much time you have. As long as they are cleaned well before they are cooked, there is no reason why you can't enjoy beans at a moment's notice.
Add enough cold water to cover 3 inches above the beans. Soak for 6 to 8 hours or overnight. Discard the soaking water, and rinse again. Place in a pot with 3 inches of water covering the beans, bring to a boil, and turn off heat.
Soaking also allows beans to cool evenly. Like grains, soak at room temperature for 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. One bag of dried beans is equivalent to 4 cans of beans. It is much cheaper to buy dried beans.
Bigger varieties like kidney beans contain 'oligosaccharides' - complex sugars that our bodies cannot fully break down. Soaking beans overnight helps to get rid of these complex sugars, therefore reducing gas and indigestion. So, set a reminder if you have to and soak soak soak.
Soak chickpeas overnight, or for 6-8 hours. If using the quick soak method, put chickpeas into a saucepan and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and allow to cook for about 5 minutes, then remove from heat and cover. Let stand for one hour!
Simply place dried beans in a container, cover them with water and let them soak. They'll need to soak eight to 12 hours, but the key to eliminating the gas is draining and rinsing every three hours. Yup, you read that right. Drain, rinse and start soaking again every three hours.
You can soak them overnight, if you have the time. Place them in a large bowl and cover with cold water. The chickpeas will expand to over double their size, so make sure you cover by several inches of water to allow for expansion. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let them soak overnight.
As a legume, chickpeas are coated in an organic, soapy substance known as saponins that get released as they cook. When mixed with the bean's proteins and carbs, this substance thickens even more, creating a layer of foam that will quickly overflow if the right precautions aren't taken (via Veg FAQs).
You don't have to soak your dried beans overnight.
Soaking beans in the refrigerator overnight will reduce the time they have to cook drastically. And the texture of the beans will also be it their best, with fewer split-open and burst ones. But like we said, you don't have to commit this hard.