If you’re not familiar with garbanzo beans or chickpeas, they are nut-like in flavor, versatile, richly nutritious (especially regarding protein an fiber), and extraordinarily appetite-satisfying. Below is a summary of nutrition facts (164 grams is 1 cup of cooked garbanzo beans), which you can click for a full garbanzo bean nutrition graphic posted by Condé Nast that was derived from USDA information.

NOTE: If you’re not used to eating foods high in fiber, like these beans, you can acclimate your body and minimize uncomfortable bloating by starting with a small amount of beans added to your meal and then steadily increasing that amount. I followed that advice myself, and it worked out great.

Here’s what you need to cook dried garbanzo beans. (The glass bowl – or any bowl – is needed to presoak the beans, which both greatly reduces cooking time and maximizes nutritional value.)

Click either the top or bottom two pictures for a link to a How to Cook Dried Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas) step-by-step picture book recipe. Next post will show how to use these beans to make fresh hummus – great stuff!