Beans are an easy to prepare, healthy and inexpensive source of protein. Generally you can find 16oz cans of organic beans in most grocery stores for around $2, which is cheaper than many other protein sources. However, if you are regularly buying canned beans, you will probably be surprised to hear that you are still paying too much.
Let's do the math, don't worry, it's rather straight-forward:
- One pound (1lb) of organic dried chickpeas costs about $1.99 from the bulk bins at most stores. Cooking 1lb of dried chickpeas results in approximately 5 cups of cooked chickpeas. So for about $2, you have 5 cups of cooked chickpeas.
- In contrast, when drained, one 16oz can of organic chickpeas becomes about 1 1/2 cups of chickpeas, or $2 for 1 1/2 cups.
- To sum it all up, $2 of canned chickpeas yields 1 1/2 cups of chickpeas, whereas $2 of dried chickpeas yields 5 cups of chickpeas.
So now that you know that cooking beans from their dried form is cheaper, you're probably wondering if it's still worth spending those few extra dollars on canned chickpeas if it means you don't have to cook them yourself. The answer, of course, is that it depends. Cooking beans is actually very easy and while it takes a bit of time and planning, it only takes a few minutes of hands on time.
However, the time it takes to cook the beans means that you have to plan ahead a bit, and can't just reach for a can opener whenever you want to sprinkle a few chickpeas on your salad. Deciding whether to cook your beans from scratch or buy them canned is a trade off of convenience and saving money, but ultimately it may be worth it to cook your own. Here's why:
For many, the greatly reduced cost of using dried beans is worth the relatively minimal effort required to cook the dried beans.
How to Cook Dried Chickpeas
Cooking beans from scratch is much easier than you might think. Dried chickpeas simply require an overnight soak in water, draining the soaking water and replacing with fresh water to cover the chickpeas by an inch or two in a large pot, bringing the water to a boil and reducing to a simmer for about 1-2 hours on the stove. That's it! You can store the chickpeas in an airtight container in the fridge for several days.
You can even cook a large batch at one time, and freeze the leftovers in 1 1/2 cup portions (the same amount as a can of beans) to use up to a year later. Simply defrost the frozen beans either in the refrigerator or in the microwave and use as you would canned beans, but for a fraction of the cost. Detailed dried chickpea cooking information can be found here.
Need recipe ideas for chickpeas?
Check out Jessie Bea Eats! for chickpea recipe ideas, including a Chickpea Pizza Wrap, Chickpea Salad, and Hearty Brown Rice Salad. Additionally, the Chickpea Cutlet recipe from the Veganomicon cookbook is always a hit, and the leftovers freeze nicely.
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