The case for tinned pulses is real. They are convenient, consistent, and good enough for a wide range of applications. For a midweek shakshuka, a quick soup, a dressing you want a chickpea in for texture — they’re the right tool.
The case for dried pulses, cooked from scratch, is also real, and it’s worth understanding when it applies. Not as a general preference for doing things the hard way, but because the ingredient you get from a correctly cooked dried pulse is genuinely different from what comes out of a tin — in texture, in flavour, and in the liquid it produces.
What dried pulses give you that tinned don’t
Texture control. A tinned chickpea has been cooked to a fixed point and then held in liquid that continues to soften it. A dried chickpea cooked at home can be taken to the exact texture you want — yielding but still holding their shape, or further to very soft and creamy at the centre. This matters for dishes where texture is a primary element of the experience.
The cooking liquid. This is the most significant difference. The liquid from cooking dried chickpeas — called aquafaba when it’s chickpea specifically — is deeply flavoured and starchy. It functions as a broth, a sauce base, or, in the case of chickpea liquid, a binder and emulsifier. A Tuscan bean soup finished with cooking liquid from dried borlotti beans is a different and better dish than one finished with tinned bean liquid. The liquid from tinned beans is worth using too, but it’s thinner and less flavourful.
No metallic note. Tinned pulses have a very faint tinned note that goes away when rinsed but never completely disappears in the finished dish. It’s subtle — most people don’t notice it consciously — but it’s the reason that dishes made from scratch with dried pulses taste slightly cleaner.
The process
The elements that matter, in order:
Soaking. Most dried pulses benefit from overnight soaking in cold water — they cook faster, more evenly, and with better texture. The exceptions are lentils (no soaking needed) and split peas (no soaking needed). A fast-soak method: cover with boiling water, leave for 1 hour, drain. It works but not quite as well as overnight.
Starting cold. Begin the pulses in cold water, bring to the boil slowly, and skim off any foam that rises. The slow start helps them cook more evenly than dropping them directly into boiling water.
Simmering, not boiling. Pulses cooked at a boil break apart on the outside before the inside is cooked through. A gentle simmer — occasional bubbles, not a rolling boil — cooks them evenly and keeps the skins intact.
Salt timing. The long-standing advice to never add salt until the end is not quite right. Salt added from the beginning seasons the pulse all the way through and has minimal effect on cooking time. Add it early.
Testing. Start testing well before the expected time. A properly cooked pulse yields completely when pressed between thumb and forefinger with no resistance at the centre. A slightly undercooked pulse has a firm, almost chalky core. A slightly overcooked pulse collapses and loses its shape. The window between correct and overcooked is smaller than you expect — check frequently towards the end.
Cooking times as a guide only
These vary enormously with age of the pulse (older pulses take much longer), soaking, and heat level:
- Chickpeas: 1–2 hours
- Borlotti or cannellini beans: 45 minutes–1.5 hours
- Puy lentils: 20–30 minutes (no soak)
- Red lentils: 15–20 minutes (no soak, become fully soft and thick)
- Split peas: 30–45 minutes
None of these times are reliable as final answers. Test as you go.
Storing cooked pulses
Cooked dried pulses keep in the fridge for 4–5 days in their cooking liquid — the liquid prevents them from drying out and continues to season them as they sit. They also freeze very well: portion into freezer bags with a little cooking liquid, freeze flat, and use within 3 months. This is the case for batch cooking: cook a large quantity when you have time and freeze in tin-sized portions.
The argument for cooking dried pulses isn’t purity or principle. It’s that you get a better ingredient, and an excellent, useful liquid alongside it. That’s worth knowing when it matters.